Gauging Travel Advisor Sentiment | Travel Agent Central
At Journey Agent magazine, we’ve been taking the pulse of the vacation advisor sector to see how they are coping by these really tough instances. About the system of quite a few months we executed two surveys and a few roundtables to get up close with our audience. Additional than 1,000 advisors responded to our surveys and we existing the results right here, together with anecdotal remarks created at our virtual roundtables.
Here’s what we identified:
Right after months and weeks of operating for cost-free just as the COVID crisis strike to resolve consumer concerns, such as cancelling visits that experienced been months in the earning, obtaining refunds and working practically for totally free, travel advisors remained cautiously optimistic about the future.
In just one of our roundtable conversations, Becky Lukovic of Bella Travel Preparing, an affiliate of Travel Experts, mentioned that travel advisors now will need to consider credit score for what they’ve accomplished to aid their purchasers and to shout it from the mountaintops.
“Travel advisors require to have the truth that we ended up vacation warriors for our purchasers [during COVID] and they know it. And their close friends and even our friends, see how hard we are doing work for our shoppers,” she claimed.
“It’s all about the human link,” stated Camille Holubar, Vista Travel Consultants, Inc. “The journey field is going via tough periods, but it is going to arrive again stronger. Men and women are going to make better options and will want to be additional knowledgeable as to where by they are heading. It’s up to us to remain educated so that our purchasers can have a good vacation and good recollections as they had in the previous.”
She is all round optimistic: “Next 12 months is going to be extremely busy, like 2019.”

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Protecting Relationships
Even though there was plainly very little hope of scheduling new business in the course of the disaster, 95 percent of advisors surveyed stayed in contact with their clients throughout the pandemic. This was not to provide, but to manage the romance, to see how consumers ended up coping, how their households had been and to just offer a typical sense of aid. Of program, travel did come up in the course of some of these discussions.
“I’m hearing, ‘I just cannot hold out to get away.’ That’s the tone of anyone who has travel in their blood, who is a luxury customer. They want to go, they are just waiting around,” claimed Robyn Knable-Potter of Robyn Potter Travel.
In truth, she sees a new feeling of luxurious creating publish-pandemic. “The future is going to be extra one-on-just one, much more personal journey, specially for our purchasers going to Europe, wherever they’re not going to want to do tours with other people. I believe that they’ll get extra of an intimate working experience,” claimed Knable-Potter.
In the luxurious sector, advisors have been finding several requests for villas and private residences. There was an over-all solid desire, understandably for private spaces with personal pools.
Another sector was trying to find prolonged-time period stays at accommodations with children’s applications. Why? Summertime camp has been cancelled for a lot of throughout the region and moms and dads are weary of being camp counselors within their possess homes for months on conclude.
Domestic Vacation is Booming
It’s no shock that journey advisors claimed a potent inflow of requests for U.S. trips considering the fact that international borders stay closed for the most aspect. In simple fact, 43 p.c of advisors surveyed reported that domestic vacation had turn out to be a new source of revenue for them, which could have long-long lasting effective results. Customers have tended to e book small-haul vacations by themselves, but now even basic journeys demand counsel.
The domestic travel option grew to become additional challenging in latest weeks, even so, as COVID began to spike in a lot of states throughout the country and as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed quarantine limitations on these traveling from COVID-weighty states.
Several travel advisors also cited examples of spending very long hours to obtain domestic getaways for their customers, only to have them terminate at the very last moment if they read the weather was heading to be dicey in which they were going. The ability to cancel near in was due to the truth that accommodations have mainly comfortable their cancellation guidelines to produce a fret-cost-free promoting environment.
RV journey has turn into popular this 12 months it’s plainly a non-public way to travel to shut-in locations (see pages 18-19).
Sentiment Varies Wildly
All round, we’re listening to that travelers’ thoughts are masking a big spectrum some are anxious to fly to anywhere they can get to, just to have a family vacation (shorter flights and couple of connections preferable), other folks are nevertheless nervous to go to the grocery retail outlet. Possibly way, advisors are reporting that shoppers are on the lookout for their assistance additional than at any time.
“My achievement has been holding people’s hands by means of this total thing,” claimed Jolie Goldring of In the Know Experiences.
Intent to Vacation
Just about a 3rd of advisors surveyed by Travel Agent Central mentioned shoppers have been in touch with them about reserving travel for the impending Festive Period and 45 per cent claimed clientele have contacted them for long run cruise travel.
Our study demonstrates 72 percent of advisors stated clientele have contacted them for 2021 travel for the pursuing destinations:
- Caribbean
- Mexico
- Hawaii
- Alaska
- Europe
Security Is an Situation
Locations are now remaining awarded “Safe Journey Stamps” if they abide by the Earth Travel and Tourism Council’s protocols.
We asked if vacation advisors care about this. Seventy p.c surveyed stated they did.

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Cleanliness Matters
Resort organizations across the board are releasing new cleanliness protocols.
We asked advisors if they are fascinated in the information of these measures 80 p.c said certainly.
Paying out Intent Varies
Shoppers are keen to commit much more if it assures privateness and house, absent from other vacationers, reported 61 percent of the advisors surveyed.
On the other hand, people who do have shoppers traveling this tumble (58 percent), say customers are looking for travel deals.
What Have Your Fellow Advisors Been Up To?
Immediately after the chaos of helping customers cancel or reschedule future outings as the pandemic set in, lots of travel advisors determined to make the most of their down time.
Right here are some of the functions advisors are participating in, according to our surveys:
- Processing refunds and trying to keep purchasers emotion good about long run journey.
- Preserving in contact with purchasers, taking programs, acquiring credentialed.
- Doing e-blasts with provider updates on guidelines and suspensions. Internet hosting a podcast, carrying out a sequence of webinars on locations for our purchasers.
- Setting up myself as the vacation professional in my group.
Know-how Is Electrical power Schooling Is Essential
Quite a few, numerous advisors mentioned they have spent this time educating them selves, observing webinars, attending virtual situations and receiving licensed through spot and provider courses.
Many others took the time to revamp their internet sites and generate new on-line content. Cleansing up databases, updating marketing lists and learning about new technologies ended up other critical functions for journey advisors.
Many advisors said they were being building new shopper agreements with authorized disclaimers and apparent cancellation penalties. Other people ended up utilizing retainer expenses to demand their purchasers and absolutely rethinking their support expenses, not shocking, considering most advisors lost all of their profits for journeys cancelled since of COVID.
Social networking was a well-liked activity. A person advisor stated she was putting up inspirational pictures and video clips of various destinations on Facebook and Instagram to market 2021 journey, one more experienced one particular basic intention: “I’m teaching my consumers how to aspiration again.”

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What Advisors Want From Suppliers
In some of our Fb teams, we picked up a feeling of frustration some advisors had with suppliers, these types of as “When giving ‘opening bulletins, please advise if it is remaining dealt with as a smooth opening and if places to eat, pool, seaside and spa are not actually open up.”
“Please do not mail promos out to customers inquiring them to ebook a reservation in your retailers if they are not even open.”
Other folks claimed they wished hoteliers would give basic safety protocols becoming implemented appropriate up entrance to advisors. They want to know what it will be like when the consumer comes at their place. Are masks demanded? Will employees be putting on masks? What other steps have been set in place and how is that various from the norm?
“Please don’t make us look for a number of web sites for this info,” was the general outcry.
The major dilemma advisors experienced for hoteliers was: “Are your borders open up to us and are there quarantine constraints in your location we require to know about in advance of generating a selection on scheduling with you?”
By these kinds of a time of turmoil we puzzled why advisors were being remaining optimistic. As observed above, 70 p.c of those advisors surveyed feel the travel advisor group will arise from this crisis much better than at any time and 80 % stated they have no intention of leaving the marketplace.
What is driving this optimism? Below are some of the anecdotal responses from our surveys:
“Customers will depend on us much more as there is so much information, or doubtful facts about the state of the earth.”
“Too lots of people have been burned by OTAs….A lot of folks bought burned by do-it-by yourself travel or Costco.”
“Those that booked on their individual, without having the backing of a travel advisor did not have the defense/aid of those with a journey advisor.”
Numerous pointed out that advisors provide the human touch. OTAs do not:
“I consider vacationers will depend on men and women in the marketplace to assist tutorial them to ‘safe’ locations, to know how and when items are opening up, and to know what the cancellation policies are.”
“People now see the benefit in acquiring a real-stay particular person to manage their problems for them when designs modify.”
Another rationale for optimism? Advisors are now wiser than at any time right before:
“During this time I have attended lots of webinars so I have uncovered a good deal. Understanding is key in offering your shoppers the assurance to continue on touring,” explained one advisor.
“The sector will be stronger mainly because people remaining are passionate about the business,” mentioned a further.
“They will use this time to make clear and polish their business design and procedures, workflows, and so on.,” said a third.
A person advisor famous that “changes will be created to address the present-day predicament that must have been addressed a long time in the past, i.e. vacation insurance plan, timing of fee payments and total conditions and problems for suppliers and vacation businesses.”

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Advisors + Travel = Wonderful Experiences
All round, there is a solid desire on the section of consumers to travel and that priceless dynamic is fueling hope.
“There is pent-up demand from customers. Persons want to journey….they might continue to be closer to house in excess of the up coming 12 months, but they will go over and above our borders all over again,” reported just one advisor in our study.
Another summed it up wonderfully, reminding us of why we enjoy and have faith in journey advisors to begin with:
“I have been doing work in the vacation discipline given that 1976 and I have noticed a good deal take place. We have survived. People today need to travel. I adore my occupation and will keep on to make clients’ desires occur real,” she mentioned.
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