As a Dream Vacations Franchise Owner, you love to travel and know a thing or two about following your dreams! You’ve researched how to get into the travel business, chosen your ideal franchise and you now belong to one of the most trusted travel companies in the industry, so it’s time for you to get some travel agent tips when you start your travel agent training.
Now, the fun work begins! You’ll cover topics like how to create a business plan for a travel agency and how to use all your new marketing and promotional tools offered to you by headquarters. You’ll also learn how to grow your business, especially if you plan to build your team of Dream Vacations Travel Advisors within your franchise.
Running a successful travel business starts with finishing a training and certification program. The next steps are the many seemingly small actions and habits that you will develop and will make the difference between giving an average or an amazing experience for your customers. To help you succeed, we’ve made a list of our top five travel agent tips to help you find, land and hold on to your dream clients.
1. Be Organized
The best franchise owners always have at least one finger on the pulse of the overall market, and they know where to find the best flights, car rentals, cruises, hotels, shows and restaurants at any given time. They also have the tools and technology in place to keep that information up to date. To be the best in the business, you also have to understand your customers’ budgets and timelines so you can match them with the best deals.
As a Dream Vacations Franchise Owner, you’re already one step ahead of the competition because you have access to our virtual business center with unlimited resources, training and documentation. You’ll also be part of a network of other amazing travel business owners who will support you on your business journey. There’ll be a lot of information, so you’ll need to find a way to catalog it that works for you. Remember, you’re only as great as your expertise – so be sure to add to your knowledge base as much as possible!
2. Pay Attention to Details
An amazing travel consultant focuses on more than just getting the dates, times and locations right. They also recognize the unique needs of each client, ensuring a personalized service to create a one-of-a-kind trip. This helps increase customer satisfaction and maintain client retention.
Be sure to take notes when you speak to your clients – it’s ok to ask if they’re planning a special occasion while they’re away! If they are celebrating something, such as a birthday or anniversary, surprise them with a special treat during their trip. This will elevate their experience from good to amazing – and remind them how brilliant you are at booking vacations!
3. Create a Personal Connection With Your Clients
Great travel business owners work on creating lasting relationships with their clients before, during and after the booking stage. Be sure to follow up once the booking is made, even if the price of their vacation has dropped. Talk about being a vacation hero when you call your clients to let them know you’re able to save them even more money!
One of the top travel agent tips is to not forget to check in with your traveler after their trip. Find out what their favorite moments were and what they’d like to do again. This will help you know what to recommend to personalize their next trip. Building a meaningful relationship creates a truly memorable experience, leads to valuable referrals, and will keep your clients coming back again and again.
4. Specialize in a Specific Market or Niche
Many travel business owners have found that specialization and limiting your market is the key to success. Providing services for everyone and everything can be complicated, but having a niche makes it easier for the right type of clients to find you.
When people have questions about the market you specialize in, they’ll always come to you for advice. Do you love Europe? Are you a connoisseur of cruises? Do you know everything there is to know about round-the-world trips or romantic getaways? By specializing, you’ll get more referrals, increase the quality of your leads and keep your business profitable.
5. Continually Market Yourself and Your Services
Successful entrepreneurs understand that marketing is an ongoing, long-term project. A good marketing strategy helps keep up a steady flow of new customers, as well as build loyalty and repeat bookings from your existing client base. Some fun ideas to mix up your marketing include:
- Update your social feeds regularly. Stimulate engagement by asking your followers to comment, share stories or vote in a poll.
- Encourage travelers to share their travel pictures; perhaps pick a theme each month and give a prize for the best one.
- Offer a loyalty program that rewards customers for repeat bookings or referrals.
- Run a competition to build up your email list or address database.
- Follow up with your clients after their holiday, and if you feel you’ve delivered a good service, always ask for a review!
Become One of the Best by Working with the Best
Becoming a travel agent franchise owner is a fun and unique journey. With Dream Vacations, you’ll be working with one of the best travel agency franchise opportunities in the world. You’ll have access to the on-demand training, the exclusive products and the best support network in the business! Plus, we invest more than $4 million in marketing and promotions every year, so you can continue to build your amazing franchise and grow your client base.
We’re always on hand to offer advice with travel agent tips to make your travel business dreams come a reality. Get started today and learn how Dream Vacations can help you become one of the most trusted travel franchise owners in the business.
