3 Lessons from Veteran Travel Industry Exec Jared Braunstein

Jared Braunstein, senior vice president of business development and strategy at Outside Agents, has held high level roles at consortia and host agencies for over 30 years – so he knows the travel industry well. 

In fact, he began his career in 1994 working at his father Martin Braunstein’s now-defunct, New York-based travel consortium, Space and Leisure Time. He was first an account executive and eventually worked his way to becoming vice president of sales, before Space and Leisure Time was sold in 1999. 

“[My father] started me from the ground up and I had to earn my way into the business,” Braunstein told Travel Market Report. “I really don’t have any desire to work anywhere else but the travel industry because it is a really fantastic business. Between the people that I’ve worked with and the travel experiences that I’ve had, that’s what has kept me here.” 

Braunstein has since held leadership positions at Vacation.com and Travel Leaders Network, before joining Outside Agents in 2021. His most recent promotion has only invigorated the goal he’s had all along: to help travel agencies reach their full potential. 

Travel Market Report spoke with Braunstein about some of the biggest lessons he’s gleaned from a lifelong dedication to the travel industry. 

Never Stop Learning about the Business 

When he first entered the travel world, Braunstein was visiting agencies in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Connecticut as their consortium account executive. But during those first two years, he also sold travel on the side to learn more about the business. 

“I wanted to become familiar with the people I was visiting during my sales calls,” he said. 

Braunstein has maintained that growth mindset even as he surpasses three decades in the industry. After all, the travel industry is always changing, and there is always something to learn. One of the biggest changes he’s seen is “agents and agencies really having to turn themselves into creative businesspeople.”  

“There are so many changes going on in our industry, and so many changes between technology and product, it’s tough to keep up,” he added. 

Part of Braunstein’s job is to connect advisors with the many training, marketing, and technological resources out there to help them with their businesses – “It’s all at everybody’s fingertips, it’s just a matter of taking advantage of it.” 

He encourages advisors and agencies to, first of all, embrace changes because they are inevitable, and secondly, not get too overwhelmed by the influx of resources. Instead, he tells agencies to take it slow and learn new tools and processes one-by-one. 

“I always say: be proactive. I know everybody’s really busy, but when you have some time to expand your knowledge base and learn more about marketing resources, utilizing the training, utilizing the technology, it’s going to make your business more efficient,” he said. “The more familiar you become with a program or a product, the better for you. Then you move on to the next. So that’s always my advice: take it slow and learn as much as you can before you move on to the next initiative that you want to take on.” 

Braunstein’s own role at Outside Agents has expanded each year, from taking on public relations to helping launch Opulence, Outside Agents’ luxury division that launched in 2024. Whether it was writing press releases or managing vendor relations, respectively, he’s had to learn many new skills along the way. Overall, he enjoys the variety of roles he’s involved in – support, sales, marketing – because no one day is exactly like the next. 

Communication is Key for Great Relationships 

The travel industry is all about forming relationships. Whether it’s with suppliers, travel agencies, or clients, everyone involved needs to stay interconnected for the magic to happen.  

“Building relationships is such an important component of being successful,” Braunstein said. “You need to know your clients’ needs and desires and wants, and you need to know who they are.” 

But what is the best way to make those connections? Braunstein learned this lesson early on when visiting a travel agency whose owner told him the key to a great relationship is simple: communication. 

“I’ll never forget there was an agency that I visited on Staten Island, and the owner of that agency said, ‘If you provide me with value, I’ll stay with you forever. Just communicate with me.'” 

Now, Braunstein relishes keeping connected with agencies – even when he doesn’t have all the answers. 

“It’s okay if I don’t have an answer right away. It’s okay,” he said. “As long as you try to find that answer and follow up, the individual on the other end of the line will have respect for you.” 

Communicating also means providing mentorship. As much as he’s learned over the years, he now likes to communicate those lessons with others. 

“I’ve had a lot of people give me a lot of great advice, and I think I’m at the point where I’m still learning, but at the same time, I like to give back some of that advice or some of that mentorship.” 

Travel is a Privilege. Enjoy It. 

Just this year, Braunstein has had two amazing travel experiences: a safari in South Africa and cruising to multiple Greek islands.  

The safari “wasn’t something that I thought I would be interested in doing, and it became one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life,” he said. 

Braunstein also loves a good river cruise: “Sitting on a river cruise and watching the world go by is such an amazing experience, as well.” 

But he also knows one thing to be true: “It’s such a privilege to be in this business.” 

“I love to travel. It really opens your eyes to the world, and it’s a privilege to be in this industry and be able to travel all over the world and have these types of experiences.” 

Some of his favorite travel memories are taking FAM trips with travel advisors, and it’s easy to see why – they combine all three of the best parts of his job: lifelong learning, forming relationships, and enjoying travel. 

“It’s more exciting when I get to travel with the agencies and have the different experiences with the agencies, learning about product or learning about destinations while there,” he said. “I’m glad I’ve been able to experience that with the different agencies throughout my career.

“My goal is to continue to create as much value for our member agents and our preferred vendors as possible, building on the value proposition that we already offer, and helping them to grow their business,” Braunstein concluded. “I really care about the industry. I care about the agents, I care about the suppliers, and I want to continue to build relationships. I want to continue to learn. That’s really important to me.  

“I’m having a great time in this in this industry,” he said, “and you know, it’s one of those things where you just don’t want it to end.”