September 17, 2025 • 16 mins
Episode Overview
Travel advisors Ryan and Julie pull back the curtain on their daily work, revealing the extensive behind-the-scenes effort that goes into creating seamless travel experiences. From initial trip planning to post-travel follow-up, discover why working with a professional travel advisor is invaluable in today's complex travel landscape.
Key Topics Covered
Client-Facing Services
- Custom Trip Planning: Hours spent researching resorts, hotels, and excursions tailored to your travel style
- Itinerary Development: Creating detailed, personalized travel plans for destinations like Europe and multi-generational trips
- Booking Management: Handling reservations, payments, and traveler information input
- Pre-Travel Support: Passport checks, travel protection discussions, transfer arrangements
- Disney Specialization: Dining reservations, Lightning Lane planning, and detailed touring strategies
- Travel Day Assistance: 24/7 support via text and phone during your trip
- Post-Travel Follow-up: Gathering feedback and planning future adventures
Behind-the-Scenes Work
- Industry Intelligence: Daily monitoring of resort openings, refurbishments, and reviews
- Continuous Education: Weekly training sessions and networking with travel partners
- Partner Relationships: Maintaining contacts for quick problem resolution
- Travel Documentation: Creating comprehensive travel packets and using specialized apps
- Client Care: Thank you cards, welcome home notes, birthday cards, and referral gifts
- Business Development: Weekly team meetings, content creation, webinars, and community events
Featured Destination Spotlight
Pacific Northwest & Canada Road Trip: A 3.5-week adventure through Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Banff, and Montana, featuring the iconic Edgewater Hotel in Seattle with its rich rock and roll history.
Why Choose a Travel Advisor?
Just as you trust financial advisors with your money and doctors with your health, travel advisors provide expertise you can't get from clicking "book now" online. They navigate complex booking systems, understand fine print, and provide ongoing support that transforms travel planning from stressful to effortless.
Keywords: travel advisor, travel agent, trip planning, Disney travel specialist, European vacation planning, cruise planning, travel tips, vacation planning, professional travel services
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
we talk about trips we'reworking on, or we share stories
of experiences our clients havehad.
today we're gonna go behind thescenes and share what the life
of a travel advisor is reallylike and how we spend our time
helping you.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (00:21):
Listen in with travel advisors and
destination experts.
Ryan and Julie.
I'm your travel professorteaching you everything you need
to know to have a magicalvacation, and she's a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three.
And a specialist in familytravel, whether we're discussing
incredible destinations, topvacation tips, or sharing
personal stories, it's alwaysall things travel.
(00:47):
I looked at this list that youput on here today and yes, these
are all things that we do, butnow that you and I have our own
agency, you left my number onetask off, I'm in charge of
paying out commissions.
So I'm the one that pays youyour money.
I thought that would be thenumber one on the list.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:03):
because this is about helping our
clients, Ryan,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:06):
That's true.
This is true.
I really liked this, topic youput together today.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:10):
And I think that this comes up going
behind the scenes of what yourtravel advisor does for you,
because sometimes, clients orpeople we talk to in the
community they don't thinktravel agents exist anymore.
or they think it's just like aside hustle or they forget the
value of a travel advisor.
And sometimes when I'm havingthat conversation, I think, do
(01:33):
you have a financial advisor?
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:35):
Right.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:36):
And you trust them to manage your money
because that's their area ofexpertise, it's kind of a
similar thing and I think peoplejust kind of forget about us
sometimes if they haven't workedwith an advisor for a while or
ever really.
because it's so easy to goonline and click the book
button, but maybe you don'talways know what you're booking.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:56):
I would say most of the times you
don't know what you're bookingand what the fine print says.
you get on a Royal Caribbeansite because you've seen a
commercial and you can't find aship that looks like the one you
saw in the commercial, or youlook and there's, 900 different
categories of cabins and whatdoes this mean and what does
that mean?
it's very easy to fall throughthe rabbit hole and think that
(02:21):
you're doing one thing andrealizing later that you've done
something completely different.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:27):
right?
So this kind of comes up one oftwo ways.
The first is like, well, howdoes working with you hear and
how does that help me?
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:36):
Yep.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:37):
Or the other side of, well, I already
booked my trip.
But I didn't think about this,or I didn't think about that, or
what do you think about this?
so we're excited to kind of
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:46):
Yes,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:47):
a little bit more about what we do.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:49):
But before we do that, I wanna
remind folks if they have notlistened to last week's episode,
we do a conversation about whichis best for families cruising
with Royal Caribbean or DisneyCruise Line.
So Julie, why don't you start bytalking about the things that we
do directly with clients, thatthey would see the benefit for
(03:11):
when booking their travel.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:13):
these are all what I like to call client
facing tasks.
These are things that ourclients know that we do for
them, and these are things thatyou would expect to work
alongside with us when we planyour trip.
gonna start with the obvious.
the actual trip,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:29):
Yes.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:29):
more than just pressing the book
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:32):
Yeah.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:33):
We are almost always in communication
with our clients via, zoommeetings, phone calls or
messaging.
I strive to build rapport, and Iknow Ryan does.
Two, to try to understand ourclient's travel style so that we
can create the right travelproposal for you.
If we can understand you and weunderstand what you're looking
for at the beginning of workingtogether, I every day have
(03:58):
clients on various trips,messaging me, emailing me, so
we're always kind of having thiscommunication, the whole time of
planning our trip, whetheryou've booked.
Two months in advance or twoyears in advance.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:11):
Yep.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:12):
And depending on that destination,
for something like a customEurope vacation or a
multi-generational trip, we canspend hours reworking an
itinerary.
So the client is getting thatfinished itinerary to, Look over
and give us feedback on, but weare spending a lot of
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:30):
Right.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:31):
scenes, making sure we've chosen the
right resorts, researching whatthat resort offers our client
that they're looking for.
maybe we're researching varioushotels or different excursions,
making sure the time will fitwith what you wanna do, making
sure you're not gonna have toomuch jet lag.
There's a lot going on behindthe scenes when we prep that
itinerary for you.
(04:52):
you just get this really prettylooking itinerary to say yes or
no.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:57):
Yeah, and sometimes what I like to do
is set the expectation upfront,especially if they're booking
farther out, which I want themto do.
We have everything that we canbook now booked.
Everything is set.
You're not gonna hear anythingfrom me for a while, but here
are the dates that I'm gonna bepressing you for things like I
(05:19):
need to know your flightinformation by this time.
Or I need to know, whatrestaurants you want to go to so
that they,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (05:25):
Make,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_13375 (05:25):
there's an expectation from the
beginning of what thatrelationship,'cause it really is
a working relationship.
what that's gonna look like.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (05:32):
Yeah, I, you're right.
the whole point is that, we'renot clicking the button and then
saying, see ya.
Have a great trip.
We are here along the way.
so after we've perfected thisitinerary that we're working on
together.
We do handle the actual bookingdetails, taking your payment,
inputting traveler informationand confirming the details on
the reservation, like the roomand the dates, all the client
(05:54):
information we're gonna need,and actually making that
booking.
And then you just get that nicelittle confirmation from us.
But rest assured, that is notthe only thing that we do and
not the biggest part of our job.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (06:07):
what are some of the ways that we
talk to our clients aboutupcoming trips or firming up
details?
These are conversations abouttravel protection.
transfers, I am thinking of somerecent trips that I've had with
folks in Europe this pastsummer.
I mean, there's transfers here,there and everywhere, making
sure that we have all thatinformation set up, making
payments all along the way.
(06:28):
Either, the final payment thedestination.
Requires, or I have folksthat'll say, I wanna make
payments all along the way.
can you set that up for me?
specialized destinations, likeDisney, require prep for dining,
lightning lanes, making allthose reservations.
Also, you know, touring plansfor places like Disney.
(06:50):
I give more of an overview sofolks can make their own
decisions, but you really do goin and say, you know, boom,
boom, boom, boom.
And I think for a lot of folks,that's really helpful.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:00):
I think that's the nature of our
clients, I think my clients aremore younger families, so they
need that information of like,okay, what do I do first with my
kid?
They're already doing so muchmental work of managing their
kids that I'm like.
just look at this paper and gowhere I tell you to go.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:16):
Yeah.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:16):
my planner all week is check
so-and-so's transfers, confirmso-and-so's travel protection,
make a payment for this client.
those are things that are on mycalendar every single day.
So it, it really, again, is notjust hitting book and have a
great trip.
It's all the details leading upto it.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:32):
we've talked about the prep for the
trip, our job doesn't stop therewhen they're on their trip.
we're checking in, making sureeverything's okay having them
understand, you know, we're onlya text away.
what's the best thing to do incase there's a problem?
Is it reach out to us?
Does it reach out to thedestination?
And then really after the trip,it's following up.
(07:53):
one of the things that we reallywant to do, Julie, is we wanna
learn from our clients and theirexperience.
So, you know, if I'm sendingsomebody to a resort that I have
not been to personally orhaven't gotten feedback from
past.
Past folks.
Don't be surprised if you get aphone call and I say, you know,
I wanna talk about this resort,or I wanna talk about this
cruise line.
tell me the ins and the outs,the things that you like, the
(08:15):
things that you didn't like sothat I can help people like you.
and then I always check withfolks, you know, what?
What's on the horizon when itcomes to travel?
It may not be right away, but ifI know you're thinking about
Thailand and things come upabout Thailand, I've got you in
my brain.
j_1_08-29-2025_1337 (08:31):
Absolutely.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (08:33):
so Julie, usually at this time in
the show we do where in theworld is all things travel and
we've decided to make a littlepivot with this.
as we like to celebrate ourclients and teach folks about
the types of trips that we plan.
I am now calling this Where inthe World Is Wonder and Beyond
Travel, and I know you want totake the first swing at this.
(08:53):
So when you're thinking of someclients traveling soon, where in
the world is wonder and beyondtravel?
Julie?
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:01):
So this is an exciting trip and a little
bit different than what wenormally plan, and that's the
fun part of sharing these trips.
this is a trip my in-laws aretaking, and if you've been
listening to All Things Travelfor a little while, this
probably sounds a little bitfamiliar because they did
something similar a couple yearsago.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:19):
Yes.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:20):
So they're going to the Pacific
Northwest and then into Canada.
on a road trip they leave nextweek.
by the time this comes out,they'll literally be in the
middle of their trip'cause it'sabout three and a half weeks
long.
so they're actually gonna flyinto Seattle and then drive
through Canada, includingVictoria, Vancouver, Camloops,
(09:41):
veil Mount, and Banff, then comeback into the us.
To Montana and then back toSeattle.
They're ending their trip at theEdgewater Hotel, Seattle's only
over the water hotel.
There's a lot of rock and rollhistory here.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:58):
And I remember from their earlier
trip, they were really intomusic.
They wanted to see a lot ofmusic options.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:05):
Yeah, so they're actually, the day they
go to Seattle to start theirtrip, they're going to a concert
as well.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:12):
Very fun.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:13):
and then this is the back end of the
trip.
So the Edgewater Hotel is inSeattle.
It was originally built for the1962 Worlds Fair.
So there's a lot of historythere, but it has also hosted
some of the most famous names inmusic, including Led Zeppelin,
Neil Young.
The Beatles who famously fishedfrom the window of their suite.
(10:35):
And there's a photo of this thathas become iconic if you look it
up.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:39):
cool.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:41):
we love celebrating where our clients
are headed.
it inspires some curiosity andwe can't wait to hear about
their trip.
And maybe your trip will be thenext one we highlight.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:51):
Very, very cool.
So let's talk about the stuffthat we do that clients won't
necessarily see.
What's on your list here, Julie?
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (11:01):
There is a lot here, and this is
something that a lot of peopleprobably don't think about
staying up to date on resortopenings, refurbishments, and
reviews.
literally, on a daily basis, Iam looking at reviews that other
travel advisors, our colleaguesare sharing about what their
clients thought about a resortor what they personally thought
(11:24):
after their travel experiences.
And that is something that helpsus immensely to know where to
send our clients Our inboxes arefull of this.
Hotel's going under refurb.
This hotel's coming soon, thischange is happening.
as a consumer, you're not gonnaget any of that information.
You might see some TripAdvisorreviews.
but personally, I'm gonna trusta fellow travel advisor over
(11:47):
TripAdvisor.
We're also always doing trainingnot only to better our business
and how we approach our clients,but also just to learn more
about destinations, I also haveopportunities within my inbox
and with other travel partnersto.
Take training about a newresort, about changes at a
(12:08):
resort, about something thatthey wanna highlight.
Ryan has done alma waterwaystraining before on a cruise as I
am going to do a World Caribbeanone soon.
We are constantly finding theseopportunities to network with
our preferred partners, andmaintain that great
relationship.
Along with that, we're alsobuilding that relationship with
our preferred partners bykeeping in contact with them,
(12:31):
emailing them, so that way whenmy client, if they have a
problem at a resort, I say, Iknow exactly who to contact for
this problem.
confirming, do you have the packand play that my clients need
for their trip?
Do you have a scooter that myclient requested to be
delivered?
this client has a dietaryrequest.
A lot of these back officedetails that a client might
(12:52):
request but might not know howto ask for themselves if they
are just booking as a consumer.
I also prep travel packets.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (13:01):
and I would say with that, Julie too,
as we've started our own agency.
You know, not only travelpackets, but our, our system
that we now use to keep track ofeverything has an app for
clients.
I've also got clients going toAfrica next month, and we were
having a meeting with thesupplier this week, there's an
app that they specifically useto upload documents, and all
(13:24):
that kind of stuff.
And having a WhatsApp, group Sothere's a lot of ways that we
can provide information.
I know you like to do itpaper-wise, but there's a lot of
ways we can keep thingsorganized for our clients.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (13:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
some other random things, ourclients do.
See, every time you book withme, you receive a thank you
card.
When you come home, you receivea welcome home card.
Sometimes you get a referralcard if you've referred a client
to me and they book, you get alittle gift in the mail, a
packing postcard that says, Hey,this is when your final
payment's due.
These are some other dates thatwe need to know about for your
(13:57):
trip.
Just kind of these little touchpoints that we do and, and a lot
of behind the scenescommunication that we do.
Ryan and I since launching ourown agency, meet weekly to set
aside time to go through ourclient's trips, any issues we're
having, any advice we can offereach other, any communication
we've had with travel partners,all to better our clients'
(14:19):
experience.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:21):
Well, and I would say too, adding to
this list, the content that wecreate as small business owners.
this podcast is something thatobviously takes time.
Not only the recording of it,but The backend with the editing
it's helped make us, experts inthe different areas that we've
talked about doing stuff likesocial media posts.
that doesn't seem like it'sreally travel advisory, but from
(14:44):
a small business standpoint,that's really vital.
doing things like hostingwebinars.
this past week I had an AmmaWaterways webinar.
next month I'm gonna be doingseveral in-person events.
So I mean, there's a lot of waysthat we,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:57):
that.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:58):
we connect with the community, with
our potential clients and ourcurrent clients, all along the
way.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (15:05):
So we hope this gives you a little bit
of a glimpse into all the thingsthat your travel advisor, a K, A
US does for you behind thescenes that you might not see.
All this is to give our clientsan effortless travel planning
experience.
There's so much more that we dothan just hit the book button.
That makes working with a traveladvisor a no-brainer.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (15:29):
The world is full of wonder and your
next great adventure is waitingat Wonder and Beyond Travel.
We work with you to create a oneof a kind journey, taking the
stress off your plate so you canfocus on the joy of exploring
and the memories that will staywith you forever.
If you're ready to startplanning or you just want to
dream a little bigger, head onover to Wonder and beyond
(15:49):
travel.com.
We would love to help you getstarted.
We look forward to talking toyou next week on All Things
Travel.
when Julie and I talk about ourrecent food crawl through Disney
Springs,
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
we talk about trips we'reworking on, or we share stories
of experiences our clients havehad.
today we're gonna go behind thescenes and share what the life
of a travel advisor is reallylike and how we spend our time
helping you.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (00:21):
Listen in with travel advisors and
destination experts.
Ryan and Julie.
I'm your travel professorteaching you everything you need
to know to have a magicalvacation, and she's a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three.
And a specialist in familytravel, whether we're discussing
incredible destinations, topvacation tips, or sharing
personal stories, it's alwaysall things travel.
(00:47):
I looked at this list that youput on here today and yes, these
are all things that we do, butnow that you and I have our own
agency, you left my number onetask off, I'm in charge of
paying out commissions.
So I'm the one that pays youyour money.
I thought that would be thenumber one on the list.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:03):
because this is about helping our
clients, Ryan,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:06):
That's true.
This is true.
I really liked this, topic youput together today.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:10):
And I think that this comes up going
behind the scenes of what yourtravel advisor does for you,
because sometimes, clients orpeople we talk to in the
community they don't thinktravel agents exist anymore.
or they think it's just like aside hustle or they forget the
value of a travel advisor.
And sometimes when I'm havingthat conversation, I think, do
(01:33):
you have a financial advisor?
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:35):
Right.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:36):
And you trust them to manage your money
because that's their area ofexpertise, it's kind of a
similar thing and I think peoplejust kind of forget about us
sometimes if they haven't workedwith an advisor for a while or
ever really.
because it's so easy to goonline and click the book
button, but maybe you don'talways know what you're booking.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (01:56):
I would say most of the times you
don't know what you're bookingand what the fine print says.
you get on a Royal Caribbeansite because you've seen a
commercial and you can't find aship that looks like the one you
saw in the commercial, or youlook and there's, 900 different
categories of cabins and whatdoes this mean and what does
that mean?
it's very easy to fall throughthe rabbit hole and think that
(02:21):
you're doing one thing andrealizing later that you've done
something completely different.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:27):
right?
So this kind of comes up one oftwo ways.
The first is like, well, howdoes working with you hear and
how does that help me?
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:36):
Yep.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:37):
Or the other side of, well, I already
booked my trip.
But I didn't think about this,or I didn't think about that, or
what do you think about this?
so we're excited to kind of
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:46):
Yes,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:47):
a little bit more about what we do.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (02:49):
But before we do that, I wanna
remind folks if they have notlistened to last week's episode,
we do a conversation about whichis best for families cruising
with Royal Caribbean or DisneyCruise Line.
So Julie, why don't you start bytalking about the things that we
do directly with clients, thatthey would see the benefit for
(03:11):
when booking their travel.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:13):
these are all what I like to call client
facing tasks.
These are things that ourclients know that we do for
them, and these are things thatyou would expect to work
alongside with us when we planyour trip.
gonna start with the obvious.
the actual trip,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:29):
Yes.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:29):
more than just pressing the book
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:32):
Yeah.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (03:33):
We are almost always in communication
with our clients via, zoommeetings, phone calls or
messaging.
I strive to build rapport, and Iknow Ryan does.
Two, to try to understand ourclient's travel style so that we
can create the right travelproposal for you.
If we can understand you and weunderstand what you're looking
for at the beginning of workingtogether, I every day have
(03:58):
clients on various trips,messaging me, emailing me, so
we're always kind of having thiscommunication, the whole time of
planning our trip, whetheryou've booked.
Two months in advance or twoyears in advance.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:11):
Yep.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:12):
And depending on that destination,
for something like a customEurope vacation or a
multi-generational trip, we canspend hours reworking an
itinerary.
So the client is getting thatfinished itinerary to, Look over
and give us feedback on, but weare spending a lot of
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:30):
Right.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:31):
scenes, making sure we've chosen the
right resorts, researching whatthat resort offers our client
that they're looking for.
maybe we're researching varioushotels or different excursions,
making sure the time will fitwith what you wanna do, making
sure you're not gonna have toomuch jet lag.
There's a lot going on behindthe scenes when we prep that
itinerary for you.
(04:52):
you just get this really prettylooking itinerary to say yes or
no.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (04:57):
Yeah, and sometimes what I like to do
is set the expectation upfront,especially if they're booking
farther out, which I want themto do.
We have everything that we canbook now booked.
Everything is set.
You're not gonna hear anythingfrom me for a while, but here
are the dates that I'm gonna bepressing you for things like I
(05:19):
need to know your flightinformation by this time.
Or I need to know, whatrestaurants you want to go to so
that they,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (05:25):
Make,
ryan_1_08-29-2025_13375 (05:25):
there's an expectation from the
beginning of what thatrelationship,'cause it really is
a working relationship.
what that's gonna look like.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (05:32):
Yeah, I, you're right.
the whole point is that, we'renot clicking the button and then
saying, see ya.
Have a great trip.
We are here along the way.
so after we've perfected thisitinerary that we're working on
together.
We do handle the actual bookingdetails, taking your payment,
inputting traveler informationand confirming the details on
the reservation, like the roomand the dates, all the client
(05:54):
information we're gonna need,and actually making that
booking.
And then you just get that nicelittle confirmation from us.
But rest assured, that is notthe only thing that we do and
not the biggest part of our job.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (06:07):
what are some of the ways that we
talk to our clients aboutupcoming trips or firming up
details?
These are conversations abouttravel protection.
transfers, I am thinking of somerecent trips that I've had with
folks in Europe this pastsummer.
I mean, there's transfers here,there and everywhere, making
sure that we have all thatinformation set up, making
payments all along the way.
(06:28):
Either, the final payment thedestination.
Requires, or I have folksthat'll say, I wanna make
payments all along the way.
can you set that up for me?
specialized destinations, likeDisney, require prep for dining,
lightning lanes, making allthose reservations.
Also, you know, touring plansfor places like Disney.
(06:50):
I give more of an overview sofolks can make their own
decisions, but you really do goin and say, you know, boom,
boom, boom, boom.
And I think for a lot of folks,that's really helpful.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:00):
I think that's the nature of our
clients, I think my clients aremore younger families, so they
need that information of like,okay, what do I do first with my
kid?
They're already doing so muchmental work of managing their
kids that I'm like.
just look at this paper and gowhere I tell you to go.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:16):
Yeah.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:16):
my planner all week is check
so-and-so's transfers, confirmso-and-so's travel protection,
make a payment for this client.
those are things that are on mycalendar every single day.
So it, it really, again, is notjust hitting book and have a
great trip.
It's all the details leading upto it.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (07:32):
we've talked about the prep for the
trip, our job doesn't stop therewhen they're on their trip.
we're checking in, making sureeverything's okay having them
understand, you know, we're onlya text away.
what's the best thing to do incase there's a problem?
Is it reach out to us?
Does it reach out to thedestination?
And then really after the trip,it's following up.
(07:53):
one of the things that we reallywant to do, Julie, is we wanna
learn from our clients and theirexperience.
So, you know, if I'm sendingsomebody to a resort that I have
not been to personally orhaven't gotten feedback from
past.
Past folks.
Don't be surprised if you get aphone call and I say, you know,
I wanna talk about this resort,or I wanna talk about this
cruise line.
tell me the ins and the outs,the things that you like, the
(08:15):
things that you didn't like sothat I can help people like you.
and then I always check withfolks, you know, what?
What's on the horizon when itcomes to travel?
It may not be right away, but ifI know you're thinking about
Thailand and things come upabout Thailand, I've got you in
my brain.
j_1_08-29-2025_1337 (08:31):
Absolutely.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (08:33):
so Julie, usually at this time in
the show we do where in theworld is all things travel and
we've decided to make a littlepivot with this.
as we like to celebrate ourclients and teach folks about
the types of trips that we plan.
I am now calling this Where inthe World Is Wonder and Beyond
Travel, and I know you want totake the first swing at this.
(08:53):
So when you're thinking of someclients traveling soon, where in
the world is wonder and beyondtravel?
Julie?
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:01):
So this is an exciting trip and a little
bit different than what wenormally plan, and that's the
fun part of sharing these trips.
this is a trip my in-laws aretaking, and if you've been
listening to All Things Travelfor a little while, this
probably sounds a little bitfamiliar because they did
something similar a couple yearsago.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:19):
Yes.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:20):
So they're going to the Pacific
Northwest and then into Canada.
on a road trip they leave nextweek.
by the time this comes out,they'll literally be in the
middle of their trip'cause it'sabout three and a half weeks
long.
so they're actually gonna flyinto Seattle and then drive
through Canada, includingVictoria, Vancouver, Camloops,
(09:41):
veil Mount, and Banff, then comeback into the us.
To Montana and then back toSeattle.
They're ending their trip at theEdgewater Hotel, Seattle's only
over the water hotel.
There's a lot of rock and rollhistory here.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (09:58):
And I remember from their earlier
trip, they were really intomusic.
They wanted to see a lot ofmusic options.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:05):
Yeah, so they're actually, the day they
go to Seattle to start theirtrip, they're going to a concert
as well.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:12):
Very fun.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:13):
and then this is the back end of the
trip.
So the Edgewater Hotel is inSeattle.
It was originally built for the1962 Worlds Fair.
So there's a lot of historythere, but it has also hosted
some of the most famous names inmusic, including Led Zeppelin,
Neil Young.
The Beatles who famously fishedfrom the window of their suite.
(10:35):
And there's a photo of this thathas become iconic if you look it
up.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:39):
cool.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:41):
we love celebrating where our clients
are headed.
it inspires some curiosity andwe can't wait to hear about
their trip.
And maybe your trip will be thenext one we highlight.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (10:51):
Very, very cool.
So let's talk about the stuffthat we do that clients won't
necessarily see.
What's on your list here, Julie?
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (11:01):
There is a lot here, and this is
something that a lot of peopleprobably don't think about
staying up to date on resortopenings, refurbishments, and
reviews.
literally, on a daily basis, Iam looking at reviews that other
travel advisors, our colleaguesare sharing about what their
clients thought about a resortor what they personally thought
(11:24):
after their travel experiences.
And that is something that helpsus immensely to know where to
send our clients Our inboxes arefull of this.
Hotel's going under refurb.
This hotel's coming soon, thischange is happening.
as a consumer, you're not gonnaget any of that information.
You might see some TripAdvisorreviews.
but personally, I'm gonna trusta fellow travel advisor over
(11:47):
TripAdvisor.
We're also always doing trainingnot only to better our business
and how we approach our clients,but also just to learn more
about destinations, I also haveopportunities within my inbox
and with other travel partnersto.
Take training about a newresort, about changes at a
(12:08):
resort, about something thatthey wanna highlight.
Ryan has done alma waterwaystraining before on a cruise as I
am going to do a World Caribbeanone soon.
We are constantly finding theseopportunities to network with
our preferred partners, andmaintain that great
relationship.
Along with that, we're alsobuilding that relationship with
our preferred partners bykeeping in contact with them,
(12:31):
emailing them, so that way whenmy client, if they have a
problem at a resort, I say, Iknow exactly who to contact for
this problem.
confirming, do you have the packand play that my clients need
for their trip?
Do you have a scooter that myclient requested to be
delivered?
this client has a dietaryrequest.
A lot of these back officedetails that a client might
(12:52):
request but might not know howto ask for themselves if they
are just booking as a consumer.
I also prep travel packets.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (13:01):
and I would say with that, Julie too,
as we've started our own agency.
You know, not only travelpackets, but our, our system
that we now use to keep track ofeverything has an app for
clients.
I've also got clients going toAfrica next month, and we were
having a meeting with thesupplier this week, there's an
app that they specifically useto upload documents, and all
(13:24):
that kind of stuff.
And having a WhatsApp, group Sothere's a lot of ways that we
can provide information.
I know you like to do itpaper-wise, but there's a lot of
ways we can keep thingsorganized for our clients.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (13:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
some other random things, ourclients do.
See, every time you book withme, you receive a thank you
card.
When you come home, you receivea welcome home card.
Sometimes you get a referralcard if you've referred a client
to me and they book, you get alittle gift in the mail, a
packing postcard that says, Hey,this is when your final
payment's due.
These are some other dates thatwe need to know about for your
(13:57):
trip.
Just kind of these little touchpoints that we do and, and a lot
of behind the scenescommunication that we do.
Ryan and I since launching ourown agency, meet weekly to set
aside time to go through ourclient's trips, any issues we're
having, any advice we can offereach other, any communication
we've had with travel partners,all to better our clients'
(14:19):
experience.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:21):
Well, and I would say too, adding to
this list, the content that wecreate as small business owners.
this podcast is something thatobviously takes time.
Not only the recording of it,but The backend with the editing
it's helped make us, experts inthe different areas that we've
talked about doing stuff likesocial media posts.
that doesn't seem like it'sreally travel advisory, but from
(14:44):
a small business standpoint,that's really vital.
doing things like hostingwebinars.
this past week I had an AmmaWaterways webinar.
next month I'm gonna be doingseveral in-person events.
So I mean, there's a lot of waysthat we,
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:57):
that.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (14:58):
we connect with the community, with
our potential clients and ourcurrent clients, all along the
way.
j_1_08-29-2025_133758 (15:05):
So we hope this gives you a little bit
of a glimpse into all the thingsthat your travel advisor, a K, A
US does for you behind thescenes that you might not see.
All this is to give our clientsan effortless travel planning
experience.
There's so much more that we dothan just hit the book button.
That makes working with a traveladvisor a no-brainer.
ryan_1_08-29-2025_133758 (15:29):
The world is full of wonder and your
next great adventure is waitingat Wonder and Beyond Travel.
We work with you to create a oneof a kind journey, taking the
stress off your plate so you canfocus on the joy of exploring
and the memories that will staywith you forever.
If you're ready to startplanning or you just want to
dream a little bigger, head onover to Wonder and beyond
(15:49):
travel.com.
We would love to help you getstarted.
We look forward to talking toyou next week on All Things
Travel.
when Julie and I talk about ourrecent food crawl through Disney
Springs,
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