Jamie Biesiada
The beginning of the year is often the busiest time for travel advisers, who see an increase in leads and bookings when the cold weather hits. This year appears to be no different, but what if your phones aren't ringing off the hook just yet?
There's still time to rectify the situation, according to Scott Koepf, senior vice president of sales at Avoya Travel.
Bookings at Avoya are up so far in 2018, Koepf said. That was aided by recent frigid conditions across much of the country.
"Since the first of January, we have actually seen a significant increase, and no doubt that part of that is weather-related," he said.
While there are several other factors that are likely contributing to that increase, a bump in the number of close-in Caribbean bookings indicates people want to escape the cold, Koepf said.
Historically, January is an especially busy time of year for agents.
"Generally, January is going to be the barometer for your whole year," Koepf said. "It is the busiest month of the year."
That business often continues into February and sometimes into March. But if business isn't as great as it could be so far in 2018, there are some steps to take to turn things around.
First, Koepf advised, agents should stay positive.
"If your January/February wasn't fabulous, it doesn't mean you should throw in the towel and give it up for the rest of the year," Koepf said.
Instead, he said, it's a good time to look to get messages about travel out now to remain "front and center in the consumer's mindset."
"My recommendation is that if the phone isn't ringing and the agent or agency is not getting a number of leads or phone calls or inquiries, then I would try to pick up that marketing right now through whatever immediate sources of marketing [are possible]," Koepf said.
There are a number of more immediate forms of marketing agents could harness to draw in clients. Social media is a good option, as are email campaigns and attempting to drive traffic to a website.
Even picking up the phone and calling past clients is an option, according to Koepf.
"Any of those things that have the ability to make an immediate impact, I would take advantage of those right now," he said.
Agents should expect busy call centers at this time of year, Koepf pointed out.
"As much as everybody tries to prepare for this time of year, there are still some difficulties with hold times," he said. "Every supplier tries to bank up their reservations agents and their teams for this time of year, and yet it is still a challenge."
To that end, he suggested agents use online booking tools and technology solutions.
"Making bookings electronically will probably help them tremendously to get to the next lead," he said.