Cosmo’s ‘Career As A Travel Agent’ Story Not What You Think
by Richard D’Ambrosio /Photo: Linkedin
It started out sounding so positive: “12 Reasons Why Being a Travel Agent Should Be Your Dream Job.”
But then came the subtitle: “You don't need any special training for a job that lets you travel the world.”
It was hardly what the travel agent interviewed for the article expected—and Katelyn O'Shaughnessy, a former luxury travel agent and now CEO and founder of TripScope, told TMR she doesn’t necessarily agree with the sentiment.
After the story ran in July, some agents contacted her, objecting to some of the article’s characterizations. For example, the story, “as told to” Cosmo staff writer Arielle Pardes, said: “Anyone can be a travel agent. It's not like being a real estate agent, where you have to pass a series of tests to prove that you know your stuff. When I started working as a travel agent right out of college, I didn't know anything. I'd barely even traveled out of Portland, where I grew up.”
Indeed, Ann Chamberlin, president of the National Association of Career Travel Agents, took exception to the subtitle and the above paragraph. The article could “completely confuse people off the street into thinking this is a job they can do with no formal training,” she noted.
But O’Shaughnessy never meant to be taken that way, she said. “When I told Cosmopolitan anyone could be an agent, I meant anyone could learn to be a travel agent. It will entail training and educational workshops and webinars, but there’s a ton of resources provided by agencies and consortia to help you learn the skills you need to be successful.”
The article also portrayed fam trips as common perks for the typical agent. “You'll regularly go on free trips to luxury resorts sponsored by hotel companies or resorts,” the article said. But as TMR has been pointing out in its recent series on fam trips, invitations to fams are growing harder to come by.
“I know I don’t go on free trips to luxury resorts often,” said Jessica Younginer, luxury travel advisor at Imagine Travel, Summerfield, NC. “Seasoned travel agents know that you’re invited based on sales volumes.”
Some points hit the mark
Still, O’Shaughnessy’s respect and understanding for the profession can be seen in other sections of the story. For example, she told Cosmo that creating a niche is critical, that “the job is pretty much 24/7,” and that fam trips aren’t all vacation time. “You can't sleep in and relax on the beach like you would on a real vacation.”
O'Shaughnessy also talked about how travel agent GDSs use arcane codes, “like the Cross of Lorraine,” and user interfaces that haven’t yet joined the 21st century. “It's almost like learning how to code. It takes at least a year to get familiar with it, and much longer until each of the commands becomes intuitive,” she said.
In an interview with TMR, O’Shaughnessy explained further. “I was fortunate to work for one of the larger travel agencies in L.A. Because of this I had a manager who would dedicate an hour each day to train me on Sabre. I also had great mentors who had been successful agents for years, and I learned a lot from working with them.”
Ambition and persistence lead to travel success
O’Shaughnessy majored in broadcast journalism, taking 23 credits each semester and attending classes year-round, and receiving her four-year bachelor’s degree in just two years. And as the youngest of four with a single mom, she didn’t get the chance to travel or study abroad. “I wanted more than anything to travel the world. I always felt no matter how hard you study in school, or how well-educated you were, there’s nothing like travel to make you a well-rounded, cultured individual,” she said.
O’Shaughnessy looked into becoming a travel agent when she moved to Los Angeles and met her roommate’s brother, who worked for an agency. Without experience, she pressed her case with the TravelStore, and after some persistence landed a job as an in-house agent. She then became an independent agent with Coastline Travel Advisors, where she specialized in honeymoons and destination weddings.
On her own
Today, O’Shaughnessy works for herself. She is CEO and founder of TripScope. “While working as a luxury travel agent for TravelStore, I was frustrated with the lack of tools available to travel agents, so I decided to create a solution—and that was TripScope.”
Founded in February 2013 while O’Shaughnessy was still working full-time as a travel agent, Tripscope is a platform that allows agents to aggregate reservation details into itineraries that can be delivered to clients via paper, online, or through an interactive mobile app.
Her company works with several consortia and was recently accepted into one of the country’s top tech incubators, Amplify, where O’Shaughnessy is the first female founder. Since then, she raised $1.2 million in venture capital, including backing from the former CEO of Expedia. This year she was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” for TripScope’s innovative technology.
Balanced feedback
O’Shaughnessy told TMR that the majority of feedback from travel agents about the article was very positive, though she did receive “one or two LinkedIn messages” from agents who were unhappy with it.
“My intentions were never to offend or put down the travel agent profession, it was quite the contrary,” she said. “When Cosmopolitan reached out to me asking me to share my experience as a travel agent and what I wish I knew before starting my career, I was excited to tell a whole new demographic of people how great being a travel agent is. Many young people want to find a career that encompasses their passion for travel and helping people. Like myself, a lot of them do not realize that being a travel agent is even an option.”
What she was hoping to convey, O’Shaughnessy said, was that “everybody has to start somewhere. If you’re driven and a self-starter you can begin obtaining the skills needed to become a travel agent. Ultimately it comes down to human connections; if you can listen and understand your client’s needs, then utilize your travel industry partners and relationships, you can create a wonderful trip for your clients.”
Some agents hope that Cosmo readers read the full article to understand O’Shaughnessy’s full perspective.
“I don’t think everyone can be a travel agent,” Younginer said. “If you’re not a personable person it is not a job for you. If you can’t answer the phone at 3 a.m. when a client’s flight in Italy is delayed, you shouldn’t be a travel agent. Also, you deal with a lot of happy people but sometimes no matter what you do, you can’t make someone happy.”
On that, O’Shaughnessy agrees.