Ask-an-Advisor: How Do I Automate My CRM Without Losing the Personal Touch?

This is 2026’s third edition of TMR’s Ask an Advisor series, a regular column where a team of travel advisors tackles questions from others in the industry. All questions from this series have been submitted by readers and vetted by the TMR editorial team.

Dear Ask-an-Advisor,

I know my CRM is a goldmine for repeat business, but I struggle to use it for more than just basic data entry. What are the most effective ways to automate client follow-ups and ‘surprise and delight’ touchpoints without losing the personal, high-touch feel my clients expect? What about using AI or CRM workflows to nurture these relationships more effectively?

Sincerely,
Anonymous

Savannah Sharp, Travel Advisor, Trip Guy Travel

Most advisors recognize that a CRM is powerful, yet it often ends up serving as a storage system rather than a relationship tool. It still surprises me how many agents either don’t use one or aren’t utilizing their CRM to its full potential.

While many established agents with large client bases offload CRM management to an administrator, those who haven’t reached that point must ensure every client—including leads—is added to a client card with full names, dates of birth, emails, and phone numbers at a minimum. Having this data ready allows you to focus entirely on the booking entry once a lead converts. You should then document the vendor, commission rate, travel dates, hotel brands, and loyalty rewards. Modern CRMs, like Vacation CRM, simplify this by using AI to automate data entry directly from booking confirmations.

While this may seem like a significant undertaking, distributing the effort between the quoting and booking stages provides a wealth of actionable knowledge. You can then use tools like ChatGPT or Gmail’s AI writer to leverage travel dates and payment deadlines to automate client check-ins. Managing this efficiently ensures you stay present for your clients while keeping all essential information in one accessible place.

Regarding client-facing communication, I like to use ChatGPT to create steady templates for my emails, though I always add a personal touch so clients never feel like just a number. If a client wanted a purely automated experience, they would use an AI bot to book; our value lies in that personal connection. Utilizing features like email scheduling allows you to draft these communications during slow periods, enabling you to “set it and forget it” without losing the high-touch feel.

Savannah Sharp has carved out a distinct niche in the industry, specializing in custom FIT travel throughout Europe and Asia. With nearly a decade of experience, she focuses on designing highly personalized itineraries, destination weddings, and experiential travel for clients across the United States. Her expertise spans luxury accommodations, immersive cultural experiences, and specialty trips such as equestrian and small-group journeys.

Lesley Sawhook, Owner, Exclusive Travel Partners

I know my CRM is a goldmine for repeat business, but I struggle to use it for more than just basic data entry. What are the most effective ways to automate client follow-ups and ‘surprise and delight’ touchpoints without losing the personal, high-touch feel my clients expect? What about using AI or CRM workflows to nurture these relationships more effectively?

This is difficult to keep up with and for a busy travel professional, it may require an assistant to help organize this to get it off the ground. If used properly, you can reach out to guests approaching milestone birthdays to see if they need help setting up a celebratory trip. You can use it to reach out when you see guests’ passports will be expiring soon as a touch point so you remain top-of-mind for your guests. If a vendor releases a special offer, you can use your CRM data to pull the contacts of those who have taken similar trips with a similar budget. Then, send them direct marketing to see if they would like a quote. Our CRM contains a wealth of usable data; the true challenge is finding the time to utilize it given our busy day-to-day schedules. 

Lesley Sawhook leads a national team of travel professionals alongside her husband, Tim. With over 17 years of experience in the industry, she prides herself on delivering excellent customer service and utilizing social media to drive business growth. Lesley has personally maintained over a million dollars in annual sales for the past 15 years. She manages both her personal and agency social media accounts, achieving significant reach on TikTok (@LesleyETP), where she has over 250,000 followers.