Ever wondered what fuels the passion behind those dedicated to crafting our perfect getaways? In a heart-to-heart with travel advisor Amy Bruns, a decade-long veteran in creating wanderlust-filled journeys, we unravel the tapestry of her career, from student life to steering through the stormy skies of the pandemic. As she shares the tales of her personal odyssey in the travel industry, you'll discover the blend of tenacity and love for adventure that has propelled her to the forefront of travel advisory.
This episode navigates the intricate dance between travel advisors and the tech revolution that's reshaped how we traverse the globe. Amy sheds light on the invaluable touch of personalized service amidst a digital world where convenience often overshadows connection. We reminisce about the days of bulky guidebooks and chat about the digital tools that now punctuate our travel planning with a precision that was once a mere dream. Our discussion also ventures into the nitty-gritty of travel insurance, presenting it as an essential travel companion, and we dive into the specifics of choosing the right plan for your next international escapade.
Closing the suitcase on this episode, we peer into the wizardry of travel consulting and booking as Amy divulges her process of curating trips that resonate with the soul of the traveler. From the allure of all-inclusive vacations to the magic of Disney, her expertise goes beyond the binary code of online platforms, tailoring experiences that linger long after the tan fades. And for the road-savvy or the rookie explorer, we pack some vital safety tips and recommendations to keep your travels as serene as a tropical sunset. Join us for a journey through the lens of a travel advisor, and let's elevate your next adventure from memorable to unforgettable.
Make sure to subscribe to our channel, comment, like, and share!
Amy, Kitty & Stacey
P.S. Isn't our intro music great?! Yah, we think so too. Thank you, Ivy States for "I Got That Wow".
Ever wondered what fuels the passion behind those dedicated to crafting our perfect getaways? In a heart-to-heart with travel advisor Amy Bruns, a decade-long veteran in creating wanderlust-filled journeys, we unravel the tapestry of her career, from student life to steering through the stormy skies of the pandemic. As she shares the tales of her personal odyssey in the travel industry, you'll discover the blend of tenacity and love for adventure that has propelled her to the forefront of travel advisory.
This episode navigates the intricate dance between travel advisors and the tech revolution that's reshaped how we traverse the globe. Amy sheds light on the invaluable touch of personalized service amidst a digital world where convenience often overshadows connection. We reminisce about the days of bulky guidebooks and chat about the digital tools that now punctuate our travel planning with a precision that was once a mere dream. Our discussion also ventures into the nitty-gritty of travel insurance, presenting it as an essential travel companion, and we dive into the specifics of choosing the right plan for your next international escapade.
Closing the suitcase on this episode, we peer into the wizardry of travel consulting and booking as Amy divulges her process of curating trips that resonate with the soul of the traveler. From the allure of all-inclusive vacations to the magic of Disney, her expertise goes beyond the binary code of online platforms, tailoring experiences that linger long after the tan fades. And for the road-savvy or the rookie explorer, we pack some vital safety tips and recommendations to keep your travels as serene as a tropical sunset. Join us for a journey through the lens of a travel advisor, and let's elevate your next adventure from memorable to unforgettable.
Make sure to subscribe to our channel, comment, like, and share!
Amy, Kitty & Stacey
P.S. Isn't our intro music great?! Yah, we think so too. Thank you, Ivy States for "I Got That Wow".
All right. Ooh, look, I got that. Wow, who wants some heads up right now? We got that. Turn it up loud. I know you're wondering how I got that. Wow, here I go. Here I go, coming. I can't ever stop. I'm a tour de force running. Get me to the top. I don't need an invitation. I'm about to start force running, get me to the top.
Speaker 2:I don't need an invitation. Hello ladies, hello, how are you today? I'm happy it's sunny. It is sunny. It was a nice day, a little chilly, but a nice day here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's crisp. Yeah, yeah, it's getting slushy, though, so I'm okay with that.
Speaker 2:How much snow did you get? Total last week? A lot, yeah, a lot.
Speaker 4:Just yesterday.
Speaker 2:Oh, you got more snow yesterday, yeah, oh yeah, all day, oh, wow. Yeah, we had about six inches and it's all gone, because I think it was 65 or something on. I don't know if it was Monday, monday maybe.
Speaker 3:I know it's been going like this. Yeah, kind of crazy. Yes it is, but it's almost over.
Speaker 2:It is almost over, almost official. Well, it is officially spring, but almost to the time where it should be actual springy. So we'll see. Yes, well, we are three cocktails in and we have a special guest again this episode, so I'm going to bring Amy in to our conversation. Hi.
Speaker 3:Amy how are you guys. Hello, look at this Two Amys.
Speaker 5:It's going to be awesome today. Best name ever, right, Amy Sure.
Speaker 2:Yes. So we invited Amy today because she is a travel advisor. She has her own business beyond travel and since we love to travel, the three of us and we hope all of you do too we thought we would ask her. You know a ton of questions. So to start off, amy, do you mind telling us, like, how you got started as a travel advisor?
Speaker 5:how you got started as a travel advisor. Well, actually I went to college for it Back, you know, 600 years ago I feel like it was. But I went for travel management and of course at that time when I was done with school, every travel agency wanted two years experience. Well, who's going to give a college person, you know just graduated, any type of experience? So kind of got put on the back burner and eventually moved to Sioux Falls, came across a job that was a receptionist at a travel agency here in Sioux Falls and took the chance and they hired me on and I worked for them for about five years and then I went on my own right before COVID hit and that was a disaster.
Speaker 5:Obviously, we know COVID did many things to a lot of people, but that hurt the travel, it hurt the whole travel industry period. So kind of stepped back, took another job just, but you know, kind of still, this was my, this has always been my passion and uh, kind of a few other things and did travel on side. When it started to pick back up, I eventually quit my full-time job and and started doing full-time and so I've been about 10 years. So of course we want to take out COVID a year or so, a year and a half, but 10 years I've been doing this and I love it.
Speaker 4:Awesome. I would think that technology has changed your job significantly, yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, and that's you know. Sometimes I go up and down with you know this whole. Like it's so easy to go on to Expediacom and you know, and book a trip, and you know people don't realize that travel advisors are really a thing and how much they do. Like I pride myself on my customer service. Like you know, you can book with Expedia but you have an issue. You have no one to call, no one to ask. So you know that's my biggest thing is, like you know I worked with clients and, to be honest, all of my clients are referrals. You know so, and I've gotten the horror stories of people booking Expedia. But technology has changed and which is good and bad. Like I honestly can't imagine doing this job. You know, 30 years ago, when internet was just coming out, you know like you had everything was all paper and you know brochures and you know actual paper tickets for airlines and it's just how much it's evolved. But I mean you guys obviously know this. I mean we would have never done this 30 years ago.
Speaker 4:Right, yeah, I find myself saying that about a lot of jobs. How do we do what we do to? You know, how did people function in their jobs before?
Speaker 5:and, yeah, we all remember getting our first email address right, yeah, with the dial-up, like when you went to go on the internet and you heard that you know and you're like oh, I'm so excited and now it's like when my when my internet goes down or you know it's slow. That's that really hurts me, cause I'm like I can't do anything without the internet. Yeah yeah, dead in the water.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly, yeah, can you? Can you describe the services you know that you actually provide, like, what are the main services?
Speaker 5:So the biggest thing is you know, first off, you know all my clients are like well, I want to go sometime between December and March and I don't know where I want to go, but can you give me some ideas? So the biggest thing I do is the research. You know, I mean I'll ask a few questions like what's your budget? You know, how long do you want to be gone for? Where are you flying out of? You know just just the interaction with the client and finding out what they're really looking for. And so then obviously I'm doing all the research. And then from there it's just the inner. It's the contact that I have with the client, like from the start of the first email inquiring or the call. You know I'm doing the research, booking it. You know making sure everything's done correctly. You know I'm doing the research, booking it. You know making sure everything's done correctly. You know checking in with them periodically. You know if they're looking for excursions to do anything like that, I'm sending them off messages about that. When it comes time to making the final payment, I'm reaching out. And then the other thing that I really try with all of my clients although I find like a lot of clients don't really ask a lot of questions anymore, but when it comes down to the time that you're ready to depart, get on that trip, you know I'm going over every detail. Like I send out the travel documents, you know, kind of give them a rundown of, okay, you're coming into Cancun, like this is what's going to happen when you arrive at the airport. This is what you need to do prior to. I'm also asking for, like like now, the newest thing is passports. Like, uh, the airlines want to upload or scan in your passports before you even check in. So you know I'm having clients, hey, send me your passport, I'll get it uploaded. So when you're ready to check in, you're ready to check in. You don't have to worry about it. You don't have, you know, because some people are checking in. You know that obviously, the day before and they're checking in at work, well, they don't have their passport. So they know like, hey, as soon as it's ready to check in, they're ready to go. I'm just kind of going over like the details of that. If anything happens on the trip, I, I'm right there. They've got my phone number. They know I work 24 seven, especially when they're traveling Um, and I've had clients.
Speaker 5:Um, to be honest, like I just had, two sisters came back, um, they did a quick trip to Cancun and got to the airport and I watch flights, port and I watch flights. So I typically know may not be the first to know, but I know if a flight's been delayed or if it's been canceled. But these two sisters got notification that their flight was delayed and so I immediately go in. I'm like, well, what's you know what's going on? Their plane had been diverted from. They were leaving from. The plane that was supposed to pick them up had been diverted from Denver to Cancun, to Dallas, so they were going to miss their connection. And so I kind of reached out and I'm like, well, what do you want to do? Like we can wait and just see. You know, maybe they'll send a new plane. You know we can do whatever you want.
Speaker 5:Well, they decided and I kind of gave them their options they decided, well, we can take this flight to Chicago and spend the night and get home. And so I called to get everything switched. And one bad thing about the whole situation is the person I was on with on the phone said, oh, just tell them to go to the, to the gate and they'll, they're waiting, the plane is waiting for them. Well, they rushed over to the plane because it's leaving like in 10, 15 minutes, and they closed the gate and said nope, I'm sorry, we can't help you. So you know, they messaged me back and I'm like all right, let, here's our next option. You know you were still thinking you'd spend the night in Chicago. Let me look at another option. So, get back on the phone, get them another option.
Speaker 5:They get into Chicago that night and you know, sometimes it depends on you know, weather can be an issue. If weather is an issue, then you're kind of on your own, like you're going to pay for your hotel yourself, you know that sort of thing. But if it's a mechanical issue, typically the airlines will give you a voucher for hotel, give you food vouchers. So I'd said, you know, when you get in Chicago, you know, tell them, you know what happened, Get a hotel voucher. Nope, we're just going to spend the night in the airport, it's fine, no big deal. I'm like okay, well, the next day they go and I'm like you go, you girls go, cause I I'm kind of a no, I, I would need a bed, not a chair, but anyway, so they uh next morning. I you know. They're, of course, at the airport waiting to go and I get a notification that their plane's delayed. Oh no, yeah, fog.
Speaker 1:Fog was the issue in Chicago, Chicago yep and it got canceled.
Speaker 5:And these girls I mean they were troopers, I mean they always were smiling and laughing. I'm like I wish all my clients were like you, because I can't imagine being stuck in Chicago again for another night. But so I said, hey, you know, let's just take a chance. You know, go up to find a kind agent that you're a smiley agent, friendly agent, Like just tell them the whole story, like what happened? Like you could have got a voucher last night, but you didn't, and now it's canceled because of fog. Let's just see what you can do. And they tried and it didn't work. But they ended up staying another night in Chicago.
Speaker 5:Of course, the next morning their flight was advised them again. I'm like, hey, keep your receipts. Like whatever happens, you know, keep your receipts because you have insurance. When you come back we'll file a claim. And so when they did get back, they, you know, didn't. And here's the other thing too is like we don't keep receipts anymore. Like who does that, you know? And so they didn't keep a lot of the receipts, but they had, you know, screenshots of some things. And so I submitted a claim for them and, you know, they got some money back. They didn't get all. The only thing they got back was of this claim and submit your receipts and you know, and good luck, you know. But but that's not me Like. I really pride myself on my customer service and making sure that every client is happy, and so they were pretty, you know, they were pretty impressed. I mean they both said, hey, you're my advisor for life, so and that makes me feel better for life.
Speaker 3:So and that makes me feel better knowing that. So yeah, so that story brings up two questions. Um one moral of the story, not moral. One of the high points do you always get the voucher, regardless of whether you're going to use it that night or not? Does I've never asked for a voucher? Is the voucher for one night only or is it just in the future? Is there a time limit on those?
Speaker 5:vouchers. So it would only be, you could only get it, and it's only if it's a mechanical issue. Right, but they could have asked for it that night.
Speaker 3:If they chose not to use it that night, could they have used it?
Speaker 5:The next night.
Speaker 5:I think it's only because I believe it's only good for that night, for that specific day. And the vouchers like and I've had families that were stuck in Denver. They were supposed to go to Hawaii and stuck in Denver. They're playing Actually funny story. That's not a funny story, but they left Denver, got in the air and hit birds and had to come back to Denver to get their plane fixed. And of course it was like two big families and uh, I'm like, well, hey, you know reach out, you know try and at least get some food vouchers. And so they did. But the food vouchers were obviously only good for the airport. They don't, you know, they're not good for, you know taking off and you know. So the food vouchers are typically only good for the airport. And then the hotel voucher it's like they typically probably have a contract with a hotel nearby and so, you know, it's that's how that works. But it would only be good for that day, because it's a mechanical issue, not a weather issue.
Speaker 3:Okay. So then my second question, also something I've never done trip insurance. You mentioned trip insurance. I don't think I've ever purchased trip insurance because the credit card I use I kind of always thought that it kind of covers me. Could you talk a little bit about the benefits of trip insurance, and is it expensive?
Speaker 5:Well, so typically trip insurance and I only really probably recommend the trip insurance more if it's international and of course it depends on the tour operator. Like one tour operator they only do like a pre-departure coverage which is, hey, if you had to cancel, we'll give you, you know, your money back. But I don't necessarily like that. My thing with travel insurance and I'm sorry but you're damned if you do and damned if you don't with insurance, no matter what kind of insurance it is, you're going to buy it, you won't need it it. But my thing with trip insurance when you're international is, if something happens, medical wise, your coverage here doesn't necessarily cover you in Mexico. You know, your US health might not cover you in Mexico but this is a you know reimbursement. And I did have a family. They ran into a medical issue and thankfully it wasn't anything emergency. But I have heard of other agents that have had clients that have had some serious issues like having their appendicitis needing to be removed while they're in Dominican.
Speaker 5:And yeah, and the hospitals there require like 30,000 upfront. Like it's not like, hey, we'll go ahead and bill you and then you pay when you want to. You know, no, you don't ever think you're going to have something serious like that happen, but it's a little bit of a of a knowing you have a little bit extra coverage in case something happened. Knowing you have a little bit extra coverage in case something happened. You know the other thing, like with Delta and United, you know their travel protection coverage is typically covering, you know, if you had to cancel, if you lost a bag, trip interruption, trip delay. I did have a big family that was down in Cancun beginning of January and a big snowstorm was coming here and I gave them the option hey, you can come home, you can might get stranded in Minneapolis, you might make it home, you know, but you have the option. Delta's issued a weather waiver. So if you want to stay down there and they're like, yeah, why would I come back to the pool?
Speaker 3:Yeah, If I got to be stuck somewhere Cancun- sounds better than Minneapolis airport.
Speaker 5:Yeah no kidding, and that was their thing. Well, you know, it didn't pay for their entire extra night, or, and actually the parents decided to stay on a few extra nights, but it didn't pay for an entire amount. But at least it was a little bit of something they knew like, okay, you know, we got a little something back, but it's just kind of a I don't know.
Speaker 5:It's like car insurance. I think you know like I can buy liability, my car's paid off, but if something would happen and I was in a car accident, that's a big amount to totally lose. So I just think for me personally and I always buy it, but I have never used it. But the biggest thing too, if I've reached out to people, hey, you know, some of those credit cards now are offering like, hey, you book, you use your card for your trip, and uh, you know, we'll cover those sorts of things. Now I don't know a hundred percent with medical. So I have been telling clients I'm like just check into it. But you know, I would much rather you have it in case something happens.
Speaker 5:Now, most you know I don't go and sell the, the high dollar one, like there's usually a couple different options. You can get a, a couple different options. You can get a full credit back or you can get a voucher back. Well, typically I usually tell people if something would happen, you canceled. You know you've paid for your whole trip, you've canceled, you're probably going to use that voucher. So that's why I usually only suggest let's just go with the standard protection one.
Speaker 5:One time have I sold the premium plan, and that was because it was a couple and the wife was terminally ill but her last wish was to go to Florida and he said I'm not going to go on a trip if she doesn't make it. And so they did pay the premium there, but she went. They had a great time, you know. But there's other options too. There is like a third-party company that I use too, which sometimes I use that Like, for instance, I had a couple big families. They went the tour company that they were going through. Only that like, for instance, I had a couple big families. They went the tour company that they were going through only offered. Like, hey, if you canceled prior to then you know you'll get your money back, but if anything happens you won't get anything back. And so then I did offer them another option, which was through a third party. And if it's adults, it always depends on the ages and the amount of the package, but kids 18 and under are typically free.
Speaker 5:So if you have kids it makes it not like as expensive, but still, you know, it's just one of those things is like I throw it out there. I suggest it for international travel, but it still is an option that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good to know where's your favorite place to travel or where where's the hot place at the moment that everybody wants to go Well, you know my favorite place to travel.
Speaker 5:I've been to Mexico a million times and I probably go there more often because I could probably do a couple trips to Cancun before doing a couple of trips to Jamaica or St Lucia or, you know, aruba. I mean I definitely have, you know, spots that I really want to go, that I'm looking to go down the future when I have a companion to go with me, but my friends are usually cheap and so that's why we go to Cancun. Oh yeah, I mean I think probably the biggest lately is cabo. I've seen really a big interest in cabo, but cabo is becoming more expensive. That's where everyone wants to go and you know, I know a lot of people around here have condos or houses in cabo, and so you. So you know they're going to Cabo all the time.
Speaker 5:But Cancun is Mexico, riviera Maya, that's probably is always nine out of 10 times always cheaper than anywhere else, and so that's probably what I sell. I mean that is what I sell the most, um, but I mean I've been to Dominican, um, to Jamaica, cabo, you know I'll I'll go back to all of them, but I don't go back to the same resort. I like to go different places. I just just because I mean, and I mean I get and I know people that oh, you know, I've been going there for the last three years. I, you know I loved it. I don't want to change, I get that, that's fine and that's who you are, you know. But I always like to look, you know, see what else is out there, if there's something you know that I haven't seen.
Speaker 4:Yeah, there's a benefit to you doing that, and it's it's your researching for the work that you do, so that makes complete sense. I would want to work with a travel agent that I know has been to a lot of different places and can make a recommendation based on. This is the kind of trip that I want to have. You know, this is the kind of experience that I want to have. What do you?
Speaker 5:recommend Absolutely. And you know and like, even I just sent off a quote. You know I'm like well, these aren't quite in your budget and I can get into your budget, but I don't want to recommend a place that I don't feel comfortable going to or that you know, like I've heard horror stories of. I don't want to send you to a place that I just don't think you're going to like, going to like. And so people usually like okay, you know, you, you obviously kind of have a little bit of a background or other support that's going to tell you like, hey, that's don't do that place, you know.
Speaker 5:So, um, and I think people like that too, like, and again it's going back to the whole research, like they didn't have to do the research, they didn't have to look anything up. You know it's saving, saving them time. I mean I just had a client here too not too long ago. They're going to Arizona and she's like I started looking for hotels and I had no idea, I didn't know what to do, and so she kind of gave me an idea what she was looking for and I just went with it and obviously she picked. I mean, I gave her options but she picked.
Speaker 4:So we went to Mexico a couple of years ago and I worked with a travel agent and I hadn't worked with a travel agent for years and I was talking with somebody at work about it and they said you worked with a travel agent who does that. And so that was one of the things that we wanted to talk with you about and you mentioned it early on that there are a lot of people who you know, don't even think about it or don't know that travel. I like what is the title that you use?
Speaker 5:Advisor Advisor.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, a lot of people don't know we exist.
Speaker 4:Yes, and I think it's it's. It seems like it's one of those professions that we kind of thought as the rise of technology came, we kind of thought the profession would go away because we can do it all for ourselves. We've talked about this with with real estate and all the people who think they can sell their own house. You can absolutely technically do it, but should you do it, and so it seems like the advantages are you're going to do all the research come with way more ideas than we would probably have the patience to find, and you're going to handle all the details.
Speaker 4:So how do you get paid?
Speaker 5:So I do charge a consulting fee. Usually it kind of depends on, you know, if, if it's an all-inclusive, usually it's just $25 an adult. You know, kind of kind of depends on the situation. Going more international becomes a little bit more involved. Like you know, I've got a couple that's getting married in oh my goodness, I just drew a blank and one of the Santorini Islands, the Greek island, and they're kind of jumping around and doing places. You know. That's a little bit more involved, a little more detail, a little bit, you know, so that's a little bit more expensive. Disney, oh Disney.
Speaker 2:I shouldn't say that. That's my thought on it. I know Disney can be a bit of a headache I shouldn't say that, but Disney is. That's my thought on it. I know, right, right.
Speaker 5:Disney can be a bit of a headache, and then there's more involved into Disney too, so there is a little bit more cost for that. But you know, most of the time I honestly don't think I've ever had anyone that says, oh my gosh, I'm not going to pay, that you know, the biggest frustration I have is when I throw out a price and then they come back and say, well, Expedia is a little cheaper. And I'm like, oh well, Expedia A. I mean not because we're not comparing apples to apples, Because I don't see what flight you're looking at with Expedia, because Expedia will throw out the cheapest flight, no doubt. Yeah, and they throw out basic economy. Well, people don't know what basic economy is right basic economy. You can't pick a seat, you can't bring a carry-on. You know there's a little bit more to that basic. I mean like I don't even sell basic economy.
Speaker 4:I guarantee, or you would probably. This is what you're saying inside your inside your thought process, right? You're like I guarantee, or you would probably this is what you're saying inside your thought process, right? You're like I guarantee, once you start to go through the process of booking, that the fees start to go up, because now you want to pick your seat, you've got a bag. You don't want to fly at 530 am.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you've got a family and you want three and two. You don't want center center, center center, bathroom, right yes.
Speaker 5:Yes, or they don't look, they don't realize that, oh, my price included transportation. Expedia typically doesn't. You know, you've got to figure that out yourself. Or you know, and for me, like and I get this question and sometimes I question myself but a lot of people were like, well, can you give me the itinerary? I'm like I can give you the itinerary, but now you're going to go book it on your own, and then I spent all of that time.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 5:And this has happened to me even most recently on someone that I thought you know, oh, she's going to book with me, you know, it's a family of five and I did the research and then came back oh thanks, we went ahead and booked it. I'm like, oh my gosh, you know and do that. And then I kick myself because I'm like I should have charged them up front. But I don't like to do that. You know, I'm like, no, I do that.
Speaker 4:Or is there a way that you can get a commitment from them? You know what? How can you, you know, how can, at some point in the beginning conversation get to? Are we going to do this together? Yep, Okay, great, Then I'm going to start my research and I'll be back to you with your options together.
Speaker 3:Yep, okay, great, then I'm going to start my research and I'll be back to you with your options. I would offer two pricing schemes. If you want me to do the research for you and you want to book it yourself, this is how much it will cost you, and I will provide the itinerary. If you would like me to do everything, it will only be this much, so it's like you choose. Yes, I can do all the research for you. Could you do that?
Speaker 4:Amy yeah.
Speaker 5:You know, I've thought about that. I've also thought about, you know, I come out with you know some type of form like, hey, you have to sign this or sign that. And you know I'm leaning towards. I probably had my first client that actually asked do I have to sign anything? You know, when I book with you and I'm like no, because this is not good of me either, because I'm Midwestern and I trust everyone, everybody, and so, yeah, and so, just like these people, like I knew this person, and I'm like you're going to book with me, why wouldn't you? You know, I mean, I didn't question that. But when I got the email it said, well, thanks for your help. We went ahead and booked it over the weekend. I'm like, oh, that's how I make my money.
Speaker 1:It's not from my consulting fee.
Speaker 5:It's the commission from the resort that's how I make my money is not from my consulting fee, it's the commission, from the resort. That's how I make my money. And so and I've had people say well, I'm not going to, I'm not going to pay you thousands of dollars for you to book my trip. I'm like whoa, like I went. No, I make my money from the resorts. It's not me charging you hundreds of dollars for you to go somewhere.
Speaker 5:I mean, I wouldn't do that either charging you hundreds of dollars for you to go somewhere. I mean I wouldn't do that either. But you know I I mean I have like lean towards where you know. Maybe I should either have them sign a contract, like if I'm going to give you, but but then like what good is a contract? Honestly, you know, I mean it would have to be an ironclad and I don't think we'd ever get to that part. But people are just like well, would I even know if they went?
Speaker 5:Unless I follow them on Facebook, I might not even know they went on a trip if I don't really know them and I've thought about, you know, I could charge an upfront fee. Charging up front fee, I knew, like back before I became a travel advisor, my dad had reached out to a travel agency in I think it was Lincoln and they said we'll give you, we'll quote you, three times, and after that it's $75 or 25. I don't remember what it was, Maybe it wasn't even 75. I don't remember. But I was like, well, maybe that's not a bad idea If I say, you know I'll, because I do get that where, I'll like I'll spend time on a trip, you know, quote them, you know. And then all of a sudden come back Well, we've changed our mind.
Speaker 5:We want to change these dates, we want to go this, we want to go that, you know which is fine, but you know, I just spent an hour five weeks ago and now you're coming back and I'm going to spend another hour, you know. So that's where I'm like. Um, you know, maybe if I did charge up front, yeah, but they'd be a little bit.
Speaker 3:They'd be a little bit more serious about their options right, right, yeah.
Speaker 5:So that's really crossed my mind and I probably should, because I tell people like you know I or I tell other advisors like we should really like people need to know our worth and the amount of you know work that we do. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:But you know so, and that's where like but this is me too, I'm like I'm not going to charge you yet, you know, because I know you're going to book with me. So you know, that's where, yeah, I just probably need to be like, hey, this is my business, you know, this is my, this is what I do and my time's worth it.
Speaker 5:And if you don't think my time's worth it, totally worth it, yeah, if you don't think it's worth it, then see ya I guess, yeah Well, if you don't think it's worth it, then they won't.
Speaker 3:But as you were listing off all the things you do, I didn't understand. So this conversation, I think, is going to help a ton of people, especially I'm going to go so far as to say those women who are younger than us that have kids. I think that everything that you do is what I used to spend months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, months and hours and hours. You said an hour. I couldn't do that Hours hours and hours.
Speaker 3:If I could have paid, if I would have understood. I was just playing paying, whether it's hourly or a flat fee or something, and and I could have said to you I was just paying, whether it's hourly or a flat fee or something, and I could have said to you we would like to go to this place or this place, and this is my window and this is my budget, and you would have come back to me. I did think it was going to be really expensive, but I'm sure that I spent beyond weeks trying to figure it out. This just sounds so much smarter.
Speaker 5:Well, and the other thing, I didn't think to say this either too. Like you know, people will be like well, I can go anytime in December, all right, I mean, would I love it if you narrowed it down? Yeah, when someone says I want to go this date to this date, that's easy for me. But when they kind of give me a broad range, not only am I looking for the cheapest flights, but I'm also looking for the best flights and the best times. You know you say I'm good all December, like okay, that really. I mean I know that closer you get to Christmas is not going to be the cheapest. So I know not to look at those dates, but I can play around with the dates and see what the best date is for the best flight times, for the best price.
Speaker 5:Because who wants to sit in an airport for an hour or or, excuse me, all day or overnight somewhere? Three, you know two connections, you know three flights. Who wants to do that when they're on vacation? No, yeah, I mean I'm saying like not, if you're going to go to, you know, mexico or Dominican, you know anywhere, we can get there in a day. Like no one wants to do that. So, but people don't think about that either, like when they're looking at Expedia. Like I said, you know there's oh, yep, hey, this is the cheapest, not knowing that it's a 20 hour layover. Expedia is cheaper. I'm like, yeah, but do you want to sit in the airport that long? What's your?
Speaker 3:time worth, yeah, so that brings up a really good question. What are I mean? You hear rumors, urban myth what are the best days to try and book your flight? What are the best days to fly? What are the best times? Is that true? Is there truth to that? That certain, like I've read, don't ever book your flight on a weekend? You know, try and do it, like at 11 o'clock on a Tuesday night, something weird like that.
Speaker 5:You know I, you know that's funny, I have heard that before I someone said, well, I, I booked flights to Hawaii and it was like midnight when we booked them because they were great prices. And I'm like, well, who wants to stay up till midnight looking at flights, you know, I mean, is there now going to like booking on a weekend? In my honest opinion, yeah, I probably see, because families or, you know, even working adults, like the weekend is their free time. That's when they're starting to look, you know, for trips, when they're starting to look, you know, for trips. And and so again, the technology that we have, that algorithm or whatever that's called. You know like, oh, you know, the airlines are picking up. There's 6 000 people looking at these flights to cancun. Let's raise the price, you know. And so I typically say let's get something. If we're gonna put on hold, let's get it pulled on hold.
Speaker 5:You know, middle of the week, or at least by the weekend, I can always look. You know, on Monday, let's check to see where that flight is, if it's gone down in price. But rarely do I see Monday the cheapest, you know. But I can't tell you for sure that Tuesday is going to be better than Monday. I mean, like and that's usually what I'll tell clients is like, hey, I'll look, you know, on Tuesday, let's just see if the price is cheaper.
Speaker 5:But I just can't guarantee it. So we either have to take the risk the gamble of you know, okay, today's flight is 800. Tomorrow might be 900. It might be 1,000 or it could be 500. You know, and that's that's the hardest part too I mean, it really is a gamble when you're wondering, you know, like is it, is it going to go down? You know when is the perfect time? I honestly can't say there's really a perfect time, but from what I've seen, I typically see Mondays a little bit can be a little bit higher, but not necessarily. How do you put things on hold? Yeah, so with tour operators you can't do that. No, you can't.
Speaker 2:But tour operators.
Speaker 5:I mean that's an advantage, I guess, to having a travel advisor, but yeah, so it always of course depends on the tour operator. So, like I use different tour operators, like American Airlines Vacations or United Vacations, delta Vacations Now Delta Airlines is. I just love Delta. I mean I would push Delta and if Delta is $100 more than United or American, I don't give you an option for United or American option for United American, just because I know Delta's customer service and I know what they strive their customer service to be like and I guess that's a whole nother story.
Speaker 5:But going back to how I put it on hold, some of them will allow and of course it depends too on the airfare. Typically I can put it on hold with full names and birth dates. So usually I'll say, okay, if you're kind of interested, you know this is what you want, let's get this on hold. You know it gives you three, four more days to really think about it if this is really what you want, and then I just need full names and birth dates as they appear on passports and then I place it on hold and then a deposit is due. And then when I place it on hold too, that's usually when I can be like. This is when I can give you the exact cost of travel protection and you know when your final is due, because even tour operators different tour operators have different final payment days. So you know operators have different final payment days, so you know. That's always a question too, like well, you know, can I pay the day before we fly out? No, but you know some tour operators, you know 30 days prior, and then you know that's.
Speaker 5:The other thing too is people don't think, oh, we can make payments, like, oh, you mean, I have 10 months to before this, this is before I have to pay for it. You know Expedia, you can't do that. Expedia wants all your money up front. But tour operators will work with you. You know they want your business and so they'll put. You know, there is one tour operator that I think I can do a 24 hour hold, but it locks in the rate. It gives the client, you know, a little bit more time to think about it. Am I going to do? I want to do, I want to do this. Now there's some they're like nope, I'm ready. Here's my name, here's my birth date. Let's do this.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 5:So yeah, you know, and the other thing too. The other thing with a travel advisor is I check periodically to see if that resort rate has gone down. And of course this goes back to tour operators. If a tour operator, some tour operators won't do it, but I'll check.
Speaker 5:Um, you know, on occasions like, let's just see, maybe the resort came down in price, maybe they have a sale going on. You know it's already booked, you've put your deposit down. Um, I mean, I just had a client that, right before their final payment, I called because they had they booked it a year well, not a year, like a 10, 11 months in advance. They booked it as soon as they could book airfare and I had been kind of checking periodically while that resort came out with a sale and in the end, because they had a couple different sales and in the end, cause they had a couple of different sales, and in the end I think I saved the client like $1,100. So I mean, and Expedia, no, you're not going to get that from Expedia. The other thing too with Expedia, I've heard, is the issues that you have when you arrive at the resort.
Speaker 5:You know they're not getting the right room category. You don't have anyone to go to you know, yeah, you know I, I mean I. I could go on and on. I'm sorry. Obviously I love my job, like I could tell you. You know lots of stories, but yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2:One of the questions I you know I was going to ask was you know what do you think about women traveling alone? You know what are your tips? You know, I know you do it. So what, what do you have to say about women looking at vacationing on their own?
Speaker 5:this is what I'll say too. If I feel safe there, I don't have any problems sending you there Now, and I get that a lot Like, well, I don't want to go to Mexico, like there's, you know so much going on in Mexico. Well, yeah, middle of Mexico, but I'm not, you're not going to the middle of Mexico. Yeah, so you know these all-inclusive resorts, like transportation's included when I quote you, and so, and these places, you know whether it's Dominican, jamaica, you know Cancun, they live on tourists, like they need tourists, and so would I tell you to take a taxi? No, I'm going to make sure that you have transportation, because that transportation is going to make sure you get where you need to go. So would I walk off? Would I tell you to go, walk off a resort property on your own? Probably not. You know, if you're in a group, yeah, you're fine, but for me, I mean, yeah, you know, like I've, part of my job is going on these work trips and checking out through resorts and yep, and so I'm going on my own.
Speaker 3:I mean even.
Speaker 5:I will even do it like if I'm on like a little vacation or whatever. I'll take a day. Well, you know, I, I pay for a company to take me those places and I know they're going to get me there safe and they're going to get me back to the resort safe. So the other thing too is I, and I tell people that question well, you know, I don't know if it's safe.
Speaker 5:Well, I'm not going to put you in the worst part of Chicago and tell you that you're going to be fine. You know, obviously, you're not going to go to the worst part of Chicago, nor, nor, and you're going to use your common sense and, you know, pay attention to your surroundings. That's the same with mexico. I'm not sending you to the worst part of mexico or the worst part of dominican, you know, um, they, they, they want you, they want tourists, because that's how the company or the country is, you know, doing fine. Or is there bad things that can happen? Yes, but there's bad things that can happen. In Sioux Falls, you know, or Chicago, like I'm just one that you know, I would just rather just go enjoy life and have a good time and watch my surroundings, pay attention, yeah, I feel like I just always have my head on a swivel.
Speaker 4:You know, it's just. It's just what we do in general.
Speaker 5:Right, yeah, I mean you got to be safe. I mean, like I said, chicago's, you know, honestly, um, I think the Cancun area is probably safer than than Chicago, but I mean, I'm not saying that I'm not going to go to Chicago. I'd go to Chicago, I've been to Chicago. Yeah, but yeah just use common sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah Well, you've confirmed my um, my uh desire to work with a travel agent. For sure, I mean, there's nothing but good reasons to to do it and, um, it is definitely nice to have that peace of mind and you know, to know that you do have somebody to reach out to if you have an issue.
Speaker 5:Absolutely. And I, you know I kind of have shared a few incidents that I've had with my clients. You know of of something that's happened you know, which again kind of tells you like I really pride myself on customer service. You know I had had a client reach out in March and you know he wasn't liking what he was seeing in his room and he's like what do do? I'm like well, I can't help you right now, but this is what you can do, you know. But if you want to change resorts I can help you. But go see the manager and he ended up getting an awesome upgrade and he was so thankful. Otherwise they were looking at moving you, move into a different resort, but can you tell us what he was seeing in his room?
Speaker 5:um. Water coming out of the faucet was black. Yeah, and he's like and the shower doesn't work. I'm like, oh my gosh, and I'm thinking and these people, you know, they travel at least once a year and they're picking nice resorts. And I'm like, oh my goodness, all right, you know, let's go to the front desk, ask for a manager, because if you don't ask for a manager, the people behind the desk are just like oh yeah, we'll send maintenance and yeah, you know, and that's what happened.
Speaker 5:He went, got some you know, we'll send maintenance over well, they didn't do anything. And then he went to the manager and then, and then they ended up moving him up to a preferred room and he's like this is awesome. And he's like, well, this worked out, this worked out great. So I mean he was happy at the end. But yeah, it's. And again he didn't know what to do and and if he would have had Expedia, he would have had no one to to reach out to, to ask what do I do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're just on your own. Yeah, yep, yep.
Speaker 5:Awesome Do you have any other funny?
Speaker 2:do you have anything funny? That's happened. You know what's the funniest, craziest thing that you think has happened?
Speaker 5:Oh, you just put me on the spot, Stacey.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 5:No, um. No, I mean because, honestly, like you know, not a lot of people will really share the funny stories. You know they'll share the bad things with me or they'll say, like this place was great. You know, I did have a client reach out that you know she's a nurse and this isn't a funny story but someone was having a reaction. I can't remember exactly what it was. They were having a reaction on the plane, a seizure on the plane, and so she emailed me, told me all about it. I'm like, oh, my gosh, like you know, like you hear about those in stories, but she's like, yeah, I was right there holding his head. I, she's like, I, I stood up during the landing like I could, because I couldn't let go of his head, and I'm like, oh, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean obviously that's not funny.
Speaker 5:It's not funny to talk about. Interesting situations yeah.
Speaker 4:For sure.
Speaker 5:I only hear about hey, that was a great place or hey, we're having a problem here. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, you know what? I'm pretty sure that we've got a lot of listeners in the Sioux Falls area, so where? How can people get in touch with you?
Speaker 5:So I'm on Facebook beyond travel. My website is beyond travel dot vacations Nocom. Just beyond travelvacations. No dot com, just beyondtravelvacations, and there's a link there to send me, you know, like an inquiry of you know what you're looking for and then my email is amy at beyondtravelvacations.
Speaker 4:Okay, and also I mean, it doesn't matter where they are and where you are. I don't know, but I'm just thinking, thinking I know there are people in the area that that listen, so but definitely you don't have to be in sioux falls to work with you well and that's the thing with, yeah, internet, like you know, used to before like I would actually meet with clients and, you know, go over documents, but now they're like, oh, just send it.
Speaker 5:You know, email it to me. And you know, people don't really necessarily. Some people do. They think they still need that one-on-one, you know but, and some people don't, but it's whatever the client wants.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, if you're here I'll do it, otherwise, if you're not, and I have a lot of clients in iowa, nebraska, so yeah, yeah, when we put this out there, we will put all your you know information and and link to your facebook and website and everything.
Speaker 5:So I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're very welcome. This was good information. I know Kitty enjoyed it. I did too, just because we always talk about this. And how do we plan big trips? And I didn't understand how. How do we plan big trips and you know what? And I didn't. I didn't understand. You know how you got paid. You know from from resorts is mostly where you make your money, so that's interesting. You know it's not the huge cost to the person booking the trip as it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it really isn't. You know, it's just it and it makes to me, it makes the client. It's less work for the client. All I gotta do pretty much is give me their credit card and they have a trip.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, awesome. Well, thank you for joining us at Three Cocktails In this week.
Speaker 5:Thank you guys. I really honestly, when you said, oh, we usually go talk about an hour, I'm like, Ooh, I don't know if I can talk that long.
Speaker 2:We went 50 minutes, no problem, it would be a good one and, yes, we enjoyed your conversation, of course, so awesome.
Speaker 5:Well, I look forward to working with you guys. I appreciate this. Yeah, I do.
Speaker 2:Thank you Going somewhere, awesome yeah.
Speaker 5:We'll see you next week, you too. Bye-bye.
Speaker 4:Bye.
Speaker 1:Look, now we got that. Turn it up loud. I know you're wondering how I got that. Wow, here I go. Here I go, coming. I can't ever stop. I'm a tour de force running. Get me to the top. I don't need an invitation. I'm about to start a celebration. Let me in. Brought a good time for some friends. Turn it up loud past 10. Turning up the crowd when I hit him with the power.