I love a good idea for growing your travel business—and this week I came across two. I was doing what I like to do best, talking to smart travel advisors, this time at the Signature annual conference in Las Vegas. I’m working on a story about what advisors are planning to do differently in 2025, so I’ve been asking attendees here what they’re up to.

I’ll include a few of those stories in a future column. But the one I heard from Amy Westerman and Dave Hoffman, of The Curated Travel Collection, was so good it deserves a story all its own. And the tips on growing your Facebook ranking made me want to marry AI guru Kha Ly so I could have his tech support 24 x 7.

Like all the best stories, Amy and Dave’s begins in a bar, where Amy got to chatting and “swapping stories” with another customer, as travel advisors are wont to do Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve never met a cruise I didn’t like. On a yacht that holds 35 or a megaship with 6,000, shaking across the Drake to Antarctica or drifting through the Caribbean, I’m happy to eat chicken and salad if the pickings are slim, or sit by the pool with a book if there’s nothing to do. As long as there’s sea air, a balcony and a cup of coffee, I’m in.

I was fine with ignoring the mixed reviews I’ve heard and read about MSC, which range from five-star raves to absolute pans, from both travel advisors I trust and posts on social media. I wanted to give MSC a try and see for myself. So we booked a quick five-night Caribbean trip out of Port Canaveral and brought along a couple of friends for a long weekend in the sun.

(Of course, we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “con” side. For the many reasons some travel advisors do choose to sell air, see “Earning an Extra $50K: Travel Advisors Who Sell Air Say It’s Worth the Effort | Travel Research Online.”)

Liability issues. Time wasted. Late night calls. And the new DOT ruling about refunds that takes effect this week just adds one more reason to the litany of why many travel advisors hate to sell airline tickets.

“Selling air? Don’t.” That’s the succinct advice from Rich Greenway, owner of Greenway Travel Group-Dream Vacations. And he is not alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Even in an AI world, competition for really smart, knowledgeable and experienced travel advisors is stiffer than ever—not just among high-end customers but apparently among host agencies as well. At its annual conference last week, Avoya Travel Network announced upgrades to the commissions it will be paying its independent advisors (IAs)—and a $5,000 sign-on bonus to newcomers bringing in a book of business of their own.

Avoya traditionally has paid its advisors 30% of the commission on bookings obtained through its Avoya Live lead program, or 80% on bookings of their personal customers. Last year, it began testing an Elite 100 program that raised commissions with preferred suppliers to 100% on bookings of personal clients. Read the rest of this entry »

Be they husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, or sisters and brothers, more and more travel advisors are finding there’s no better new hire than a member of your very own family. When you need a helping hand or a travel buddy—and when you consider a succession plan—many say home is the best place to start looking.

(Heads up: Of course we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “pro” side. Stay tuned next week for the “con.”)

When your niche is entertainment travel and your clients are ultra-high-net-worth, there’s no option but to sell air, says Ted Bradpiece. And he doesn’t really mind. It’s just another call or two a month he has to take late at night or on the weekend—and it pays as much as many travel advisors earn in a year.

Revelry travel and legacy travel. Silver bullet wellness and mood boarding. XZ beta travel, F-It Lists and Coolcations.

Are you keeping up with the new vocabulary of travel? The voice of luxury is awash in new buzzwords, it seems. And they all are pointing to the same good news. Luxury travel advisors are having a moment; luxury sales are soaring; and the most well-known global luxury consortia, Virtuoso, is feeling the love.

Sixteen months into dealing with Manhattan Probate Court about an inheritance without the proper paperwork, I am somewhat obsessed on the subject of succession planning—and so of course I’ve been talking to travel advisors about it.  Read the rest of this entry »

Reaching—and keeping—high net worth customers is all about developing personal relationships–among you, them, the people with whom they are traveling and the luxury travel suppliers with whom you all interact.

That theme was repeated over and over again by the tony Manhattan crowd at Travel + Leisure’s “The World’s Best Summit” in Manhattan last week. Among the speakers from luxury travel companies like Hyatt and Six Senses and Hurtigruten, my favorite was Embark Beyond founder Jack Ezon, representing the luxury travel advisor community. Ezon said selling luxury is about offering customers access in the most creative of ways, bonding your clients and their guests over shared experiences that will last a lifetime. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re still among the travel advisors who say “I don’t sell cruise,” you might want to reconsider. The growing cadre of luxury cruise ships sailing to exotic and adventure-filled destinations offers new options for existing customers and lures for a new generation of young travelers—and above all, it can serve as a gateway to the lucrative expedition travel market.

That was just one interesting takeaway from one of my favorite trips so far this season, an Embark Beyond fam trip to Alaska on the new Silversea Nova that had a unique angle: Onboard were five top-selling luxury travel advisors who had never sold a cruise—or even sailed on one.

Here’s one thing I learned on my first-ever camping trip last week: There’s something kind of sexy about sleeping with your husband under a star-filled night sky, watching him wrestle a big rig across the vast prairie, recalling cowboy movies set beside soaring red cliffs.

But I digress. Let’s start at the beginning.

Our amazing adventure in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon started with an email from Benoit Lafond, CEO and co-founder of Noovo, a Vegas-based company that builds carefully crafted high-end camper vans. (His mission, he says, is to build “homes on wheels that incorporate the luxury of European hotels and the design of tiny Parisian apartments.”)

It’s been three days of presentations on travel marketing—from defining your market to branding and using social media to creating raving fans—at the TravelPro Marketing Summit this week. And it’s no surprise that I’ve come away with a few good ideas I can’t wait to try out.

When experts talk about a subject they love, you can’t help but get excited. and this second online Travel Pro Summit is clearly a labor of love by travel advisor Tiffany Elberfeld and the speakers she recruited Read the rest of this entry »

It’s June, traditionally one of the slowest months in the travel business. But there’s never a dull moment when you own a small business—and many travel advisors report they have plenty of homework to do over their summer vacation.

At Boutique Travel Advisors, co-founder Angela Rice is trying to tackle what she sees as one of the biggest issues facing both travel agency owners and independent contractors: working so hard during Wave season, but then having to wait months to see the cash flow Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a lot more to Puerto Rico than San Juan—and there’s a lot more to being a successful travel advisor than just sales skills. So when my Facebook friends Nina Sherman and Hema Khan suggested that I spend a week with them and 20 travel advisors on a CCRA fam trip on the Island of Enchantment, I was in.

Last week’s cautionary tale about travel advisor Debi King, who was put off an Oceania World Cruise in the Seychelles for “soliciting business” onboard the ship, resulted in lots of comments from travel advisors, most of them on Oceania’s side.

“Everyone” knows it’s prohibited, many said; there’s nothing new here (though no one could remember a case of it actually happening). And yet, my email and Facebook pages quickly were flooded with stories from travel advisors who themselves were solicited on board various ships, or who felt their clients were solicited by the cruise lines themselves.

“It’s too bad Oceania declined to comment on what occurred, as it is a missed opportunity for them,” says Sean Mouttet. “Their input could provide Read the rest of this entry »

When Debi King and her customer set sail on an Oceania World Cruise last month, it never even crossed her mind that the captain might put her off the ship in the Seychelles—with just $300 in her pocket and no recourse at all.

And just as King was crossing the globe to get home instead of sailing around Africa as she had planned, Virgin Voyages was sending out an email reminding travel advisors that soliciting travel business from fellow passengers while onboard their ships is strictly forbidden Read the rest of this entry »

It was just after Covid, about 18 months ago, that Jenn Lee and Travel Planners International owners Ken and Tony Gagliano Jr. agreed that the travel industry was coming back strong—and that the time was right for a new kind of model for travel professionals. It was time to start building on their success as a host agency by adding a franchise division “with a fresh perspective on what a franchise should be.” Read the rest of this entry »

Be careful what you ask for, ASTA.

The new US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations offer many benefits to travelers, including some for which ASTA has long been lobbying. But at the same time, they hold some pitfalls for unwary travel advisors, ASTA said last week.

Still, though, travel attorney Tom Carpenter told TRO, taking a few cautionary steps can help keep you out of trouble.

“First off, the sky is not falling,” Carpenter says. The initial proposed rule would have required all agencies to issue refunds, even if you did not take any money from your client. But the rule that actually was issued only requires agencies to issue refunds if you are the “merchant of record” on the ticket transaction Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no way to summarize a weeklong press trip to Israel in just one column. So I’ve taken two.

For the background on our amazing journey, see my column from last week, One Step Ahead of the Rockets: An Unforgettable Press Trip to Israel | Travel Research Online. But if you’re looking for details on how to plan a great trip, here are some highlights from the itinerary put together for our group of 20 international trade press by Ellen Shapiro of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and our tour guide, Mika Rabinovich. So here goes:

Jerusalem — Maybe it’s because I respect war correspondents, who risk their lives to cover the story, and sometimes wish I was one. Maybe it’s because, since Covid, I appreciate the privilege of being among the first visitors to support a tourism industry in distress. Maybe it’s because my roots are here, in the only place on earth where Jews are not a minority.

Or maybe I’m just another Baby Boomer looking for a “safe adventure,” excited to push the boundaries and get my heart pumping a little, all the while knowing I really am likely to survive unscathed.

It’s a boutique host that acts like a consortium, in its laser-focus on preferred suppliers. It doesn’t really want to add new-to-the-industry advisors. And rather than duplicating the marketing and technology its members get from Signature Travel Network, it gives 100% of its commissions back to top sellers.

In short, Oasis Travel Network is a unique kind of host for a unique kind of travel advisor. Its top advisors on our Avalon Panorama Tulip Time cruise in Amsterdam say it’s the perfect model for them Read the rest of this entry »