With what appears to be the worst of the coronavirus crisis behind the U.S., travel advisors are ready for a comeback — but they want to come back differently. They have spent the last 15 months reevaluating their businesses and work habits, considering things like productivity, service fees and more. This week, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada talk about that and more with industry coach Geraldine Ree.
And, an announcement: This week’s episode is the season one finale of Trade Secrets. We’ll be going on hiatus for the remainder of the year, but we will be back in the beginning of 2022. Look for us then, and in the meantime, feel free to get in touch by emailing tradesecrets@travelweekly.com!

In this episode:

1:32 - Meet Geraldine Ree, coach to travel advisors and agency executives
2:14 - Tackling productivity and social media in today’s busy, busy world
4:30 - The story behind Geraldine’s book, “Flying Colors: The Travel Advisor’s Guide to Breakthrough”
6:04 - How Geraldine, Emma and Jamie structure their days to be productive (sneak peek: Geraldine uses zones, and Emma and Jamie are obsessed with lists)
9:49 - Social media can be overwhelming. Why not try a deep dive into one platform, like Danny Genung did with YouTube?
13:53 - Fees, fees and more fees! Should you charge them? How do you start?
23:13 - Luxury and upselling - now is the time
28:43 - What is the role of the travel advisor, especially as former online travel agency customers move to working with humans? How can advisors take advantage of this?


Further resources:
Geraldine’s website
And her book, “Flying Colors: The Travel Advisor’s Guide to Breakthrough”
How travel advisors can effectively market — and earn money — through YouTube
California agency owner cultivates YouTube following
Coronavirus crisis underscores value of travel agency service fees
How travel agencies are rethinking fee structures
Advisors getting comfortable with charging fees
Behold, ten commandments for travel advisors
Travel Weekly’s 2021 Power List
What to know about luxury travel in 2021 and beyond
The upside of upselling

Need advice?
Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com

Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
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