Travel Agent of the Day Wednesday November 7th, 2007 - Stacy Cramblit
11/07/2007 01:11 p.m.
Stacy Cramblit
International Air Academy Graduate
Stacy joined the Tripology network back in April of 2007 and has already planned some great vacations for travelers she found through Tripology.com.
How long have you been in the business?
"I have been in the travel industry for six years. I have been an agent for three."
What inspired you to become a travel agent?
"I have wanted to be involved in the travel industry since I was very young. Attending the International Air Academy (A travel related trade school) inspired me to pursue my dream further."
Do you have a passion for travel?
"Of course!"
Did you do anything else before becoming a travel agent?
"Yes, I worked for National Airlines, and in Executive Jet operations."
Are there any great perks that come with working in this business?
"The greatest perk is that my job is to help people plan their vacations! This makes going to work every morning exciting. I also love the vendor and destination education opportunities available both online and through seminars."
What are some of the perks? Any great discounts?
"There are some and these make it possible to experience more destinations in order to have firsthand knowledge to pass on to clients."
What about upgrades?
"I've been upgraded to first class a time or two."
What is the best free vacation you have ever had?
"A couple of years back I was invited to the Wynn in Las Vegas, not long after they opened. I took my mom with me, and they treated us to food, cocktail parties, tickets to the incredible shows at their hotel, and two nights in their gorgeous guest rooms. We had a wonderful time!"
Do you take a lot of vacations?
"I try to take at least one big vacation a year and as many "small" extended weekend trips as possible."
Do you go alone or do your friends and family tag along?
"I find it enjoyable to share travel experiences with others, so I usually travel with family and friends. Depending on the destination, my favorite traveling companion is my Shih Tzu, Ichabod. Because of this, I have a special interest in catering to pet parents who want to take a vacation with pets."
Favorite getaways to head off to on your own?
"I used to live in Las Vegas. So, I enjoy going back and exploring the new parts of town on my own."
Do you inadvertently work a lot when you are on vacation? - scouting hotels, activities, tours and sites?
"For me, a vacation always ends up involving work, because I am always looking at every detail of the hotel, cruise ship, destination, etc. to see if I would recommend it to my clients."
How else do you review hotels that you may not have been to?
"I think the best way to really get a feel for a hotel and see how they will treat my clients is by going incognito and not announcing that I am a travel agent."
How many clients do you have right now?
"I have many wonderful clients right now. I can't give a number because I don't like to think of them as 'numbers.'"
Do you work with a partner?
"I am the sole owner of my company."
Office or home?
"A home office"
Do you limit how many clients you can work with at one time?
"I normally do not but I will make sure to give every client adequate time and attention."
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?
"Yes, they can be. More importantly, I think they are a problem for the consumer. When they book with these websites, they really miss out on a big part of the travel experience, which is having a travel agent in their corner. When you use a travel agent, you have someone reaching to find you the greatest value (which doesn't mean the very lowest price) along with making sure everything goes smoothly before, during, and after your vacation."
What are you doing to convince travelers that a travel agent is a better option?
"By answering their questions, easing their concerns, and building a relationship with that person."
If a traveler asks you, "Why should I use a travel agent," how do you respond?
"The biggest reason is that you have someone human to work with, whose main focus is your happiness. You work with the same person, so we get to know you and your preferences. If there is ever an issue, we jump into action to get it resolved. And you gain a friend in the process of planning a fabulous vacation."
Have any travelers given you any horror stories of experiences they had trying to book a trip on their own?
"Oh yes! If someone decides to book on their own, a large majority of those people book through me the next time. They realize that saving the small amount of money isn't worth the bumped flights, bumped hotel rooms, and otherwise impersonal experience."
Do you have any tips for the listening travel community?
"Wear sunscreen. Okay, seriously, use a travel agent. There are experts out there who live to plan vacations. This is great news for you! A vacation is supposed to be stress-free...starting with the planning."
What's the most exciting trip to book right now for you?
"Any trip is exciting, because it means that people are getting out there and experiencing life. I love being a part of planning Honeymoons because you become a part of that couple's history. Both cruises and resorts are great because you know that there are so many options for people to either relax or be adventurous. And a trip around the world, that to me is the ultimate experience. That is on the top of my 'things to do before I die' list."
What would you say is your most popular destination request right now?
"A Caribbean cruise."
Why do you think that is?
"Many people who request this are either first time cruisers or just looking for a mini-vacation. With so many departures out of different Florida ports and New Orleans, and many of them being only 3-5 nights, it is a very realistic and affordable vacation- while still being a wonderful tropical getaway."
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?
"It is important to the traveler to know that you have extensive knowledge and resources about the destination they are interested in. They want to know that you are the expert and can guide them in the right direction."
What does it mean to be specialized to you?
"It means to have in depth knowledge about certain types of travel (such as cruises and tours) or destinations (such as Hawaii or Mexico.)
Is it focusing on only 1 thing and traveling there every year?
"I don't agree with that, so no."
Do travelers ask a lot if you have been to where they are trying to book their trip?
"Because I exude a lot of confidence and knowledge when speaking of certain destinations, I rarely get that question."
Does specialization actually mean focusing on a handful of things?
"Yes, I think that in order to be successful in the travel market today, with all the different destinations, it is important to focus in depth on a handful of things. However, I do feel it is important to keep up to date with other destinations, and be open to learning and specializing in new places."
How specialized is too specialized? Is this possible?
"I think that depends on what your personal goals are as a travel agent. For me, I don't want my clients to have to go elsewhere because I only book one destination, and they want to try some place else. My passion is to help people see the world, and I can't do that by only specializing in one destination!"
A popular trip request lately has been requests for flight only quotes. Do you believe that a good agent can up-sell these requests to full trips?
"I do believe that they can."
How would you go about doing this?
"Find out why they need plane tickets. For example, is it to go visit family with a guest room or stay in a time-share? And then ask, 'Have you thought about extending your vacation, and after staying with your family or at your time share, renting a car to stay in a hotel at a city near by that you may have always wanted to go but never have?"
Have you tried it with our site yet?
"Not yet, but I just realized the potential!"
If someone were to call you and ask for a once in a lifetime vacation idea, what would you suggest?
"An Around-the-World cruise. Imagine only unpacking once, becoming close to your fellow cruisers and amazing staff, meanwhile experiencing all those places you've seen in movies, dreamed of at night, and read about in magazines. Think of having the opportunity to mail postcards back home with pictures of places most people only dream of. And, envision yourself after the cruise, all the stories you'll have to tell! A vacation like this is a life changing event!"
Funniest thing you have ever been asked?
"The funniest thing I have ever been asked was on a Friday before the daylight savings time change. I had made an airline reservation for someone for that Sunday, and they called in a panic, because they didn't know what time their flight left due to the time change. They weren't sure if the airlines changed their clocks like we did."
Tags: travel agents of the day
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