The travel industry is one of the hardest-hit sectors from COVID-19, but as you know, it’s also one of the most adaptable and resilient industries. We've survived crises in the past, and we will survive this one.
We’re all making adjustments and slowly beginning to understand what the new normal will be. In the spirit of keeping our strong sense of community alive, we’ve asked Travel Advisors to share their advice about how to deal with the current situation. Here’s our pick of the top 10 words of advice from Travel Advisors:
1. Be Patient. There’s no wonder they say “patience is a virtue.” Travel Advisor Cindy Lee (
Mt. Airy Travel) reminds us all to find our patience, especially to “be patient with suppliers and with clients. This is all new to everyone so no need to panic or be abusive to anyone… Agents need to be the voice of calm and reassurance for clients.
2. Maintain Client Loyalty. Your clients will remember the great service you provide. Even though plans have changed and the future is unknown, you can still keep your clients loyal. As Stephanie Serino (
Tzell Travel Group) tells us about putting clients first, “it will pay off eventually. It hurts to cancel everything, but if you handle this crisis with grace and efficiency, you will gain a lifelong loyal client.”
3. Stay Positive. Keeping your head up when faced with adversity is a tough one, but it’s an important part of resiliency. As Cathy Rowland (
Amore Travel Designs) puts it, “don’t create panic, provide facts and information, and positivity. This too will pass. We will travel again soon. Inspiration will be amazing once we get to travel again. Think of your waivers as a “paid vacation” for when this is all over. We will all need it.”
4. Wait & See. First and foremost, read the fine print and understand the cancellation policy. Once you understand that, Cindy Lee says “I'm encouraging all of my clients to wait until the last minute for their trip to see if it is canceled by the supplier, a closed country or something similar. Clients are getting much better reimbursements if they wait and don't cancel out of fear. So far, I've only had one client lose money and that was because they panicked and didn't wait until the supplier canceled her trip. If she had just held out a few more days, she would have gotten all of her money back. We don't know what the future cancellation policies will be, but for now, this "wait and see" approach is working.” (
Author Note: This was not a Project Expedition booking!)5. Keep Calm. There’s never been a better time to break out the “Keep Calm & Carry On” t-shirt! As Elizabeth Westman (
Westman Travel) puts it, it’s important to “be there for your clients. I know we are all stressed, worrying about lost income, and even worried about our own family’s safety but try not to let that come through in the way you handle communication with your clients. Even when they get upset, if we stay calm and level headed we often can help them navigate these completely uncharted waters… We are in very rough seas but we are not on the Titanic.”
6. Take Advantage of the Pause. If you find yourself with more free time, take advantage of it to set yourself up for the future by focusing on how to make your business stand out when everyone is ready to travel again. Cathy Rowland shared four great ideas on how to use the pause:
i) Do your weekly newsletter to stay fresh in the mind of clients.
ii) Learn a new destination or increase your supplier training.
iii) Tighten up your systems. How can you be more efficient?
iv) Improve your website, create content, or spend time rebranding ready for when travel returns.
7. Stay Organized. The world is quite a mess right now. While you can’t control the chaos in the world, you can start at work by keeping everything organized and in order. Some great advice from Elizabeth Westman is to “document, document, document. People are upset. They may threaten your business. You need to have all your ducks in a row. If you haven’t done the appropriate waivers/forms in the past, don’t just assume it is all over. Start now. We can learn from our past mistakes so our business runs even better on the other side of this.”
8. Support Those That Support You. It’s simple - you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. However, if your back scratcher refuses you a refund and starts being difficult to work with, it’s time to find a new back scratcher. As Elizabeth Westman says “remember the suppliers, like Project Expedition, that are working so well with you during this tough time. They are who we should support on the other side of this crisis. Working with partners that are always in your corner is the only way to protect yourself from future trials. We are in this together but that means we have to remember them in the future if we want them to continue to be around to serve us the way they have been.”
9. Let Yourself Shine! You’re amazing! Remind your clients just how great it is that they have your personal service and that you’re taking care of them. Let your skills shine as a Travel Advisor. Cathy Rowland shares that “with using a travel advisor, you are getting all that personal service, even in your rescheduling of your vacations during these trying times. All the more reason to use an advisor vs online search engines to book your vacations.” And as Suz Haire (
All Travel Company) reminds us all, “THIS is what makes us different from consumer websites! Embrace the fact that as much as the situation sucks, your clients are looking to you for guidance and for help…. and nothing will make them more loyal than you standing beside them, supporting them, and helping them through this uncertain time!”
10. “Stock up on wine and chocolate (never mind TP and Purell)” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Stephanie Serino! In addition to treating yourself with wine & chocolate, a few more wise words come from Cathy Rowland: “Take care of you. Take a walk every day, eat healthier meals, sleep more…. while this is hard on us all, and we are going to be feeling the effects for some time to come, we are also taking a “pause” on our rush rush, hustle and bustle lives (forced of course) but it’s a great time to reconnect with family, spend time together, maybe pick up that hobby you thought you were going to do and then didn’t have time, or read that book that’s been on the bedside table for the last 6 months. Before we know it, we will all be rushing around again and too busy, so this time together could be greatly needed.”
Travel can take us to amazing places, but it’s about bringing people together and sharing moments with each other. While we wait for travel to return, we encourage you to keep our travel community strong by continuing to share moments with each other virtually or socially distanced.
Stay safe,
Mike & the Project Expedition Team
Special thanks to our contributors: Cathy Rowland (
Amore Travel Designs), Cindy Lee (
Mt. Airy Travel), Elizabeth Westman (
Westman Travel), Stephanie Serino (
Tzell Travel Group), Suz Haire (
All Travel Company)
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