Articles tagged “travel advisors”

The owner of Rogue Experiences is a good example of the way that travel advisors, for whom travel is often a second career, can draw on past experiences to reinvent themselves in a fulfilling way.

Will Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Virgin Voyages, two high-end and newbie cruise lines, be able to attract passengers who have never chosen a cruise vacation? The two brands are counting on it.

Travel advisors need to reinvent how they market themselves. It's not about service fees anymore. Forward-thinking agents sell service packages — unabashedly.

Luxury travel advisors are experts at planning a five-star vacation for their clients, but agents are more frequently being asked to add a more local element to their plans. A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into making sure these experiences go off without a hitch.

Consultant Nolan Burris is a pioneer in advocating that travel agencies charge service fees. Now that the practice has become standard, Burris says many agencies have failed to realize the revenue potential of service packages and need to overhaul their approach.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, controlled by opposing parties, will be at loggerheads over many issues related to both the travel industry and travelers. However, there will be plenty of wiggle room, if not on airplanes with reduced passenger legroom, then in the halls of Congress, where some legislation will undoubtedly get done.

As a travel advisor focusing on the entertainment industry, Amy Keeling has been practicing personalization for years, although not in the way the tech world thinks about it. Keeling has become an expert in ensuring comfort for her roster of rock bands as she learned their unique preferences over the last 25 years.

The closer relationship between the American Society of Travel Advisors and its subsidiary, the renamed ASTA Small Business Network, promises greater visibility for independents with consumers. However, the real winner may be the parent organization, given the growing importance of the independent sector.

Flight Centre founder Scroo Turner must be wondering what it takes to keep the market happy. His company reported revenue and profit growth, but still its shares were slashed, with traders wiping more than $50 million off its value.

Travel agents (or advisors) were supposed to go the way of the fax machine. But in the internet era, they've managed to find ways to fight back.