6 Small Travel Agencies Doing Big Business

There’s a belief among many travel advisors that you have to be a big agency to do big business. While there’s some truth to that – an agency with 20 employees or 15 independent contractors is probably more likely to do more business than an agency with less than 10 empoyees or ICs – it’s not a universal truth.

With a strategic mindset and systems to help with efficiency, small agencies – yes, even a two-person agency – can do a lot of business.

Travel Market Report reached out to several consortia and host agencies to find out which of their smaller member agencies are doing $5 million or more in business. What follows is a roundup of three of these agencies, with advice from their owners on how to maximize your time to sell more.

San Simeon Travel
Owners: Diana and John O’Regan

Annual booking volume: $8,000,000
This year’s sales goal: $10,000,000

Number of employees: 5
Number of ICs: 0

Number of years in business: 31

Do you have a specialized focus? We escort group safaris to Africa every year, and also specialize in creating customized non-escorted safaris for multi-gen and affinity groups.  Additionally, we sell a plethora of luxury vacations.

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? Yes
How many? We definitely have our Top 5 go-to suppliers based on our relationship with them and their high customer satisfaction.  We do, however, work with other suppliers when we feel they may better suit the particular needs of the client.

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: Direct mail

Are you available to clients 24/7? Yes

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? Don’t give it away for free; expertise and relationships hold immense value.  Also, stay in your lane when it comes to selecting clients to work with. Choose those who fit into your agency’s area of expertise. Don’t try to be all things to all travelers.  On a regular basis we refer clients that don’t fit well with our profile to other booking channels.

Cruise Planners
Owner: Michael Consoli

Annual booking volume: $40,000,000
This year’s sales goal: $50,000,000

Number of employees: 4
Number of ICs: 2

Number of years in business: 20

Do you have a specialized focus? River and luxury

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? Yes.
How many? Four: Viking, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Tauck, Celebrity Cruises

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: In-person events

Are you available to clients 24/7? Yes

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? Create organized processes for booking, payments, double checking, and follow up. Wear your agency branded apparel everywhere you go in your daily life. Host in-person events. Have your elevator speech ready. Make yourself available.

Seize the Seas
Owners: Cindy & David Locke

Annual booking volume: approx. $10,000,000
This year’s sales goal: $10,000,000

Number of employees: 0
Number of ICs: 4 (2 full time/2 part time)

Number of years in business: 20

Do you have a specialized focus? Luxury: blue ocean, yacht, river, expedition, and escorted tours

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? Yes.
How many: Blue Ocean – 5 to 6 | River – 4 | Yacht – 1 to 2 | Expedition – 3

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: Avoya, Google

Are you available to clients 24/7? Yes.

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? As soon as you work with a client and you feel confident that they will book, hold a cabin. That should only take up to 15 minutes of your time. Try to answer questions as they come in, and do not procrastinate.

On Deck Travel
Owner: Effie Beshere-Walthall

Annual booking volume: Approx. $5,500,000
This year’s sales goal: $6,000,000

Number of employees: 0
Number of ICs: 7

Number of years in business: 30

Do you have a specialized focus? Cruising

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? Yes.
How many? RCCL, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: We have a very robust email marketing platform where we send emails out weekly to our customers. It is so very important to stay in front of your customers.

Are you available to clients 24/7? Yes.

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? Focus on efficient planning and technology use; specialization and continuous learning; and networking and partnerships.

Roger Kershaw Custom Travel, Inc.
Owner: Roger Kershaw

Annual booking volume: $5,000,000
This year’s sales goal: $6,000,000

Number of employees: 2
Number of ICs: 0

Number of years in business: 42

Do you have a specialized focus? Luxury leisure and corporate

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? Anything Ensemble and Travel Edge related.
How many? Too many to mention.

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: All my business is from client referrals.

Are you available to clients 24/7? Yes.

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? Education, knowledge, power, and access.  They keywords of my success.

Wallace Pierson Travel
Owner: Ange Wallace

Annual booking volume: $12,500,000
This year’s sales goal: $15,000,000

Number of employees: Sales – 4 (1 full time/2 part time)| Support – 5 (2 full time/3 part time)
Number of ICs: 1

Number of years in business: 50

Do you have a specialized focus? Luxury and adventure travel/expedition cruises

Do you focus on specific supplier partners? We have our “Platinum Partners”
How many? 13 this year

Marketing channel with the highest ROI: Phone calls out to clients/ client educational events

Are you available to clients 24/7? We have a voice mail message that refers clients to a cell phone of one of the owners for any after-hours needs.  Our best clients (Platinum Clients) have the cell phone number of the advisor or an owner to make that call easier.  

What is your best advice for maximizing your time? Read the book “Who Not How” by Dan Sullivan.