Way Back in the Olden Days

OK, kids, gather ‘round and let this old-timer tell you a tale about the good old days! You see, back in the Olden Times there was no internet. Yes, it’s true! People had to get all their information from paper sources like books, magazines, and newspapers. Often, they would turn to actual live people to find something out. Shopping was not possible on-line, so people bought everything from bricks and mortar stores or from salespersons who came to their homes.

I adapted early on to the computer age. I have been a writer off and on my whole life, so I found my way into home computing in the days of DOS. When my wife was in graduate school a professor suggested she do her research on this new computer accessed information system called the internet. At that time, one needed a dial-up access service for access so I signed up with Compuserve. Soon there were other services available and they all offered a free one month trial, so I tried them all. At that time AOL had the most to offer and the most reliable connections. I became an AOL regular.

In those days, Yahoo was a new service which was totally text-based (meaning no pictures or graphics at all). It was the best source of links to other sites, and a decent directory of information. As more features came on-line and more news and information became available, I could see that this new-fangled internet might just grow up to be something special. As graphics became more common, the dial-up speed became a major issue. As soon as I could I went cable and never looked back.

I have used the world wide web for information since it started, but have rarely used it to buy things. I shop on-line, but most often buy at the store. There is something about actually seeing and touching what I am buying that appeals to me. When it comes to travel purchases, I have always used a good travel agent. Even though I liked to research my own trips, I found it extremely helpful to have a knowledgeable professional to bounce my ideas off of.

When the internet travel business stormed onto the scene with huge advertising budgets they quickly grabbed a big chunk of the market. The premise behind all internet sales concepts is cost savings, and travel is no exception. Sometimes they do save people money on travel purchases. What they always deliver is self-service. Often people are doing the work a travel agent would do for no savings whatsoever! They are after all only booking engines, not customer service providers. A good travel agent will act as an advocate for their customers. A good travel agent is also a consultant who can offer advice that is unbiased and informed by training and years of travel experience.

The best sources of information about travel are not the sites that sell travel. Consumer review forums can be extremely helpful when one is deciding where to go or where to stay when one arrives. A general forum like trip advisor or a destination specific message board is a good place to learn from others’ hits and misses. These postings should be read with a grain of salt. It is important to find postings that are specific to the issues most important to you, rather than ones that just say “this place sucks!” I use these type of sites as a travel consultant to help guide my clients to the resort or hotel that will best fit their needs and desires. I also use professional reviews that are not available to the general public. My favorite source of information? Other travel agents who have recently visited the place I am researching or sent valued clients there.

Before I made the jump into the travel business, I had planned a number of multi-generation family trips with the help of a professional travel agent. It was this experience that made me see the value of having a knowledgeable guide with good connections to the vendors we needed. All of our family trips were fantastic experiences for all involved. I couldn’t wait to plan the next one. Now I fill the time in between helping other families and couples and individuals make their travel dreams come true!

Next time: "Hey I'm becoming a travel agent too!"

Dueling With “Sabre”

Much of the travel business has become quite up to date in terms of the technology used. We are able to do research, create web sites, use e-mail, and even post Blogs for all the world to see. One area that is still back a few generations of computer technology is the GDS. These are the systems travel agents use to book air, hotels, and car rentals from live inventory (as opposed to online booking engines which are NOT LIVE!). These systems are essential for giving accurate quotes and assuring availability for clients travel wishes. The system we use is Sabre.

As powerful as Sabre is for booking travel, it is purely key-stroke operated. Learning Sabre reminds me of teaching myself DOS way back in the early days of personal computing. In order to elicit the desired response, one must type the exact command. One muffed key-stroke and you get bupkis! I am much better at navigating in a graphical world. Learning Sabre is definitely back to the future for me!

Wrestling With a Dinosaur

Judi gave me a Sabre study guide to prepare me. I read it and took notes before I started my direct training with her. I can’t say it made much sense, or that it made it easier to learn this arcane system. I took the courses on Sabre, and they didn’t help much either. It came down to what has amounted to an internship. Judi gave me assignments and walked me through the process of booking air, cars, and hotels on Sabre. The notes I have taken from her very clear instructions are my new best friend. With much repetition, I now own some of the common commands. Others I refer to my notes or say “Hey Judi, how do I…” If I’m not in a hurry I can use the Sabre “agent tools” help section to look things up.

This has been by far the hardest and least pleasant aspect of the experience. Keystroke based computer systems do not come easy for me. In some ways I am a very smart guy, and this is not one of those ways. There is progress, and regression, then more progress. After some months of cursing the beast, I was able to pull up some urgently needed data quickly on Sabre and had an epiphany. I needed this dinosaur to function day to day as a travel agent no matter how hard it was for me to ride it. Sabre and I settled into a love hate relationship.

A World of Things to Learn

Much of this process has been much easier, and a whole lot more fun. I came into this game quite skilled at research. Looking up hotels, resorts, and cruises comes easy and is generally a blast. I organized my browser to save pertinent links in folders and have re-organized it several times so I have an efficient system to find just the info I need in a hurry. This is one area where the pupil has been a teacher. I helped Judi learn how I use folders for browsing and set hers up for her.

I have taken oodles of “webinars” and on-line classes. Some have been a waste of time, others have been fantastic! I spent an hour listening to how one should dress for success down to what color shirt and tie. Not a very well spent hour. I have also gained from some far more than I would have thought from the descriptions. Much of what is offered to agents focuses on selling techniques. This is not a sales job in my mind. My business is more consulting, counseling, providing information, and most important being an advocate and assistant for travelers. The best trainings are about customer service. In this area, Judi has provided the best education for me.

The other fun part of learning has been the courses and webinars provided by cruise lines, resorts, hotels, and tour companies. In order to help people make an informed decision about which cruise or which ship, I have to know the difference. The same applies to selecting a resort or hotel which will best meet the needs of a client. The most important part of this process is learning who the clients are and what they like and dislike. Then I have to know what is available at a cost that works for them. If it all works well we have made a good match, and everyone is happy.

Helping make what is essentially one of the best little parts of peoples lives (their vacations) better is a fun way to make a living. At least it is for me so far. Now I spend my days talking to people about where they want to go, helping them get there, and hearing their stories about their trips. I must say I don’t miss the stock market.

Next time: A bit of travel history for you.

The World According to Judi

“Customer service, that’s what sets us apart!” This is Judi’s mantra. It has many permutations, but that is the bottom line. “You want to book a ticket with miles? No problem!” Not many agents will say that. Try getting a garden gnome to handle that request! You will just get a blank stare, but that is pretty much what you always get with internet travel sites! “I’m at Heathrow and my flight to Paris is cancelled!” I actually answered that call at 4:00 am Phoenix time while Judi was in Australia! More on that in a later post.

She has been teaching me her very successful system of holding hands and guiding clients through every phase of their journey. It all starts with an idea or a desire. “I need a vacation. I always wanted to go to Italy…” We don’t sell travel. We are Yentas. We are MATCHMAKERS connecting client dreams, desires and wishes with travel realities. We don’t work for the vendors, we work for the clients. If we can fulfill dreams, wishes and desires within a reasonable budget we have a loyal customer. If we can do this AND head off problems, or resolve the inevitable glitches that come with traveling; we are heroes!

I am Ferret Watch Me Dig

Back in a past career I was “The Cool Teacher.” I had done a writing exercise with my students at Carl Hayden High School that asked them to describe themselves as an animal of their choosing. A few minutes before the bell, they started describing each other as animals; “She’s a fox!” and “Gordo is a pig!” and “Carlos is a python!” The class clown stood up and said, “Mr. Lewis is a weasel! He has that long skinny face like a weasel!” The class cracked up. I had to admit he had a darn good point! I did offer a correction, and a teaching moment, however. “I am a FERRET!” I bet most of those kids now know what a ferret is and how to use it as a colloquial verb. Even if they don’t remember why MacBeth killed his Dad, they learned something in Senior English!

I am proud to be a ferret! I dig deep for information on a daily basis. As a stock trader and analyst I had been doing research most of my adult life. Instead of probing for which company has the best growth prospects, I now look for which resort or cruise will best meet the needs of a given client. This is what brings the most enjoyment in my new career: helping people find exactly what the want out of their travel experience. Sometimes it is the resort on the most beautiful beach. Often it’s finding the cruise itinerary that takes them where they’ve never been. It can be helping select the hotel whose décor or services delight the senses. Whenever I hear “I loved…” in a trip report, I get a warm fuzzy feeling!

Flash Forward to the Present: “Castello di Septe was a real winner!”

When I first started with Judi, we began planning an Italy trip for a delightful family with roots there. They wanted an overview including the big three; Rome, Florence and Venice. They agreed to try Perugia, which is Judi’s home away from home in Umbria. They had one unusual, but important requirement: visit the town where their family had come from. This town was high in the mountains not far from the Adriatic coast. There really isn’t much around that part of Italy. I set about finding a decent hotel from which they could visit this small town daily. Zip. Zilch. Nada!

I googled, trip advisored, asked around and still nothing decent could be found. Judi had a book of small inns and dining establishments in Italy. The entries only mentioned what town they were in, so it was find an inn and find the town on a map. This town was so isolated that not much was coming up. Then I found Castello di Septe. Judging from the map, it was less than an hour drive away. The book described it favorably. I was able to find some glowing reviews on the internet. We contacted them by email and booked 5 rooms (almost half the inn).

When one of the clients called from Italy with a question, we asked how was the Castello di Septe? “Oh, that was a real winner!” came the reply. This is what it’s all about for me! Helping make travel dreams into realities and fond memories is what makes being a travel consultant fun. Later I heard all about what a great trip it was. With all the marvels of Italian history and all the charm of the lovely urban hotels, it was the small town the family had roots in and the charming inn we found nearby that created the most memorable time!

Next Time: I thought I was Good With Computers.

Serendipity-"Do"

The most interesting things happen at the hairdresser’s. At least they do if your hairdresser is Hilda Villaverde of Pluma Designs! Hilda is more than a friend, and more than just my hairdresser. I will quote from her web site: “Hilda Villaverde is a hairstylist, author, business owner, public speaker and minister.” You often get much more than a hairdo at Pluma!

I came in for my cut in a funk. Usually, the salon is bustling. On this day it was empty save for Hilda when I walked in. With no assistant on this quiet day, Hilda washed my overgrown hair. She asked me, “What’s going on with you Tom? You don’t seem your usual cheerful self.” I replied, “I need to change careers, and I am confused about where to go next.” She probed further, “What are you interested in?” I told her “Something in travel, I suppose.”

I was handed a flyer for an escorted vacation in Umbria. It looked like a really cool trip. It involved picking olives in local orchards, watching the pressing of the olives into oil, and taking a cooking lesson with a gourmet chef using the oil from the olives you just harvested. The trip was escorted by a travel consultant named Judi Walker. Hilda explained she was a long-time client and the best travel agent on earth. “Call her. She is looking for a new partnership of some sort. Maybe you can work something out.”

A Match Made in Travel Heaven?

I called Judi. We explored the possibility of some sort of internship leading to a partnership. She interviewed me a few times, met my wife, and of course asked Hilda what sort of guy I am. We agreed to move ahead, and my long hard slog up the travel consultant learning curve began.

For a smart guy, I can be pretty dense in some ways. Judi has a system she has worked out over the course of 15 years of trial and error. I have been learning how to plug myself into that system without messing everything up. Of course I have made mistakes, but so far none to drastic or costly. We both have education backgrounds, mine in secondary and hers at the university level. I think this has helped a good deal.

Judi says she is trying to execute a “brain dump” from her experienced brain to my newbie brain. Sometimes it felt like my head was going to explode. I began taking online courses from cruise lines and hotel chains. I went to trainings on destinations as diverse as Tanzania and Acapulco. I studied brochures and web sites and did “webinars” galore. The learning curve had begun to be climbed!

From 0 to 60 in Six Months

Meet The "Blog Father"!

The internet is an amazing place. There are so many little niches that offer unexpected goodies for those who look. I am usually a very persistent searcher of the web. One of my favorite sites was handed to me by my daughter. Some years back an alumnus of Semester at Sea set up a “group” on MSN for his cohorts. This spawned an ongoing series of groups, one for each voyage of the MS Explorer. We used this site to get all types of information to help our daughter prepare for her trip in the 3 short weeks she had left after she was moved off the wait list.

The way the site mostly works is prospective students connecting to each other, and asking questions about what to expect on this unique journey. A core group of active and dedicated alumni answer questions that come up. We learned what to pack and what not to pack. We found out that it is a good idea to have some currency for some countries and US ones for others, and what types of trips ashore might be best. My daughter found a shipmate who was organizing a South African Safari at a good price and joined in.

Mom and Dad Get in the Game!

When the ship sailed the site was taken over by us parents with the helpful alumni still along to hold our hands. Many students posted links to their Blogs on the site. Some of the parents began discussing the interesting thing they read on so and so’s Blog. Many of the other parents asked “How can I find these Blog things you are all talking about?” Later it got more specific with “How can I know which ones are new?” By that time I had organized them into a Mozilla folder and was opening them all in tabs and scanning for fresh postings daily. I loved reading the darn things! It was a simple progression for me to post hyperlinks to the updated Blogs each day. With this little act, “The Blog Father” was born.

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters for Anxious Mothers

I began as a link posting service. It soon turned into a bit more. Many parents were asking for information: What’s the weather in Burma? Is this hurricane close to the ship? Are there tsetse flies in Mauritius? And most frequent and urgent: Why haven’t I heard from my kid???? Is she OK????? I am a compassionate person, so I added information and calm counsel to my daily routine on the message board.

When the ship arrived in San Diego after circling the globe for 100 days, I had been transformed from just another dad to a beloved icon of support for dozens of moms. I have never felt so appreciated in my life. Hugs and tears of relief came fast and furious on that dock that day. I also met some of the Bloggers who I had been corresponding with over the course of the voyage.

Back to the Real World With an Itch to See the World

The adjustment for kids who take this voyage can be jarring when they return to normal life. My daughter fared better than I did. I really felt deflated when my volunteer job ended. I helped a few later voyages get going along the same lines, but it just wasn’t the same. I realized that I needed to get out of my work rut and find a way to see the many parts of this wonderful world I have yet to see.

Next Time: A Hair Out of Place

Have a Nice Mid-Life Crisis!

Not so much a crisis, more a winter of discontent. I had a good career. I was pretty good at it, and I was making money. The only problem was I wasn’t excited about going to work. I decided to do something, but wasn’t sure what. I am only 53 so retirement just was not a good idea. I have way too much energy to go that direction. I could have gone into another field that was more lucrative, but I doubt it would have made me happy.

The Wife and I Have the Bug!

My wife Sandy kept telling me the same thing when I was in the aforementioned funk: “Do something in travel! You always come alive when you plan our trips, and you are so good at it! You would make a great travel agent.” Sandy and I both have the travel bug pretty bad. We have been planning and saving to fit more travel and more exotic travel into our lives for some time. What she kept telling me made sense, but I was not sure how I could practically go about implementing it.

Watch Me Sail Around the World!

When Sandy and I met way back in the seventies that cute young lady with long blond hair I was getting serious with showed me the most interesting brochure. It was for this college program called Semester at Sea. It is this amazing semester aboard a ship taking college classes (for credit) while you sail around the world! A Magellan cruise for college credit? It looked so cool, but there was no way I could afford it. She decided to forego this awesome program to be with me.

Flash forward to 2004 and Sandy and I are parents of two lovely young ladies, one of which is half way through her studies at ASU. She was majoring in Travel and Tourism. When she told us she wanted to go on Semester at Sea, we strongly encouraged her. She knew we had considered it all those years back. We followed her journey with interest and a bit of jealousy.

During her trip I did my usual travel help. I found her and a friend a really cool hostel in Beijing. I found 5 girls a cheap hostel in Oaska and one in Tokyo that were not so nice but fit the budget. I just love doing that type of stuff. This is why my wife who knows me oh so well kept telling me: “Go travel young man.” That, and the perks that might come for both of us if I became a travel consultant!

Next Time: Every Journey Has Unexpected Turns.

You’re Becoming a Travel Agent????

You’re Becoming a Travel Agent????

When I tell people about my recent career choice the reactions are usually surprise to incredulity. Some people have actually asked if they still have travel agents! Only those who know me well and those who have traveled with me understand. So, to all others yes I am becoming a travel agent (actually a travel consultant), and no I am not stark raving mad.

The Internet Didn’t Eat Us!

No body books travel with travel agents in this day of internet travel sites, right? Wrong! Over 70% of all air travel is still booked by agents. The web booking business came in with a bang. We all know that people rapidly embraced booking their own travel on the web in a quest for the lowest prices. What most people don’t know is that after years of grabbing market share from the full-service travel agency business the web booking engines’ share of the market has shrunk for each of the past five years! Travel agents not only never went away; they are coming back stronger than ever.

Big Savings Online, Right?

The aforementioned market share shrinkage is despite the common belief that there are huge savings to be had if we just book our own travel. This belief is largely misplaced. Occasionally web-only specials are lower priced than what agents can offer. Sometimes travel agents can get lower prices than you can find on the web. Usually the prices are pretty much the same! Many travel vendors have policies in place not to undercut the travel agency businesses which bring them most of their revenue. Do not bite the hand that feeds you!

If it Doesn’t Save Money Why Book Online?

Book online if you like it. Perhaps you like figuring out where to stay or how to get there. I love poring over Trip Advisor reviews to find the right hotel at the right price. This is one reason why I became a travel consultant. If you prefer to research all of the options yourself, book online. If you like to work out any unexpected difficulties (I booked an ocean view room! What do you mean my flight is cancelled?) on your own, book online. If you book on your own, you will be on your own!

Can You Help Me Get What I Paid For?

Check out the consumer help columns in the major travel magazines. They are very informative. I read several each month, and notice some things almost all of the distraught consumers have in common. They had a problem which was not resolved to their satisfaction despite their best efforts. They were treated as if their business was not important to the travel vendor. They booked their own travel on the internet. There is a reason the internet travel sites are advertising customer service: they know their customer service sucks! A good travel agent will head off most problems, and resolve most of the others leaving very little to complain about for those who book old-school.

Next Time: Why Me and Why Now?