Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Air
  • Training & Events
  • Who We Are
    • Brian Israel
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Kelly Fontenelle

Valerie Wilson Takes a Multi-Pronged Approach To Nurturing Good Travel Agents

by Cheryl Rosen / July 18, 2017
Valerie Wilson Takes a Multi-Pronged Approach To Nurturing Good Travel Agents


With the economy expanding rapidly and travel booming, travel agencies just can’t find enough good people these days.  So Valerie Wilson Travel has taken a multi-pronged approach to hiring and training that includes internships, in-house trainings and mentoring programs. 

“We do a lot of Lunch and Learns,” Dan Beschloss, executive director of industry relations for the New York-based agency, told TMR, “and presentations by suppliers that come in four forms: walk-arounds from desk to desk; meet and greets, where the supplier sits in a conference room and travel advisors come in as they have time; open-house lunches where everyone is invited; and formal lunch seminars about a destination.”  

The seminars are not by a specific hotel, but rather hosted by a tour operator or DMC invited in to talk about a destination as a whole. One recent one, for example, featured a 30-minute presentation by Abercrombie & Kent on Brazil.  

And then of course there are fam trips. Beschloss himself tries to escort Valerie Wilson Travel agents on two or three of those a year; the company hosts about a dozen a year, with six to eight agents on each one.  

After many internal discussions about how to attract young people right out of college, Valerie Wilson also has instituted internship and externship programs to draw in new young employees and a mentoring program to help new ones get acclimated. College students — including a large contingent from Bucknell, where Kimberly Wilson Wetty went to school – work during summers and school breaks and are attached to a single department, usually leisure travel. The goal is for them to come back and become leisure travel advisors when they graduate. 

Perhaps the biggest need is for agents in meetings and events, a big growth area for Valerie Wilson this year. The heading “special events” includes many hot niches, including multigenerational travel and destination weddings, and “they are over-the-top busy,” Beschloss said. 

Moving across the table: Working with suppliers
In addition to creating educational trips for Valerie Wilson employees, Beschloss nowadays also is involved in growing relationships with the agency’s suppliers. And that begins just the way a relationship between and travel advisor and a client begins: with a one-on-one conversation. 

While your product is important, focus on getting to know your travel advisor on a personal level, he advises suppliers. If you develop a strong relationship, they will find a way to provide you with business.  

“When I meet a supplier for the first time, I just want to talk, to hear where they worked before, what they like to do,” he said. But eventually he will be looking for partners who are willing to get creative with value-adds, to provide things like free breakfasts and room upgrades that are guaranteed at the point of sale, to help provide unique access to experiences. 

In Santiago recently, for example, a supplier offered an example of a trip for art lovers by taking Beschloss and his group to the workplace of an artist for a wine and cheese reception, then to the home of an art dealer who prepared a meal for them.  

A food lover himself, Beschloss said that when he travels, he asks the concierge of the hotel not for a recommendation but for the name of the restaurant where he himself takes his family to eat.  

The key to good food is to “find a restaurant where the menu has no English,” he said.  

  1
  0
Related Articles
TRAVELSAVERS and NEST Parent AMG Launches New-to-Industry Training Program Called Kore
What Travel Advisors Should Know About 2021 Taxes
Chile Launches New Training Program for Travel Advisors
Abu Dhabi Launches “Specialist Program” for Travel Advisors
Headquarter Happenings: Nexion Focuses on Building Connections and Expanding Education Services
Luxury Gold Rolls Out Training Program
How Travel Agents Can Avoid Becoming a Victim of Fraud
How Travel Agents Can Stay Relevant When the World Thinks They're Not
What to Consider When Launching Your Website
How Might Health Insurance Change for Travel Agents in 2018?

MOST VIEWED

  1. U.S. State Department Updates Jamaica Travel Warning to Level 3
  2. First Hand Look at the Soon-to-Open Sam Lord's Castle Barbados, A Wyndham Grand Resort
  3. TSA Will Now Allow Teens to Access PreCheck with Parents or Guardians
  4. 25 Qualifying Questions to Help You Nail Your Clients' Vacation Plans
  5. Tips for Delivering Bad News to Your Clients
  6. Report: Margaritaville Times Square Faces Foreclosure

MOST EMAILED

  1. First Hand Look at the Soon-to-Open Sam Lord's Castle Barbados, A Wyndham Grand Resort
  2. 5 Reasons You Need to Use a Travel Advisor Now More Than Ever
  3. U.S. State Department Updates Jamaica Travel Warning to Level 3
  4. 25 Qualifying Questions to Help You Nail Your Clients' Vacation Plans
  5. TSA Will Now Allow Teens to Access PreCheck with Parents or Guardians
  6. Tips for Delivering Bad News to Your Clients
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
Tennis Icon Venus Williams Will Headline ASTA’s 2024 Global Convention
Tennis Icon Venus Williams Will Headline ASTA’s 2024 Global Convention

Williams will speak on her entrepreneurial journey during next year's AGC in Dallas. 

Read...
Even with Mask Mandate Lifted, Airline Passengers Are Still Behaving Badly
Even with Mask Mandate Lifted, Airline Passengers Are Still Behaving Badly

Vaping is now the most frequent reason for passenger non-compliance. 

Read...
Double Their Luxury Experience in Riviera Cancun
Double Their Luxury Experience in Riviera Cancun

If you’re looking for a recommendation on a luxury adults-only vacation experience, Secrets® Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa is sure to impress. 

Read...
New Legislation Would Give Travel Advisors a Seat on DOT Advisory Body
New Legislation Would Give Travel Advisors a Seat on DOT Advisory Body

Travel advisors could soon have a seat on a key DOT advisory body.

Read...
Carnival Cruise Line Unveils "Your Winning Plan" Roadshow and Competition
Carnival Cruise Line Unveils "Your Winning Plan" Roadshow and Competition

Carnival is giving advisors the opportunity to learn from SBA business experts, while at the same time competing for $20K worth of prizes. 

Read...
One Year Out, Cruise Planners Reflects on Move Away from American Express
One Year Out, Cruise Planners Reflects on Move Away from American Express

Cruise Planners was the only travel franchise with an American Express Travel Affiliation.

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
Cruise Trend Outlook 2023
river cruise 2022
group outlook 2022
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/TIZwKLcPwbg/0.jpg
We Appreciate our Travel Advisors
About Travel Market Report Mission Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events Outlook/Whitepapers Previous Sponsored Articles Previous This Week Articles
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News |Tours & Packages |Cruise |Hotels & Resorts |Destinations |Retail Strategies |Niche & Luxury |Air |Training & Events |Who We Are
© 2005 - 2023 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy