Ok, let’s get busy, there’s lots to do and our quiet time will soon be over.
1. Promote yourself, big time: Sit back and close your eyes. Now think of all the people you helped to get home when the pandemic set in. You were a hero more times than you realize. Next, jot down five tips about traveling safely during the coming months. Do you lead a team? Write down the words of wisdom you share with them every day. OK, you’re now ready to pitch your local TV station on the value a travel advisor brings to the traveler. In this story, we tell you exactly how to be featured on TV news. Put time into this initiative now so that in 2021, you’ll be that person on a pedestal sharing your wisdom in front of the camera.
2. “Just get me out of here:” That’s the client who never has time to plan a vacation, they leave it all to you. You’ve now got the gift of time to plot out their next few trips with them in a thoughtful manner. The U.S. Travel Association has just launched a “Let’s Go There” campaign to encourage people to start dreaming about travel. Schedule time with your clients now to map out 2021. Garner insight on what they’d really like from a trip if they had the time to actually think about it. This is an investment that will keep on giving.
3. Don’t think with your own mindset: Don’t assume your client doesn’t want to visit a destination where they’ll have to quarantine. If they’re used to taking long vacations, pitch them a two-week stay in the English countryside or in a beachfront condo in Hawaii. The four advisors I was privileged to moderate during an ASTA Global Live panel provided plenty of sage advice, ranging from how to treat clients like true individuals, to not being embarrassed about taking time off to digest the current travel industry landscape.
4. Check in with suppliers: Just like you, they’re changing up operations during this quiet time. The Travel Corporation just reorganized in the United States, so all of its premium and luxury brands fall under one umbrella: The Velvet Collection. Find out from your local reps what this will mean to you and start training on the new possibilities. Be sure to check with reps from other preferred suppliers about what they’ve been doing behind the scenes during the pandemic so that you’re at the front of the line in terms of vendor knowledge when travel requests come flooding in again.
5. Hold onto this thought: You are the champions who keep the lights on for the travel industry even when terrible things like a pandemic occur. Alex Sharpe of Signature brings it home when he points out how travel advisors have helped many destinations going through challenging times, meaning you’ve saved jobs and local economies. With that, you’ve consistently made the world a better place. I’m not exaggerating. Stop under-estimating what you mean to all of us and hold on to that truth when you’re back on the other side, crazily booking dream vacations for your clients 24/7 and loving every minute of it.
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