The travel advisor panel discussion at this year’s Dream Vacations/CruiseOne National Conference provided peer-to-peer tips you’ll want to keep top of mind as we head into 2025. Dawn Gillis, Dream Vacations’ Director of Network Sales and Support, moderated the discussion, which included franchise owners Melissa Cohn, Lou Maldonado, John Morris, Jessica Slater and Brad Oakes.
Learnings from 2024
The panel of travel advisors agreed that 2024 saw very strong bookings, with clients opting for grander vacations, such as opting for “trips to Ireland and the Lower Danube,” noted Maldonado. “Our clients are traveling differently,” he said. Oakes agreed with Maldonado and added that “2024 has been a great year. The clients are really spending money.” In fact, Morris was surprised by the “explosive sales in 2024. That’s the most surprising thing from this year.”
Clients might be going bigger, but they’re still planning close in, said both Slater and Cohn. They’re booking as close in as six weeks, traveling to Europe and all over the world, noted Slater, with Cohn adding, “The demand for last-minute high-end high-value bookings has been insane. I got a call in September [for an] October [booking] with a very large budget. If somebody tells you they want to do a last-minute booking, go for it but let them know prices will be higher. Those can become your next great client.”
Advice for New-to-Industry for Building Supplier Relationships
All travel advisors agree that building a special relationship with suppliers is crucial to helping grow your business. “[Suppliers] want you to go up to them, get to know them. Add a personal touch [during the conversation] to set yourself apart from everyone else. They attend conferences to help you grow, so utilize them,” said Cohn. In fact, noted Slater, regularly communicating with suppliers “is key. It helps to build trust. You should definitely participate in their webinars to learn more about the product.”
Morris also noted that suppliers who you have a one-on-one relationship with “will care about your business,” with Oakes adding that “building that relationship is important because when you need something you know who to reach out to. They’ll drop everything they’re doing to get you what you need. Building that relationship [with suppliers] is as important as the customers.” Added Maldonado, “Understand who your clients are and who you think your top suppliers may be.”
Clients want immediate responses. They’ll message you; they’ll text you; they’ll call you and if you don’t respond quick enough, they’ll go to someone else. I pride myself on my response time. The faster you give them the information, the more likely they’ll interact with you. — Melissa Cohn
Tips on Time Management
No surprise that all five advisors say handling their time efficiently is a challenge, with Maldonado pointing to having “a solid routine” as paramount for staying organized and on top of the workload. Added Oakes, “Cruise lines have already opened their 2027 itineraries, and if you don’t start thinking two years out, you’re making a mistake. Get out and get in front of it.”
“Time management is paramount but it’s difficult,” said Morris. “As the calls come in, you readjust your schedule 10 times a day. I’m getting better at time management with clients; I have to draw a line at the end of the day. If I lose a client because I didn’t call them overnight, I’ve learned to accept that a little better. If they’re waiting for the last minute, I have to push away from that.”
Added Slater, “Boundaries. Last year, I said I was going to set boundaries and I did. My office hours are 9 to 5; it’s not their office hours either. I also don’t have office hours over the weekend anymore. I think it’s important to set boundaries because you’re important too.”
Be consistent in whatever [marketing] tool you use. If you like social media you need to post daily; you need to be consistent. — Jessica Slater
Cohn also says she’s stopped scheduling new client calls over the weekend. “The one thing I do every night before I shut down the computer is I make a list, so that the next day I can start fresh. I sleep better knowing I have a tentative plan for the next day…until that phone rings again. It helps clear my head.”
