Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Disney On a Budget

My first travel request came a mere two months into my “becoming a travel agent” transformation. With a few training classes under my belt, I figured I was ready. Ha, little did I know what I was in for.

Here was my new client’s (hopefully) wishlist:
1. A visit to Disney World for entire family of five.
2. Perhaps a Disney cruise instead.
3. Better yet, combine the two-yes, Disney does this. It’s called a Land and Sea Package.
4. He didn’t want to pay more than about $5,000! (No, that number isn’t a typo)
5. And the best part? He wanted to travel during Easter break!

The travel industry knows there are several times during the year when the majority of people travel, and wanting to take advantage of as many people as possible, they raise their prices through the
roof. Those times are:

1. The summer months
2. Over the Christmas break
3. Easter/Summer Break

About 72 hours later, hair and nails chewed to nubs, I had to report back to this gentleman that what he wished for was entirely impossible. He calmly informed me that he knew that already because he had shopped around himself, but just wanted to see if I had any good deals to pass along. After much growling and gnashing of teeth, I realized I had learned several things during this process:

1. Not every quote will turn into a sale.
2. How to ask my fellow agents for help.
3. Where to go on the web to find information.

Even though you haven’t asked, I’m going to share with you a little of what I learned:

Land and Sea Packages-itinerary
Nassau
More Nassau
Passport Information
Disney's private island-Castaway Cay

You might be asking yourself, "Why is she giving me this information because now I can go book this myself and I don't need a travel agent". I'll tell you something else I've learned. Most people don't enjoy spending hours on the computer searching for travel information, but I do and have for years. Also, if you book this trip yourself through an online booking website, who will you call when something goes wrong? If you had booked through me like you should have done originally, you would call me. This brings me to another tidbit I recently learned. When I call a supplier (hotel, airline, etc.) with a request or problem, I just get a different vibe or feeling as a travel agent than I did when I was just a lonely only traveler. Wouldn't you rather have someone like me on your side when things go wrong?

Another common question, "Won't it cost me more to book through a travel agent?" Actually, no it won't. I only get paid when I make travel arrangements for a client and then I'm paid by the supplier. So, I'll say it again-Wouldn't you rather have someone like me on your side?

Until next time..

luv2travelwithme




Monday, December 29, 2008

Hotels, Cruises and Rental Cars-Can I Do This?

Becoming a travel agent had long been on my list of "things I have to do before I die" and there I was, actually accomplishing it. Soon I'd be booking those hotels, cruises, and rental cars. Little did I know my voyage had just begun and that it was to be a long one, filled with endless nights where I wanted to tear my hair out because I ...Calm down, we'll get to all that later. I tend to ramble and get ahead of myself.
Remember the previous post when I said that a travel agent assists people with their travel arrangements and actually gives advice if needed. Aha, I knew there would be a catch, a kink in the chain of events leading up to my new profession. I gotta get some education! Lucky for me, my host agency, (I just can't say enough good things about them) have at times performed a role much like a parent, attempting to guide me as I first crawled, then walked and fell what to me felt like a gazillion times.
There was so much to learn. Just look at this list:

Every cruise line has their own course, guaranteed to making booking cruises a piece of cake. As long as you have a representative on the phone while you're filling in blanks on the computer as your client patiently waits and you're praying they don't realize this is your first cruise booking and you're sweating buckets inside. Did someone say piece of cake?
Moving on, when was the last time you visited Disney World? There are so many options to consider-like do you want to stay on Disney property and get to ride the Disney bus from the airport and not have to fight the multitudes of van-driving parents with their throngs of sugar-cranked-up kids, all with one thought on their minds. Have to be the first one in line so we can ride all the best rides first, therefore alleviating excessive line-waiting later in the day when everyone is cranky. If you want to be able to sell Disney properly, you must attend the Disney College of Knowledge!

Every destination and supplier has courses, all with the intent to prepare travel agents to better represent and hopefully sell their product. If I wanted to, I could spend 24 hours a day for months just taking advantage of all this (thank goodness a lot of it is free) training. Wears me out just thinking about it.
I have to stop right here and share something about myself. Those that know me well have adjusted and learned to live with my somewhat eccentric and bizarre behavior. I have ADHD. For those not up on the zany world of initials, it means Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. What exactly does this mean to me? I tend to start lots of projects, or travel agent classes, and then when something more interesting comes along, like getting another piece of cake, I lose interest in what I was previously doing, or just plain forget and move onto something else. So now I have about 10 or 15 classes begun but never finished. But I'm getting there, and I will get there someday. Where exactly is there? I always hear people talk about there like it's really a place, but I have yet to see there. I bet there's a class available and I'll just head on over to my agency chat list and ask everyone there if they know- oops, it happened again. Lost my train of thought. Or what usually happens, I got off the train to go to the bathroom and the train left me behind. I left my purse on that train. Would someone please call my husband because I need a ride home.

I Want To Be a Travel Agent!

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a travel agent assists people when making travel arrangements. They offer advice on destinations and make arrangements for transportation, hotels, car rentals and tours for their clients. Agents are also expected to know about and be able to advise travelers about their destinations. I could go on, but if you're really interested, read it here.

My quest for knowledge began approximately one year ago because of an innocent question by a co-worker. What would you be doing if you weren't working here? I didn't even have to give it a second or third thought and just blurted out-be a travel agent! That is how my search began. Fortunately for me, or so I thought at the time, my co-worker knew someone who had HIS OWN TRAVEL AGENCY and was looking for people just like me. I eagerly made the contact and was immediately invited to a meeting to be held at a local hotel, the purpose of which is to recruit others just like me who wanted to "assist people when making travel arrangements".
After arriving early for the meeting, (we were so anxious to get started), we were shown inside and met up with my contact. Approximately one hour later, (actually shorter because I'm a fast learner) I realized that this is not what I had envisioned myself doing as a travel agent. According to these folks, all we had to do was sign up, plunk down about $499 and we'd get our own website. Then we were automatically qualified to be called TRAVEL AGENTS and we'd get industry perks, get to travel like an agent does, which in their words meant cheaper. They actually issue these cards which all I had to do was flash at any hotel manager and we'd automatically get upgraded to the penthouse suite. Wow, who could resist all that? Actually, I could and did.

My search continued, mostly online. I discovered that there are many educational opportunities available to those pursuing a career as a travel agent. Not wishing to plunk down a large chunk of change before deciding if this is what I really want to do, I located what is called a
host company, signed up and it's been go-go-go ever since.