Commission cuts and the like may make you wonder if being an agent
is still worth it. But the enthusiasm of some up-and-coming agents
for their new field may offer some inspiration.
Take Karen Schwartz, whose midlife crisis brought her to the
travel industry. "It was one of those times where a number of
things happened to me all at once," said Schwartz, who worked for
20 years as a litigation secretary in a Washington law firm. "I
lost my mother, turned 40 and woke up one day and said 'What are
you waiting for? It's either now or never.'"
With the support of her husband, she kissed the legal world
good-bye and enrolled at the Carlson Travel Academy in Rockville,
Md. She became a front-line agent at Travel Horizons in Arlington,
Va., earlier this year.
In the law firm, "I was used to being frustrated and under
stress all the time. It's so different when you're motivated and
involved, and I don't find the level of stress any greater [in
travel]. But the rewards are far greater."
Schwartz appreciates the discounts on cruises she receives, but
she's far more excited about the "intangible rewards" such as
positive feedback from her clients. "As a secretary, you're really
just another piece of equipment," she noted. "On the front line,
people are trusting you and asking for your expertise."
Although law and travel have delivered completely different
experiences, Schwartz finds that she currently uses a number of
skills learned in her first career, including problem solving and
people skills.
"In the law firm, the client is No. 1," she said. "We'd always
say 'fix the client and solve the problem later.' In law, you're
working under deadlines and dealing with people who are spending a
lot of money and are very demanding. The same holds true in
travel."
Schwartz was also a winner of a 1998 scholarship awarded by the
International Airlines Travel Agent Network's Ronald A. Santana
Memorial Foundation to individuals who are actively furthering
their education in the travel industry. Her present goal is to earn
master cruise counselor and CTC certifications. "I want to do this
forever. It only took me 20 years to figure it out."
Starting out
Another winner of an International Airlines Travel Agent Network
scholarship--and cheerleader for the industry--is Dawn Watson of
Miami Lakes, Fla., a first-year student at Florida International
University's School of Hospitality Management.
Watson wants to combine her love of travel with her love of
helping people. Because her parents are deaf, she learned sign
language at a young age and expects to become a certified
interpreter for the deaf this year. She said she hopes to become a
travel agent who arranges tours for the deaf.
"There are a lot of places deaf people can't go, and there
aren't many set tours just for them," said Watson. "I've learned
they have special needs." For example, on tours for the deaf, "you
need to keep the group small" to ensure that all participants can
see the leader, she said.
Part of the lure of becoming an agent, of course, is the travel.
"I won't be locked in a room. I will still get to go places," she
said. "As an agent, you're traveling and doing business at the same
time. It's part of your job." Watson got a taste of what her future
will entail when she helped organize a school trip to Paris. Her
job was to find the lowest air fares and call hotels for rates. And
like a real agent, she didn't get to go on the trip but received
satisfaction from a job well done.
Lifestyle of the rich and frugal
Affluent clients don't always spend big bucks on their
vacations, especially in the Midwest. In fact, in a recent phone
survey of 312 millionaires from nine Midwestern states, nearly 90%
of the participants reported flying coach. More than 86% said they
spend $150 or less per person, per day, on accommodations and
nearly 80% said they spend less than $75 per day for food and
beverages when traveling on vacation.
And instead of visiting exotic vacation spots, three-quarters of
those surveyed said they took a trip in the continental U.S.
However, these affluent Midwesterners do travel at least once a
year; nearly 81% said they take pleasure trips from one to five
times a year. This group has also cruised a lot more extensively
than the average American; more than a third have taken a
cruise.
The survey was conducted by the research division of
Clayton-Davis & Associates, an advertising firm, for the bank
Mercantile Trust.
Mission accomplished
By Laura Del Rosso
Jean Pederson knew she had a great idea for a group tour, but it
wasn't until she fell onto a bit of promotional luck that the ball
really started rolling.
Pederson, an agent with Travel Center of Sonoma/Marin in Sonoma,
Calif., has always been fascinated with California's historical
missions. Some of the oldest buildings in California, the
picturesque 16th century churches were built by the Franciscan
missionaries and stretch from San Diego to the Sonoma wine country,
where Pederson is based.
Last year, Pederson began creating what she thought was the
first ever guided tour visiting all of the 21 missions, beginning
with San Diego de Alcala and ending with San Francisco
Solano-Sonoma. The 10-day tour was to depart Oct. 12, but only 20
people, eight short of the necessary number, signed up. Pederson,
lacking a big marketing budget, was forced to cancel the tour this
summer.
But that was before she realized that the California Division of
Tourism had highlighted the program in its What's New in California
quarterly news bulletin distributed to the press. Within a week,
Pederson received calls from the Washington Post and numerous
travel magazines, all promising articles in the coming months
highlighting the tour. The idea of visiting the old missions will
capture the imagination of a lot of readers, they told her.
A re-energized Pederson now is reworking the tour flyers and is
scheduling five trips for 1999. She is also wholesaling the tour
and paying a 10% commission to agents.
Her tentative departure dates are May 17; June 21; July 12;
Sept. 20, and Oct. 18. She plans to use deluxe hotels and include
all breakfasts as well as six or seven dinners and hasn't
determined the final cost yet.
For information, call Pederson at (707) 762-4578.
Agency creates client cruise video
First-time cruisers usually have a lot of questions before their
first sailing, from what kind of clothing they should wear to how
to handle tipping.
"Our agents go over that information, but using more than one
form of communication results in better retention," said Donna
Wickerham, president of the Only Way to Travel in Reynoldsburg,
Ohio. "We thought a video we could loan our clients would really
help."
But most of the videos Wickerham and her husband, Art, found
were heavy on promotion for a specific cruise line and light on the
details that would be helpful to clients.
So they decided to make their own video, using footage they had
shot on a variety of cruises. They also worked with a professional
production company. The Wickerhams figured that if they found such
a video helpful, other agencies would, too. They designed it so
agencies could customize it with their logo and contact
information.
Travel Weekly checked out a review copy of the 23-minute video
and found it a professionally made product that takes clients
through all the phases of a cruise, from pre-trip planning to the
embarkation photo-op to the final public-room wait for
debarkation.
The cost of the customized video is $290, including shipping and
handling. For information, contact Donna Wickerham at (614)
861-6747 or send e-mail to [email protected].
Internet conference
Want to know which way the wind is blowing when it comes to the
Internet and the travel business? PhoCusWright Live 98, the Online
Internet Travel Conference, set for Nov. 2 to 4 at the Pointe
Hilton South Mountain Resort in Phoenix, aims to provide
answers.
Among the highlights of the meeting will be a panel on
Commission, Consolidation and Circumvention (another word for
bypass)." Panel participants will include Christine Arnholt,
director of marketing services for Carnival Cruise Lines; Roger
Ballou, chairman and chief executive officer of Global Vacation
Group; John F. Davis III, president and chief executive officer of
Pegasus Systems; Richard Siemborksi, vice president of corporate
services for American Express, and Al Lenza, vice president of
distribution planning for Northwest Airlines.
A discussion on Internet discount travel sites will include
presentations by two executives from those sites, Michael Thomas,
president of 1travel.com, and Jay Walker, vice chairman of
priceline.com.
A panel of industry analysts is set to forecast trends; expected
to attend are Richard F. Cain, vice president of Plog Research;
Nicole Vanderbilt, group director of digital commerce at Jupiter
Communications; Addison Schonland, director of aviation for CIC
Research, and Lorraine Sileo, vice president at PhoCusWright.
The attendance fee is $1,195. Register on line at www.phocuswright.com or call (860) 350-4084.