After Irma, Florida agents give extra effort for clients and each other

For some travel agents, Hurricane Irma presented a double-whammy. As they were helping clients rearrange and rebook travel plans, they themselves were dealing with power outages, flooding and damaged homes and businesses.

Steven Gould, owner of Goulds Travel in Clearwater (a coastal city in the Tampa area) had no power at his home and had been sleeping in his office for three days straight to field phone calls from clients who were impacted by the storm.

"Fortunately, we have space to work," he said, adding that other travel agents used his office, too. "I wanted to make sure our clients knew that we were still open and still working. We had our phone lines forwarded to our cell phones." Gould also posted a message on Facebook that the agency was assisting clients.

Gould's office only lost power for about eight hours. His home didn't fare as well, and as of Sept. 14, he still had no power. But his clients were a priority. 

"Many travel agents stepped up to the plate and said, "We have make personal sacrifices because our clients are in as much distress as we are but they are traveling and can't get flights and can't get home to their loved ones," Gould said. "We're sitting here trying to board up windows while we have clients all over the world freaking out about getting back home. It's been interesting to juggle both at the same time."

Gould had Tampa-based clients stuck for six days in Toronto because of the Tampa airport closure and the numerous flight cancellations that have occurred since the Florida airports reopened on Tuesday. He booked them a hotel in Toronto and kept trying to book Tampa flights for them, which he finally did on Thursday.

At the same time, Gould was assisting a group of 53 on one of the canceled Carnival Cruise Line sailings to the Bahamas, among other clients on cruises.

Even though Cruise Planners agent Carol Furst Matulonis had lost power and a fence at her office in Fort Pierce (about 100 miles north of Fort Lauderdale), she was more concerned with her clients' predicament.

"We are used to taking care of everyone before we take care of ourselves," she said. "That's what it means to be in the service industry."

That included pre-storm prep.

"I had clients in Alaska who I asked if they needed help getting their home ready. Clients in Cuba whose cruise was being rerouted who I thought might need help with their dog. It's a way to provide that personal service and I really do care about my clients," she said.

"When we had working cell phones, I was able to call on my clients who were home and make sure they were safe. My husband and I have had our own business since 1990 and we've always reached out to our clients, and only after they are taken care of do we start our own preparation."

Vicky Garcia, COO of Cruise Planners, was on the 42d floor of her condominium in Hallandale Beach (near Hollywood, Fla.) with no working elevators or air conditioning as the storm thrashed Florida. Luckily, she never lost power, but said the storm was far worse that she thought it would be. She was grateful that Cruise Planners franchises help each other in these situations.

"It was pretty amazing to watch how everyone jumps in to help each other in the family mode," she said. "When Houston happened, agents in Florida helped fellow Houston franchises. They said, 'Give your clients my number, don't worry about commission sharing.' The same thing happened here."

Knowing many of its agents could be impacted, Cruise Planners set up a Facebook where agents could check in when they were OK. Garcia said headquarters decided to pay commissions early, avoiding any payment lag if the storm forced an office closure.

Host agency Avoya Travel's buddy system provided the same relief for the many agents affected by Irma. The system enables an agent to choose a colleague who can access their accounts, take calls and check bookings.

Koepf said that since Avoya had passengers on just about every canceled cruise, agents have done a tremendous amount of work accommodating them.

"We are reaching out and making sure each one is taken care of," he said. "The beauty of our model is each customer has an individual agent looking after them and taking care of them."