旅行者不知道的旅行社的真正秘密
经过Cheryl Rosen/
没有得到像negativ旅行社激怒了e story that just doesn’t have the facts straight. So, when one appeared this week, TMR asked some of our readers who are travel professionals to share their insider secrets about the life and job of a travel agent. Here are some of those responses.
旅行社从计划为您准备的完美旅行中获得了很高的声音。
"The energy from a client who is really excited about her upcoming trip is rather intoxicating. I strive to make sure the trip is going to not just meet your expectations, but exceed them. There is nothing better than when a client comes back glowing from a trip I recommended and thanks me for suggesting that hotel, or picking out the tour they didn't know existed, or mentioning the alternative cruise line with the personality that fit them to a tee. The internet can claim they have the most selections and the best prices, but none of that matters if it’s not what the client really wants."
—Cathy Udovch of Travelstore, Irvine, California
旅行社是一个秘密网络的成员。
“旅行社是世界上最牢固的人。他们与全球的酒店,度假村和旅游公司建立关系,以便他们可以为客户提供惊人的体验。我已经睡在我寄给您的酒店。我们的个人建议无价。”
- 德克萨斯州沃思堡CCRA旅行商业网络教育副总裁Margie Jordan
旅行社24/7全天候访问您的旅行数据,甚至不知道。
"I always call the hotel or cruise line, often a couple of times, to make sure all my clients’ information was relayed correctly. Travel agents have to be on their toes and do their due diligence to make sure all that information the client has entrusted to you gets to the right person — and often that doesn’t happen. At the end of the day, the last thing you need is for a guest to show up to check in and the hotel or cruise ship doesn’t have the information you sent them."
- 金伯利·波特(Kimberley Porter),俄克拉荷马州俄克拉荷马城的金伯利/旅行领导人的独立旅行顾问
旅行社可能会痛苦。
“我们花了几个小时为客户倡导……即使这意味着在旅行之前,期间或之后坐下来修复事情建立浮潜之旅,因为他们不想改变,然后去大厅排队等候。他们在第二天凌晨8点竭尽全力喝玛格丽塔酒在船上乘船上。”
—希瑟·班农(Heather Bannon),德克萨斯州凯蒂(Katy)的独特浪漫旅行和目的地婚礼的豪华旅行顾问
"I once called a cruise multiple times to have them delay leaving, as my client had landed at the airport and was en route to the port."
- Vicky Spencer Rouse,肯塔基州路易斯维尔V特殊需求度假的特殊需求旅行专家
“我联系每家酒店以介绍我的客户并要求VIP服务。”
—詹妮弗·丹佛斯(Jennifer Danvers
To a travel agent, every client is a VIP.
"My clients are VIPs to me, whether it's their first trip or their 15Th——一个nd a honeymoon is a personal investment for me. I take pride in being able to qualify clients correctly, matching their wants, needs, and budget with the perfect journey. I handle every detail and question before and during travel, including consultation calls, Q&A sessions for groups and destination weddings, Facebook groups and mixers for groups to get acquainted prior to travel, packing lists, to-do-before-you-go lists (stop mail, water plants), app and paper documents to review, 24-hour customer service during travel (text available as well); and step-by-step how-tos for navigating arrival at airports, transfer companies, and airports during immigration/customs processes, plus much more. I don't travel for free and I rarely take a vacation; I do travel often but it is always to attend a conference, training, tour properties, see and experience a new area so that I can better inform my clients and provide that top level of customer service."
- 伊利诺伊州布尔顿斯的Journeys Travel Inc.总裁Jeni Chaffer
旅行社比您了解更多。
"I wish clients understood the time we spend becoming educated on different brands for accommodations, cruises and destinations. We take years to build relationships with trusted vendors so we can provide the best services. Many of us take time out during the day for webinars and then work into the evening to get planning done for clients. We can tell you the trip your best friend took is not the trip for you."
- Adrienne Sasson,佛罗里达州马盖特的Rubinsohn Travel和Tikva Tours的旅行顾问
旅行社也有感情。
"It really hurts us personally when you book a trip yourself after we've spent hours researching something because you found it for $10 less."
- 新泽西州罗斯兰(Roseland)Profravel的豪华旅行顾问Jill Kallett Lustigman
旅行社是规则的棍子。
"If a client is planning an international trip, we make sure that their passports and visas are in compliance. We have "saved" several clients from being turned away at the airport over the past couple of years."
—Laura Small Avital,纽约Plainview Mill Brook Travel的所有者
旅行社是您当地的家族拥有的(通常是女性拥有的)业务,应得到您的支持。
“重要的是要支持旅行社作为当地企业,而不是让大公司赚钱。它也支持女性拥有的企业,这是如此重要。”
— Anne Gordon, leisure travel specialist at Live Life Travel in Saratoga Springs, New York
"When you support local businesses, you create a self-supportive family and allow our children to participate in extracurricular activities. There’s so many things that clients help us do when they support local and not just big corporations."
- 新斯科舍省达特茅斯的NICHE旅行集团旅行顾问Cheryl Lynn
旅行社喜欢他们的工作。
“我的客户不知道我本可以对我从未建议的其他河流巡游提出更高的佣金,因为这对他们不合适。他们不知道我在午夜起床并重新确认了他们的小屋是因为那是“大型销售”开始的时候,我知道他们为此节省了多长时间。最重要的是,他们不知道我有多喜欢通过它们旅行,因为我只是太忙了最近逃脱。”
—黎明·威廉姆斯·克劳(Dawn Williams Crowe),内华达州拉斯维加斯的Dawn Crowe Travel的经理