Travel Agent of the Day Tuesday November 20th, 2007 - Lisa Williams
11/19/2007 06:11 p.m.
Lisa Williams
Certified Travel Consultant (CTC), Destination Specialist (DS), Lifestyle Specialist (LS), Recommend Destination Specialist
Lisa joined the Tripology network in October of 2007 and has already planned some great vacations for travelers she found through Tripology.com.
How long have you been in the business?
"Almost 20 years."
What inspired you to become a travel agent?
"My love of travel and helping people see the world."
Do you have a passion for travel?
"I have a passion for personal travel, as well as a passion for creating dream vacations for my clients."
Did you do anything else before becoming a travel agent?
"I worked in Hotel Management."
Are there any great perks that come with working in this business?
"There can be if you are flexible with your own travel dates."
What are some of the perks?
"Discounted travel to certain destinations, often working trips to see new resorts, towns, etc."
Any great discounts?
"Sometimes. It depends on the destination and the type of accommodations."
What about upgrades?
"Rarely, usually lower rates rather than upgrades."
Do you take a lot of vacations?
"I try to travel at least monthly to see as much of the world as I can to share with my clients."
Do you go alone or do your friends and family tag along?
"I generally travel with at least one other person, sometimes my entire family of six."
Favorite getaways to head off to on your own?
"I love going to the Harbor Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale for pampering and peace and quiet."
Do you inadvertently work a lot when you are on vacation? - scouting hotels, activities, tours and sites?
"Every vacation is work vacation when I give my clients the excellent customer service they deserve. I am available 24/7 for them, vacationing or not!"
How else do you review hotels that you may not have been to?
"I read trade publications for reviews and share information with fellow agents that have visited other resorts and destinations."
How many clients do you have right now?
"Several hundred current and past customers."
Do you work with a partner?
"No, I prefer to work alone to provide my customers with the personal attention they deserve."
Office or home?
"I have a home office that is detached from the rest of my house to provide a professional place of business."
Do you limit how many clients you can work with at one time?
"I only take on as many customers as I feel I can provide excellent service to at one time."
Websites such as, Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity have given the opportunity to travelers to book trips without a travel agent. Have you found this to be a problem for you?
"No"
What are you doing to convince travelers that a travel agent is a better option?
"Discuss the benefits of customer service, having someone available 24/7, knowledge, expertise, ect."
If a traveler asks you, "Why should I use a travel agent," how do you respond?
"You are able to get the best trip value as well as excellent customer service that is not available with online booking options."
Have any travelers given you any horror stories of experiences they had trying to book a trip on their own?
"Yes"
Do you have any tips for the listening travel community?
"Only go with certified, professional, travel planners who stay current with trade news, destinations, etc."
What's the most exciting trip to book right now for you?
"A lengthy European itinerary to eight cities over three weeks."
What would you say is your most popular destination request right now?
"Italy and Mexico."
Why do you think that is?
"Mexico's proximity to the United States and Italy because of a new surge in people's interest in cooking and wine."
There's a lot of buzz about specialization these days, and how destination expertise is still a great value proposition for travelers. Why do you think agent specialization is important to have when travelers are trying to book the trip?
"They should be able to locate a professional with vast knowledge, training and experience in the area they are seeking a vacation package in so that the professional can answer any questions they might have."
What does it mean to be specialized to you?
"Knowledge of the region, culture, ecology, current events, accommodations, and staying current with hotel/resort information, new flight schedules, events of interest, etc..."
Is it focusing on only 1 thing and traveling there every year?
"No"
Do travelers ask a lot if you have been to where they are trying to book their trip?
"No"
How specialized is too specialized? Is this possible?
"If you are able to grow a successful business with one specialization, then that should be the base of your business..."
If someone were to call you and ask for a once in a lifetime vacation idea, what would you suggest?
"I would first have to determine what their dreams are, where they have traveled previously, what their hobbies and interests are, etc...I don't believe that I can just tell someone where I want to go. I have to find out where they might actually want to go and what they would actually enjoy..."
Funniest thing you have ever been asked?
"Can I find a hotel room in NYC on New Year's Eve for under $100 near Times Square!!!!!"
Tags: travel agents of the day
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