On this episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast, we speak with Stefany Jones, Director of Retail Affairs for Palladium Hotel Group. Stefany has 18 years of experience at prominent travel providers with a focus on account management, marketing and business development. We discuss the unique selling points for each different Palladium Hotel Group brand and resort including the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre at the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres, the Chic Cabaret experience in Costa Mujeres, Riviera Ma...
Oct 19, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 24
On this episode of the Modern Travel Agent podcast, I cover some of the latest and most relevant travel news from the past few weeks which includes: -Record numbers of arrivals in the Dominican Republic. -Some temporary and more long-term closures and renovations due to Hurricane Fiona. -The removal of Covid testing in some major Caribbean Islands. -A delayed opening for a brand new resort in Playa del Carmen. -A pilot program for online passport renewal in the US. -Two different strategic partn...
Oct 14, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In order to have a successful travel agency business, you have to be able to open, close, and scale. You have to open the opportunity, typically with a pitch explaining how you can solve your client’s problem. You have to close the sale, because the longer you wait, the more likely they’re going to fall off and take their business elsewhere; and you have to scale, because you can’t run your business the same way with 500 clients that you did with 5. This episode is a quick look at how you can im...
Aug 16, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 22
On this episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast, I sit down with Daniela Ocampo Morales and Stefany Jones of Palladium Hotel Group. Daniela is Regional Weddings Sr Manager América, and she has 15 years of experience in the wedding industry. Stefany is the Director of Retail Affairs, and she has 18 years of experience at prominent travel providers with a focus on account management, marketing and business development. We discuss destination weddings including some of the top wedding venues at ...
Aug 15, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 21
We can all be set in our ways, but when it comes to business, being rigid can mean losing customers and money. In this episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast, I discuss some of the most common ways I was leaving money on the table by being stubborn, but more importantly, I share how I started to make more money in less time by realizing my mistakes, changing my mindset, and adopting a more flexible approach when working with my clients. This episode is brought to you by our partnership with ...
Aug 13, 2022•9 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The first thing I tell every travel agent starting in this industry is, “It’s all about relationships.” It’s about our relationships with our clients, because they have other options to book travel. They have to choose us. It’s about our relationships with other agents, because travel agents, more than any industry I’ve seen, are about community over competition with an understanding that there’s enough for all of us, and that we’re all way better off collaborating and supporting one another tha...
Jul 27, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 19
The most common challenge for travel agents and travel agency owners is getting new clients, and while there are a million different ways you can market your travel agency, the most consistent and proven method I’ve found is word of mouth. It’s all about giving your clients a great experience, and then having them refer their friends and family to you. In this episode, I’m going to share a three step process you can implement to increase the number of referrals you receive for your travel agency...
Jul 26, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 18
This episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast covers 10 experiences that you can recommend to your clients visiting Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We all have clients who visit a destination but never step foot off the resort, and ultimately, it’s their vacation and their choice; but as a travel advisor, if you’re not pushing your clients to get out and experience what the destination has to offer, then your clients are going to end up missing a huge part of what it means to visit that destin...
Jun 30, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 17
For those of you who struggle to set boundaries with your clients, I’m going to share some tips that will make this process much easier. This isn’t an episode on mindset where I tell you to fake it ‘til you make it. That type of assertiveness training can work, but it takes much longer to implement. I’m going to share some simple ways for you to frame your boundaries to your clients, which will make it easier for you to do and make it less likely that they’ll try to bulldoze. I’m also going to s...
Mar 30, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Communication is everything, and using the “Show & Tell” Method of Communication is a great way to insure your clients can envision your product and service in a tangible way and understand why each component is relevant specifically to them. I discuss the “Show & Tell” Method of Communication and how you can use it to help grow your business on Episode 15 of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast. This episode is brought to you by Palladium Hotel Group. One of the reasons we love working with ...
Mar 29, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 15
This episode is all about streamlining the process for how you and your team reply to emails and inquiries. Whether you're answering questions about passport requirements, safety while traveling internationally or you're explaining the value of your services, you’re probably answering many of the same questions over and over again. This is why I recommend that you create an FAQ document of frequently asked questions, where you and your team share your answers to the most common questions that yo...
Mar 01, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 14
If you’re interested in a simple system that will help you improve your process and save you time, then this is going to be a great episode for you. Every agent wants more time, but when you’re in the whirlwind of replying to emails, returning calls, making reservations, and dealing with travel emergencies, it’s hard to set aside the time needed to look at your process and figure out ways to improve it. That is why this system is so helpful, because whether you have 20 minutes or several hours, ...
Feb 28, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 13
One of the most challenging parts of being a travel agent is de-escalating negative situations with unhappy clients. After 12 years in the industry, I’ve interacted with a lot of clients, some of which were unhappy, to put it mildly, and I feel like I’ve learned a ton throughout this process on what works and what doesn’t work, so on this episode, I’m going to share with you some of the tips I learned on how to de-escalate negative situations with unhappy clients. This episode is sponsored by Pa...
Feb 22, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 12
If you’re sick of getting ghosted by your clients, then this episode is for you. I’m going to share a six step process I implemented that made a huge difference in increasing my closing percentage and reducing the number of my clients who disappeared throughout the travel planning process. Every travel agent knows that there’s nothing more frustrating than spending weeks or months making recommendations, discussing options, answering questions, going back and forth over text, email or phone, jus...
Feb 17, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On this episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast, I cover antigen Covid testing policies for the major resort brands that we book in Mexico and the Caribbean including Palladium, Posadas, Blue Diamond, AIC, AMR Collection, Sandos, Karisma, Playa, and Atelier. I cover two primary questions for each resort brand. 1. Is the Covid-19 antigen test included at no cost by the resort? If not, what is the cost of the test? 2. What happens if you or your clients test positive in destination? All of the ...
Jan 03, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 10
On this episode of the Modern Travel Agent Podcast, I sit down with Erika Almaraz who is a Regional Senior Weddings Manager for Palladium Hotel Group in America. Erika has 15 year of experience in the Destination Wedding industry, working in destinations like Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. She has a hotel management degree and is a true believer in Simon Sinek’s theory of starting with why. She’s applied this theory in her practice to build wedding teams and convert clients into Pa...
Dec 23, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Originally published November 21, 2021: The ALGV Ascend Conference returned to Cancun, Mexico in a big way this past October with over 400 travel agents, 200 representatives from over 100 partner companies, and 65 ALGV staff to make sure everything ran smoothly. It was such a great experience to see so many familiar faces and to be surrounded by so much positivity and gratitude. There was a lot of information presented over 2 full days of workshops, but for this episode, I recap just a few of my...
Dec 23, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 8
On this episode, we speak with Nuit Hernandez who is a Director of Sales with Marival Resorts. Marival Resorts owns three properties on the Pacific coast of Mexico; in Nuevo Vallarta, they have two properties, Marival Emotions & Marival Distinct, and they have their new luxury hotel in Punta de Mita, Marival Armony. On the destination side, we discuss Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, and all three Marival properties. On the business and sales side, we cover the importance of agent education,...
Sep 16, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 7
On this episode of The Modern Travel Agent Podcast, we speak with Todd Kirlik who is a Senior Director with Sunwing Travel Group. Sunwing Travel Group is a 17,000 employee vertically integrated travel company with brands at the level of tour operator, airline, hotel, destination management, and retail. We do a lot of business with Sunwing, but the majority of it is done through their resort brand Blue Diamond Resorts. Blue Diamond Resorts is the sponsor of this episode, and if you’re an agent wh...
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode, we sit down with Charlie Thompson who is the regional sales manager at Norwegian Cruise Line. Charlie was born into travel with his mom being a veteran of the cruise industry. Charlie started his travel career right out of college while working as a youth staff member on a cruise ship based in Shanghai. From there he went on to work for a well respected host agency, helping build a curriculum for new agents to sell travel. He’s worked as a BDM with The Mark Travel Corporation ov...
May 14, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In today’s episode, we interview Luke Majewski who is the Business Development Manager for AIC Hotel Group. Luke shares his insights on how agents can maximize their social media and referral programs to drive new business. He shares tools and resources that he uses to manage his social media accounts and what he sees the top agencies doing differently. Social Media Resources: https://canva.com/ https://aichotelgroup.mediavalet.com/ https://snapseed.online/ To connect with Luke: https://www....
Apr 23, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In today’s episode, we interview Mary Jo Salas who is the Central Southwest Business Development Manager for AMResorts. Mary Jo’s career in the travel industry started 11 years ago when she answered an ad in the newspaper for a bilingual marketing associate. Since then, her passion for travel has led her to representing one of the largest all-inclusive resort brands in the world. Mary Jo shares what she believes the most successful travel agencies are doing differently, and she gives her advice ...
Mar 25, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In today’s episode, we interview Itzel Rodriguez who is the Director of Weddings at Modern Destination Weddings. Itzel shares with us what she’s learned over the past twelve years in the wedding industry, assisting with over 700 weddings. Itzel reveals some great ways that agents can connect with wedding couples and forge strong partnerships with onsite wedding teams. She also talks about the importance of setting boundaries and managing expectations with wedding couples. Whether you are a veter...
Feb 25, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Ready to take your travel agency to the next level? Transform the way you work with Trazel - the CRM custom-tailored for travel advisors. Visit Trazel.com to learn more! An introduction to podcast hosts and brothers, Chris & Tim, as they discuss the importance of travel agents and the lessons they’ve learned over the past 14 years of running a successful travel business. We recorded this episode prior to the January 12th announcement by the CDC regarding their new COVID testing policies. In ...
Jan 19, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1
