What Does a Family Travel Adivsor Do?

I’m going to let you in on an “industry secret…”

When you get a group of travel professionals together, it’s not uncommon for us to ask each other what type of title they use. You may be most familiar with “travel agent,” but many of us feel that doesn’t adequately capture what it is we do. We become travel advisors, travel consultants, travel designers or any number of creative titles that attempt to convey what we do for our clients.

It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves; there is no way to describe what we do each day in a title.

You may be wondering what exactly it is we do? What do we bring to the table that you wouldn’t get by booking your vacation online? As a Certified Autism Travel Professional and a mother to a son who was diagnosed at age 5, I bring not only my professional knowledge but my own personal experiences so you can have that family vacation that works for your whole family.

Here are just a few of the things we do for our clients…

We are great listeners.

This is one of the most essential skills for a travel advisor to have. We listen to what you say when you talk about your vacations. We ask questions to get a better idea of your tastes, likes, and preferences.

Which Cruise Line is the best for you, not your neighbor

We pay close attention so that we can get a clear picture of your needs, concerns, issues, and expectations. It’s crucial for us to understand these things so we can best anticipate your needs and make the best recommendations for you.

We are master troubleshooters!

It’s our job to take care of all of the nitty gritty details of your trip and to manage the whole thing from start to finish.

We’re here to help you out if things don’t go as planned. If you run into travel delays or any issue, you can look to us to sort it out for you. Because of our vast industry connections, we are often able to resolve things much faster than you could on your own.

We pride ourselves on our attention to detail.

We love putting together the pieces of your travel itinerary as if it were a big, beautiful puzzle! We make recommendations for things that will provide you with an added layer of convenience, security, or simply to surprise and delight you.

How about a day trip to Neuschwanstein? The inspiration for the castle at Magic Kingdom?

We’ll take care of the mundane details like keeping track of important dates, paperwork requirements, and other logistics. It’s our job to make sure your vacation is seamless and that you don’t have to worry about any of the things that can make travel stressful or frustrating.

Did you know your passport needs to be current up to 6 months after your return date? I'll let you know if you need to renew before your trip.

We’re continually building our network to benefit YOU.

From connecting with other travel professionals with expertise in specific types of travel, destinations, or properties to meeting the general manager and sales managers or places we visit, we are always working to create connections that can help us take better care of our clients.

With the General Manager of Sandals Barbados & Royal Barbados Resorts

Since no travel professional can have personal experience for every destination, we use our colleagues when we need to. If we haven’t been to that specific city you want to visit, there is someone on our contact list who has… and who can give us the inside scoop and direct us to the hidden gems you won’t want to miss.

We spend a significant amount of time… and money… traveling to do site inspections and research new destinations. While that may sound glamorous, and you may have been a little jealous when you saw our Instagram photos from fabulous places, it really is work! 

Quick stop to kiss the Blarney Stone on a trip with a supplier in Ireland

We took those fantastic pictures during the very brief downtime we had in a day spent walking the resort with a sales manager and touring multiple different room options, getting a walk-through of the spa (alas, no treatments for us!), the pools, the kids activities, the restaurants, and sitting through a lengthy sales seminar.

No swim up bar for me, site inspections at 3 resorts. Grand Velas Resort.

We do this so we get to check out places you may want to visit, but also to meeting and get to know the staff. An email sent to a general manager we know personally may result in a complimentary bottle of wine.

We work for YOU.

We work with various travel partners and suppliers to book your vacation, but we work FOR you. Should anything go wrong during your travels, we go to bat for you. We represent your needs and your interests… and we know who to call to get things fixed. 

When a major cruise line had issues with 2 ships this year, I found other options for my clients with other cruise lines, so my clients could take their vacation that week. That "personal vaacation specialist" that is an employee with that resort or cruise line is going to do what's best for their employer, not  you.

We are in your corner from the time your vacation is booked until you arrive safely back home. 

We consider you a friend.

You aren’t just a client. We consider you a friend… or even like a member of our own family, and we take care of you the same way we would a friend or family member.

We smile when we see your name on our caller ID. We think about your bad knee when we plan your itinerary. We remember that you love to play tennis when you travel.

And like a good friend… we don’t hold back when we give you our advice. We won’t hesitate to tell you when we think you might be making a mistake. If you come to us with a suggestion that we believe might not meet your expectation… we’ll let you know. We’ll let you know when it makes sense to spend a little more to get a better experience, and which corners you can cut without having a negative impact on your vacation.

Another little secret I’ll let you in on… we absolutely love hearing from you about your experience. It makes our day when you text us from your vacation to show us the amazing view from the hotel we recommended. It delights us when we you send us photos of your kids enjoying the activities we put together for you.

We look forward to checking in with you when you get back home… and we are so appreciative when you reach out to us to plan your next vacation or recommend our services to your friends and family.

Ready to start planning your next getaway? The perfect vacation begins with scheduling your complimentary consultation. Click here to request a time forus to talk. We’ll discuss the details and what you are looking for. I’ll give you my suggestions and explain how we can best work together to plan the vacation of your dreams.