Top 25 All Stars: Linda de Sosa

linda de sosaWoodlake Travel

Houston, TX

In 2013, Linda de Sosa’s sales neared the $3 million mark, and in addition to her involvement in Virtuoso’s lead generation and VAST programs, this top producer is also a member of the Abercrombie and Kent 100 Club and Belmond’s Bellini Club.

Bettie Lee, owner of Woodlake Travel, calls de Sosa “an exceptional agent who is totally focused on her clients and making their vacations the best possible experience. She is always in the learning mode, either taking courses or trading books to gain knowledge to enhance her clients’ trips. She works very closely with our sales reps and she commands a great deal of respect from them.”

Excellence as a travel consultant, de Sosa believes, involves several aspects, starting with a fervor for travel and her clients. “I constantly travel and will have experienced 126 countries and 29 cruises by year’s end,” she says. “Beyond traveling, I continually educate myself through webinars and contacts about countries, hotels or ships—three to five webinars weekly.”

The other portion of the equation, as she puts it, is “my commitment to close relationships with hotel and vendor reps. They understand the value I place on those partnerships and will do anything for our mutual clients.”

De Sosa has also used her network to improve her community following her son’s suicide five years ago. “Determined to ensure that others wouldn’t have to experience the same devastation, I decided to try to enact a law in Texas mandating teacher training on suicide awareness,” she says. “While I was having my best travel sales year ever, I was also working with one other person to shepherd the bill through the legislature during its 140-day session. After the bill was killed, I called on my close relationships with my clients and we gratefully saw the bill pass the last day before the end of the session. Passion trumps all.”

Return to the full list of Top 25 All Stars.