The perception that a travel advisor has of themselves is at the core of everything. Every travel advisor has a “Why?” behind the reason that they started their business. In this more casual, candid conversation, Whitney and Jenn talk about their vision for the future of the travel industry and what they would love to see in the coming years. They get out their magic wands and talk about what they would change to make the travel business successful for all travel advisors.
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 49
On this very special episode, in collaboration with The Bridge, Whitney is joined by Habib El Fassi of Visit Morocco Travel & Events, and Bram Evers of Pure! Travel Group. Together they talk about creating unique experiences and what it means to truly support local communities and make the most out of destinations. Learn about what it takes to create a truly tailor made, creative, and uniquely personalized experience for clients.
Dec 07, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Building a team of advisors is something that many of us talk about and aspire to do. On the other hand, joining a team of people in an already established travel business is something that many new advisors are seeking out. On this very exciting and guest-filled episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Heather Keller, Lindy Schuch, Sarah Fazendin, Mallory Worthington, and Julie Patterson. With more guests joining than ever before, listen in for a deep dive into this topic from both pe...
Nov 30, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Having tough conversations is part of the job of both a travel advisor and a business owner. Whether it’s a mistake that we made, not having exactly what a client is looking for, or an experience that did not meet expectations, complicated and awkward situations happen. Whatever the reason, it's important that we not only feel confident going forward, but it's just as important that we are ready and prepared to navigate those tough conversations. Kate Sullivan, owner of Anthology Travel, and Lil...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 46
Talking about numbers with clients can often feel uncomfortable and awkward. These numbers might be related to many things, but even when we're not in control of these numbers, we are often the bearer of bad news. Sometimes we even avoid talking about numbers all together, but avoiding a conversation related to numbers can be one of the biggest mistakes that advisors can make. On today’s episode, Whitney is joined by Paloma White and Sarah Fazendin, to discuss this tricky topic. Listen to hear t...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Amenities, VIP status, upgrades. These are important to some clients, but other clients prefer something more adventurous. Some prefer the “ungoogleable.” The off the beaten path, the unique and extraordinary locations and experiences that really intrigue the traveler. Today, we're going to dive into those “ungoogleable” experiences, but what does that actually mean? How do we find these things? And most importantly, how do we pull them off in a client's itinerary? On this episode of Masters in ...
Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Any CEO of a travel business can get easily overwhelmed with the list of tasks and to-do’s and questions that need answers. What do you do each and every month to ensure your business is heading in the direction of your big goals? How do you define success from one month to the next? How do you ensure boundaries are well-established each month to ensure you're the most efficient and focused you can possibly be from one day to the next. Co-founders of TIQUE, Jennifer Jacob and Robin Brown, are he...
Nov 02, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 43
How to pitch the media is a topic that our guest on today’s episode, Jenn Lee, is a master of. Listen in to hear how she lays out an easy to follow formula for contacting different media sources. Pitching the media, when done right, can help legitimize you, your business, and the business of travel advisors everywhere. Find us on Instagram: @mastersintravel
Oct 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 42
There are many options for an independent travel advisor to get started in the travel industry. From joining a host agency to registering for your own iota number, there are many paths to choose. How to know which way will fit your business? And one option may not be the best throughout the life of your business. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Lila Fox of Lila Fox Travel Co., as Lila shares her journey through these tough decisions. Together they discuss the pros and ...
Oct 19, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 41
With 80% of her business coming from her local community, Heather Keller is a pro at reaching out to people and thinking outside of the box to find clients, gain team members, and grow her business. Join her and Whitney in this episode of Masters in Travel as they discuss Heather’s business journey and how she has utilized her community to her business succeed. Find us on Instagram: @mastersintravel
Oct 12, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 40
The American Society of Travel Advisors is advocating for and working on behalf of travel advisors and the travel industry at large every day. Their mission is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge, and the enhancement of professionals. But what does that mean to the individual travel advisor? On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by two ASTA experts, Jenn Lee and Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg. Together they discuss the “...
Oct 05, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Marketing events, whether hosting or attending, can be a useful strategy to get in front of new potential clients. But there is a lot that goes into these events behind the scenes, and at times, be more trouble than it's worth. On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by two event and marketing experts Brianna Glenn of Milk + Honey Travels and Angela Isherwood of Olive & Atlas Travel. Brianna and Angela share their experiences and the ins and outs of marketing events. Find ...
Sep 28, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 38
If you’re a successful travel advisor with a growing business, it can become abundantly clear that you may need support to help you deliver high quality service to your clients. How do you find and hire a quality assistant? What goes into training and managing an assistant well? There are so many questions that follow that often paralyze us into taking action. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and Sarah Fazendin, owner of Videre Travel, discuss the hurdles and the challenges of this ...
Sep 21, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 37
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
