Traveling the world is the center of our business. Not just for our clients, as travelers ourselves it’s what we all look forward to investing our time, money and energy into. As our business grows, working on the road and finding the balance between our client work, while actually getting out and experiencing the destination that we're visiting can sometimes feel elusive. Featured on this episode are three experts to talk more about how they approach travel, working on the road and balancing ev...
Sep 14, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 36
How solid is the foundation that you and your business are currently being built upon? What if there was a list of all the things that a travel advisor should have in place in order to get their business started off on the right foot? To protect themselves as business owners, their business, and their clients, and to prepare them for future growth. Whitney, Jenn Lee, and Korrine Johnson come together, gather their resources, and use their experience to take a first crack at making that list. Fin...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Are you a member of ASTA? Do you know how ASTA supports and advocates for travel advisors each day? Tune in to learn about the daily role of one of the most important organizations has in the travel industry, all that they're doing for travel advisors behind the scenes, and how we can better support them in their efforts. Find us on Instagram: @mastersintravel Learn more and sign up for the Masters in Travel Resource Library for Travel Advisors Learn more about and sign up to become a member of ...
Sep 03, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Transparency. Sometimes it’s taken as a negative, but it can be a make-or-break facet of how you deal with both clients and suppliers. On this episode, Whitney and Beth Bastian of Bastian World Travel, talk about the importance of being transparent, what it actually means to be transparent and with whom we should be transparent with. Listen in to hear them dive into what it means to be transparent with supplier partners, with clients and with fellow travel advisors. Find us on Instagram: @master...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 34
When starting a business as a travel advisor, attracting your first clients, earning a commission, and managing everything else takes time and energy. The compensation part of that equation can be especially difficult in the first few years, so hiring an assistant or building a team for your agency can be the absolute last thing on your mind. When is it right to take on the responsibility for paying someone else? How do you start that process? And how do you know when you’ve found someone that f...
Aug 24, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Getting started in the travel industry can feel daunting. In this business, it can take years to earn a modest income. So how do you take a small side-hustle to the next level and embrace your business dreams? On this episode, Whitney is joined by experienced travel advisor Ashley Theis, owner of the Constant Wayfarer. Ashley shares her story in turning a part-time job into her full-time career. Thank you to our guest today, Ashley Theis of The Constant Wayfarer Find us on Instagram: @mastersint...
Aug 17, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 32
As a travel advisor, we can all understand the importance of making time for oneself. Unfortunately, travel is a 24/7 job. Clients’ run into problems along the way, needing ‘urgent’ assistance regardless of the hour. Your time becomes theirs, and you find yourself stumbling through the dark at 1 am trying to help them reclaim their lost luggage halfway across the world. What are you willing to tolerate as a travel advisor? How can you reclaim your peace (and your weekends), while still serving y...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Growing a working team is what many advisors consider at some point in their business. Whether you are a new advisor considering if you'd like to join an established team, or if you're an experienced advisor who is interested to mentor and grow your team, this episode is for you. This episode brings together the perspective from both an agency owner, as well as a perspective from a host agency as Whitney speaks with Connie Miller and Korrine Johnson. Connie Miller is the Vice President of busine...
Aug 05, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Hey friends, Season 2 is here! We have so many fun updates for you. Find the links below! Subscribe to Masters in Travel Weekly Episodes Masters in Travel provides one episode per month free to the entire travel community. Weekly episodes are available to our monthly subscribers! We strive to provide the highest quality content and interviews to support you and your growing travel business. Thank you for supporting the show! Apply to be a guest on the podcast and join the conversation! Share a p...
Aug 04, 2021•8 min
This week’s conversation with Emily Lockard-Furry was inspired by a previous episode in which we spoke about our business structures and how we approach professional development, FAMs, and personal travels. Today we’ll dive deeper into her fee structure, how she started and how she got to where she is today, the importance of starting where you feel comfortable and most importantly, confident. And my favorite part, later in the conversation Emily shares with us a unique exercise she goes through...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 29
As travel advisors, we are in this beautiful world of human connection and relationships. We foster and build relationships with our clients and our supplier partners. And it would be hard to say that one of these relationships is more important than the other. Without one, the other can’t thrive. Without supplier partners, it would be really difficult to service our client inquiries and without clients, we don’t have a need for supplier partners. There are many conversations that center around ...
May 18, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 28
As an entrepreneur and a travel advisor, there are different stages in building and in expanding your book of business. In this episode we talk about expanding your book of business as an experienced advisor, how this differs from building a book of business when you first get started, and strategies we’ve tried as our businesses grew. Find us on Instagram: @mastersintravel Learn more and sign up for the Masters in Travel Community + Think Tank Learn more and register for our course: Trello for ...
May 11, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 27
During my first year as a travel advisor, there was one thing that surprised me most about my new day-to-day. I had no idea how much time, energy, and effort would be dedicated to educating current and potential clients on the value of planning their travels with a travel advisor. Finding the words to articulate our value proposition is often the first challenge, and then, feeling prepared and confident to share this with the next person that might ask is another challenge that often takes pract...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 26
When I decided that I wanted to pursue a business as a travel advisor, I began researching….and I wish I could remember what on earth I first started Googling. I think I must have started by searching for education, trainings, information on how to learn what I needed to know about being a travel advisor. I stumbled upon a training program for which I needed to apply and schedule a phone interview. It was during that phone interview that the woman asked me: What are you looking for in a host age...
Apr 26, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 25
One of my favorite newsletters and one that I always open when it lands in my inbox is the newsletter from Emily Matras, Founder of Bon Vivant Copy. She always has a quick message to share with us and she somehow strikes the perfect balance between insightful and valuable, and always with an approachable vibe. Her newsletters are quick, to the point, and always leave me thinking about her message even after I’ve moved on to my next task. One of her most recent newsletters really caught my attent...
Apr 20, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 24
When starting a business, it’s almost certain that we all had a lot of ideas as to the type of business we wanted to build and just how we wanted to go about it. One of the most empowering elements of entrepreneurship is the opportunity to make all these decisions for ourselves. On the flip side, the necessity to make so many decisions in that first year and beyond can also become quite overwhelming. I remember times in that first year when I didn’t feel empowered and I didn’t feel overwhelmed, ...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 23
With me for today's conversation is Alyssa Hall, an anti-racism leadership coach who helps women implement anti-racism in their lives and businesses with a sprinkle of diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. Together, we dive into a lot of different questions. How do we as advisors decide which companies we work with? And which experiences to include in a proposal for clients? How do we start conversations with our supplier partners to understand their values as a company and as a service p...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Two things get me very excited. A positive, uplifting newsletter landing in my inbox each week and an innovative approach to virtual conferences. Andrew Finn is the Business Development Manager at Kartagener Associates Inc and was the inspiration behind both their weekly Positive Vibes newsletter as well as RepFest, a collaboration between multiple representation companies coming together for the greater good of the travel advisor and the travel industry as a whole to create an innovative virtua...
Mar 30, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 21
One of the most common topics you’ll hear about at industry events, over cocktails with a group of advisors, in Facebook forums, and basically anywhere that advisors are hanging out, is THE question of all questions…. To charge or not to charge fees. Well, today on the podcast we mix it up a bit with my guest, Kate Sullivan, founder of Anthology Travel. We do not want to chat about whether or not to charge fees, because we both are very passionate that the answer to this question is an e...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Travel advisors are known to be extremely discerning travelers. No matter your specialty, your preferred destination, or the types of trips you like to book, we know how to pick a top hotel, a solid tour company, or a unique experience out from the pack. We can articulate with ease what separates one experience from another. We are well versed in cautioning clients about small details that may make a big difference in their travels. When a client asks, “Well, what do you think?”, we are ready wi...
Mar 09, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 19
This week, we have a super fun conversation with fellow travel advisor and founder of founder of Travel Agent Achievers, Roslyn Ranse! Ros and I talk about building up that repeat and referral business, showing clients how much we love and appreciate them (surprising and delighting every step of the way), finding a community to lift and support your business endeavors, and so much more. Find us on Instagram: @mastersintravel...
Mar 02, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 18
The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people interpret the world and how they manage their emotions. In this conversation, we’re not only going to learn about how we can be better travel advisors by knowing and understanding our own type, but also how we can build stronger relationships with our clients by knowing and understanding what their enneagram type might be. Whitney Warne is a Certified Enneagram Coach, creative entrepreneur, community builder an...
Feb 23, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 17
When I started my travel business, I was most excited to dive into the branding of my new business - the logo, the fonts, my website...all the things that were going to make me feel super official as a new business owner. Turns out, having a logo is just the beginning. I began to look for ways to create a consistently branded experience for my clients because I know that branding, in the simplest of definitions, is known to increase recognition and to build trust. And part of branding is to inte...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Investing time, energy, and money back into our clients and supplier partners as a sign of appreciation, to foster relationships, and to build loyalty is recommended on all fronts and is something that is talked about regularly. But, what does this actually look like when it’s executed? Do all clients and suppliers receive gifts? If not, how do you decide who does? How much is appropriate to invest in gifts and thoughtful gestures? Should gifts be a representation of our brand or rather of the d...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Do you maximize the sales and marketing potential of each FAM that you attend? This week I’m joined by Theresa Chu-Bermudez, Owner & Travel Advisor at Get Out! Custom Travels , podcast co-host of The Tin Lounge together with Korrine Johnson, and most recently, she created a course for travel advisors, called “ FAM with Intention ”. This course is to help travel advisors who are missing out on the marketing potential of their FAM trips and who want to learn how to improve the way they market ...
Feb 02, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 14
We quite possibly have one of the coolest jobs in the world. We travel, we explore, we work with clients to plan their dream vacations and getaways. Whenever a client calls, there’s always excitement in the air as they tell us what they have in mind for their next adventure. At the beginning, for me personally, I said yes to every FAM I was invited on and I attended as many trade shows and industry events as I possibly could. This was great at the very beginning when I didn’t know anyone and I d...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 13
As a travel advisor, we are always striving to seek out new technologies, new destinations, new partners, new systems and software, new gift ideas for my clients, and quite possibly one of the more difficult finds, new ways to inspire and engage clients. Jennifer Raezer is the cofounder and CMO of Approach Guides. Since 2009, Approach Guides has been the ultimate resource for curious travelers, reimagining the way they explore destinations, connect with local culture and experience the world. Si...
Jan 19, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 12
How do we, as travel advisors, measure our success? What does success look like? And how should it be measured? How should travel advisors set goals? What should we measure? How far reaching should those goals extend? When setting goals, what should we be focusing on? We all know that while there may not be any barriers to entry into the travel industry as an advisor, it does on the other hand require a tremendous amount of grit and patience in those first few years. And while sales and rev...
Jan 12, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 11
As entrepreneurs, we likely all started with a passion for travel. Some days we are literally jumping out of bed to do what we do best. Other days, it feels like we’re stuck in the weeds taking care of tasks that we don’t care about, that we’re maybe not good at, and that we dread. As entrepreneurs, we wear all the hats. The marketing hat, the sales hat, the travel hat, the social media hat, the accounting hat, and the customer service hat. In a nutshell, we have too much to do in too little tim...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 10
As travel advisors, we are in this beautiful world of human connection and relationships. We foster and build relationships with our clients and our supplier partners. And it would be hard to say that one of these relationships is more important than the other. Without one, the other can’t thrive. Without supplier partners, it would be really difficult to service our client inquiries and without clients, we don’t have a need for supplier partners. There are many conversations that center around ...
Dec 15, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 9
