FORT LAUDERDALE -- Addressing both veteran and novice agents, executives on a CruiseWorld panel here Wednesday had the same message for all: Now is the best time to be a travel agent.
During a panel moderated by Joanie Ogg and Mary Pat Sullivan titled "What Makes Being a Travel Advisor Awesome?" franchise and host agency executives agreed that being an adviser today offers clear career advantages. Their reasoning varied from the internet and technology to demand for expertise, but all echoed the same sentiment -- it's a great time to be an agent.
"I think it's because the internet's really done you a great service," said Jenn Lee, vice president of sales and marketing for Travel Planners International.
The internet offers the curious a place to research vacations, she said, but the digital environment is so vast it's more likely to drive potential customers into agents' arms.
"It's too overwhelming for them," she said.
Technology also plays a major part of the equation for Steve Hirshan, senior vice president of sales support at Avoya Travel.
"You can run your business from anywhere in the world you have an internet connection," he said.
Clients tend not to care where an agent is based, whether it's home or traveling while working, as long as they can offer expertise when needed, he said.
Nexion president Jackie Friedman. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada
Meredith Hill, founder and president of the Gifted Travel Network, said technology levels the playing field among agents. It offers them the chance to market themselves both effectively and cost-efficiently, and position themselves as expert advisers. There is an "enormous" demand for that expertise, she said.
Meanwhile, Jackie Friedman, Nexion president, said she saw great opportunity for passionate agents to specialize in niches.
"You have a really unique opportunity" to be both an agent and a business owner specializing in a field that interests them, like food and wine, she said. Friedman advised agents to figure out the kind of travel they want to sell and excel in that area.
Being an agent is a tough career path because there is so much to learn, according to Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., but she offered attendees words of encouragement.
"Once you do [learn it], there's so much ability to excel in it," Fiorino said.
Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada
The executives also had some practical advice for agents: Consider affiliating with more than one host to fulfill their needs (though, as Fiorino noted, some franchise models do not permit multiple affiliations).
No host is perfect, Hirshan said, and agents should evaluate their needs regularly and potentially consider a second affiliation. For instance, an agent might like Avoya's Live Leads lead-generation program but prefer another host's air platform.
Most hosts would prefer agents to remain loyal to them only, Hill said, but the potential for multiple affiliations "keeps us on our toes."
"Do your due diligence," Fiorino said, urging agents to research what kind of business model and which company to affiliate with.
"Why go it alone when you don't have to?" Hill said. "It's as simple as that."