Travel Agent of the Day Tuesday November 6th, 2007 - Stephen Abelsohn
11/06/2007 01:11 p.m.
Stephen Abelsohn
South African Specialist
Stephen joined the Tripology network back in April of 2007 and has already planned some great vacations for travelers he found through Tripology.com.
How long have you been in the business?
"Over 10 years"
What inspired you to become a travel agent?
"Change of Vocation and a creative urge"
Do you have a passion for travel?
"I get inspired by my client's tales and excitement when they return.
Did you do anything else before becoming a travel agent?
"I was a vocational counselor for injured compensation workers.
Are there any great perks that come with working in this business?
"Not many but I don't look too hard for them either. As I am a South Africa specialist, my perks come when I travel there."
What are some of the perks?
"I get some for hotels, air, and car rental. Occasionally, I am lucky enough to be upgraded."
Have you ever had any unusual perks?
"Polyester sweatshirts given by an airline, during the summer."
Do you take a lot of vacations?
"One time a year I go back to South Africa for about four to six weeks."
Do you go alone or do your friends and family tag along?
"Alone"
Favorite getaways to head off to on your own?
"Beach or the mountains."
Do you inadvertently work a lot when you are on vacation?
- scouting hotels, activities, tours and sites?
"Yes, in South Africa I do a lot of that. I go and visit a lot of places, especially Safari camps and lodges."
How many clients do you have right now?
"I keep busy all year round."
Do you work with a partner?
"No"
Office or home?
"I have office space and a small home office as well."
Do you limit how many clients you can work with at one time?
"Yes, as I do very specialized custom design work for Safaris, etc."
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?
"Not for my specialty."
What are you doing to convince travelers that a travel agent is a better option?
"We just provide good service and let them choose."
If a traveler asks you, "Why should I use a travel agent," how do you respond?
"Why not!"
Have any travelers given you any horror stories of experiences they had trying to book a trip on their own?
"Yes many times."
What's the most exciting trip to book right now for you?
"Safaris and trips to Southern Africa."
What would you say is your most popular destination request right now?
"African Safaris."
Why do you think that is?
"Because Africa, the African Safari, and the destinations of Southern Africa fulfill the needs for excitement and adventure of the modern day traveler. It is turning into the place most people want to see."
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?
"Because specialized travel agents can provide knowledge, skills, and experience that a guide book or a glossy magazine cannot give you."
What does it mean to be specialized to you? Is it focusing on only 1 thing and traveling there every year?
"Yes"
Do travelers ask a lot if you have been to where they are trying to book their trip?
"Yes"
How specialized is too specialized? Is this possible?
"This depends on the demand for the specialization. If the market has a high demand for that product and its your passion- then concentrate on that."
If someone were to call you and ask for a once in a lifetime vacation idea, what would you suggest?
"A Southern Africa experience to include city, cultural tours, Safari, and beach via plane, rail, and car. It's a full experience of history, culture, nature, people, beach, game viewing, and of course relaxing, invigorating, and motivating."
What is the most interesting trend you have been noticing lately?
"With taxes so high these days in Europe, some people when they hear they can fly domestically in the USA for what international taxes are they change their plans to do that."
Tags: travel agents of the day
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