The
end of the year traditionally is a time to look ahead and make resolutions, and
home-based travel agents who run their own businesses are considering how they
can improve, what they should focus on and where their clients may be heading
on vacation. For
Laurel Brunvoll, who operates Unforgettable Trips in Maryland and is a Tahiti
and luxury travel specialist, her hope for 2016 is better office organization.
“Since
it's almost the new year, I can say what I hope for every year: get more
organized,” Brunvoll said in an email interview. “I have been focusing on
getting some systems in place and fine-tuning the process of working with
clients. In 2016, I hope to see the fruits of this labor.”
She
added: “I am also looking forward to personally escorting more groups in 2016.
This has been a wonderful addition to my business. It's been so enjoyable and
personally enriching to help people enjoy travel who might not go without the
comfort and security [and value-added benefits] of a group.”
David
Porter, president of Roaming Boomers Travel in Arizona, which he operates with
his wife, Carol, said that he is expecting more personal travel in 2016, after
years of building the business.
“We're
excited to have reached one of the milestones we set in our business two years
ago when we started,” he said in an email interview. “We knew that we were
going to have to slow down our personal travel until we had our business built
to a specific target. We've reached that target this year, and we're looking to
add a travel partner to our business to help with the busywork. This should
allow us to get back to exploring the world and keeping our business running
from the road.”
Porter
added that a goal for 2016 is to develop new revenue channels by partnering
with local businesses and offering tours. “For example, we'd like to partner
with a local wine bar and help them design a fun wine-cruise in France for
their patrons.”
This
year has been a good year for both Brunvoll and Porter.
“2015
was my best year ever,” Brunvoll said. “It's been interesting to see the
variety of places and types of trips that my clients have been asking about and
booking.”
She
said trends she's seeing among clients are strong interest in Alaska and
Europe, including river cruises.
Porter
said that he has reached his goal of $1 million in sales for his second year in
business and is also seeing a surge of interest in river cruises.
“It's
hard to believe that we're placing a million dollars of travel from our home
office. As our primary client is the luxury boomer traveler, as you might
imagine we've been doing a lot of river cruises.”
Porter
said that he expects 2016 to see ocean cruises, especially to Alaska, among the
most popular of his clients' vacation choices.