Jamie Biesiada
There are many benefits of a travel advisor experiencing products and destinations firsthand.
It’s always easier to sell what you know. Sharing on social media sparks interest among clients. In-person meetings with general managers and other supplier representatives are hard to replace with virtual ones.
But how do you balance working and traveling at the same time, especially when it’s a longer trip?
That’s the question facing Karen Urosevich, founder of Well Placed Travel in Dallas, who will take off on a monthlong journey to Australia, New Zealand and Bali later this month.
It’s also a question any advisor, especially someone relatively new to the industry, might have if they’re planning a longer-term trip, so I sought some advice from readers.
Jared Wexler, of Love LV Travel in Hackensack, N.J., shared his advice for being on the road: “Make sure your clients know the time differences, and bring earbuds and be prepared to make phone calls anywhere, any time.”
I’ll add to that: bonus if your earbuds offer noise cancellation. That’s been a personal travel game-changer for me since I sprung for my first pair a few years ago.
Valerie Mahoney, of Live Your Life Travel in New Jersey (shoutout to my fellow Jersians!), described working while traveling as “truly a balance of structure and spontaneity.”
Organizing days is key, Mahoney said, ensuring you have time for exploration and fun.
“It’s also great business sense,” she added.
Proactive client communication is important, said Sharon Perry of Perry Travel Advisors in Wisconsin. Perry last year did back-to-back cruises around New Zealand and Australia; she was away for more than a month, but business carried on without a problem.
Perry notified clients that she would be out of the office and only communicating via email. On the cruises, she had her laptop to keep in touch, send out travel documents and make payments. She also posted regularly on her business Facebook account; that not only generated buzz among her clients but ended in several bookings to the region.
Helen Buckner is a senior advisor with Ciao Bambino. While technically based in Houston, Buckner and her husband are traveling full time in an RV, trying to see all the states, national parks and Canadian provinces. She also spends five weeks in Europe most years, moving every day or two to see as much as possible and try out new routes for clients to take.
October, she said, is typically slower workwise, with fewer crowds in Europe.
“I’ll be perfectly honest …. It is not easy to travel for that long, moving constantly and also keeping up with clients’ requests,” Buckner said.
She often asks clients to hold non-immediate trip requests until her return, but will deal with festive season bookings on the road.
For her, the juggling is worth it: “Nothing beats seeing properties firsthand,” she said. “It makes all the difference in which client I recommend for each.”
Buckner recommended enjoying experiences during the day and dealing with any work that can’t wait in the evening.
“It’s possible to do it all, but you will need a few days to relax when you get home,” she said.
I also posed this question to Carrie Wallace, CEO of FamGuru, an app that helps advisors and suppliers plan, organize and document fam trips. Wallace is also the owner of Cerulean World Travel in Chicago, and a few years ago she spent three months working from the south of France, keeping up with clients while exploring the country and studying French.
She offered a few pieces of advice that I’d like to share verbatim:
• Stay put when possible. Even two or three nights in one place makes a big difference. Constant moving is draining, and a slightly longer stay allows you to better absorb the destination — and carve out time for work and play.
• Define daily non-negotiables. Each morning, identify the two to three client tasks that must get done. With so much stimulation in a new destination, it’s easy to let business slide.
• Use transit time wisely. Flights, trains and long transfers can be a gift, perfect for inbox triage, proposals or bigger-picture thinking.
• Consider a virtual assistant. An extra 10 hours a week can free you from busywork, letting you stay present on the ground and focus your limited work time where it matters most.
• Capture what you learn. Have a system — FamGuru, journaling, whatever works — to record insights from each site inspection and day. Otherwise, details blur and hotel photos start to look the same.
• Share with clients along the way. Social posts are great, but a quick photo and message to a specific client — “You’d love it here” — adds a personal touch. Those small gestures can spark interest and deepen relationships.
Thanks to everyone who shared their advice, and good luck to any advisors hitting the road long-term.
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