How Charlene Calwell Became Barrie’s Top Travel Advisor
by Marsha Mowers
Screenshot
Charlene Calwell is beaming with gratitude.
The Travel Agent Next Door advisor has just been selected Best Travel Agent in the 2024 Barrie Advance Readers’ Choice Awards. She’s thankful be able to help her clients discover new experiences, thankful for the daily support of her host agency and fellow advisors and values the strong relationships with her supplier partners.
Rather surprisingly, she didn’t even know she was nominated until last week.
“I had a notification in my email on January 17th saying I was a Diamond Winner in the Barrie Advance Readers’ Choice Awards, and I ignored it because I didn’t know I had even been nominated,” she tells Travel Market Report Thursday afternoon with a giggle.
“When I investigated it more, I realized that it was true, I had tied for first place. It was really, exciting!
Winning the Barrie Advance Reader’s Choice Diamond Award for Best Travel Agent is such an honour, and I’m thrilled that it creates awareness for my business while also distinguishing me in the highly competitive travel industry.”
Given her previous accolades—Gold (second place) last year and Platinum (first place) the year before in The Community Votes Barrie Awards, for which she is in the running again this year —Calwell’s win should not have been entirely unexpected.
She is deeply moved by the community’s recognition and attributes her success to her genuine care for her clients and their travel experiences.
“A lot of people only take one holiday a year, so they don’t want to leave it up to chance. I think people are starting to realize that yes, they can post on social media and ask their friends for suggestions, but more people are now serious about wanting a professional travel advisor to help.
No matter what the budget is, everyone wants to make sure that they’re going to get the best bang for their buck.”
Calwell stressed that understanding clients involves listening to their needs and thinking intuitively. By noting potential interests, she keeps the conversation active year-round.
“Listen to your client and just try to get a feel for what their needs are,” added Calwell.
“I have discovery forms that I have my clients fill out to give me a sense of their travel style, then I do a zoom or face to face meeting to really dig in and find out exactly what they want. They have questions, I have questions, it’s a good way to get clarity.”
“I might come across a pasta tour in Italy that I know a client would love so I reach out to them with the information.”
Calwell is hoping to expand her business in 2025 and has already gotten a lot of requests for Greece, Italy and other parts of Europe as well as river and ocean cruising which she expects will be tops again this year.
“It’s been fabulous being with the Travel Agent Next Door for almost ten years. It was a little scary being brand new at first, but I like to take care of people and have a strong customer service background.
Plus, travel’s always been in my blood.”
