Welcome to The Home Based Travel Agent Show: Recent Episodes
Barry Kantz and Lorene Romero
Show NotesIn this episode of the podcast, we explored the importance of using emotion in selling a travel product. We discussed the differences between logical and emotional decision-making processes and how travel brands can use emotional strategies to reach and resonate with their target audience effectively.
We outlined several emotional strategies that travel agents can use to pitch their travel product, such as creating a sense of urgency, evoking feelings of relaxation and escape, highlighting uniqueness and authenticity, focusing on the emotional benefits of the trip, and using customer testimonials and reviews. We also discussed how using stories, vivid language, exclusivity, and humor can be effective in creating a memorable and persuasive pitch.
Understanding the target audience and tailoring emotional strategies to their specific needs and desires is crucial in creating a compelling and persuasive pitch. Authenticity is also vital in creating a genuine emotional connection with consumers.
While using emotional strategies is important, providing practical and helpful information about the travel product is essential, such as pricing, itinerary, accommodations, and transportation. This builds trust and credibility, reinforcing the product’s emotional appeal.
Overall, using emotion in selling a travel product can be a powerful and effective strategy that differentiates your product from competitors. Thank you for tuning in to today’s podcast, and we look forward to bringing you more insights and strategies in the future.
The Fine PrintThank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.
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© 2023 All Rights Reserved
Show NotesIn today’s show, we are speaking with Chris Falvey with Unique NOLA Tours, and we are going to learn about New Orleans. New Orleans is one of the unique cities in the United States. The city has an immense history that is fascinating and, at the same time, quite colorful. A part of the history is some of the most beautiful 19th-century homes and neighborhoods, each a significant part of New Orlean’s history and present-day flavor.
In addition to the colorful history, New Orleans is home to some of the world’s most fascinating ghost stories and present-day hauntings. Goose bumps on a warm day are not unusual as you tour some of the haunted houses and haunted areas.
If it’s crime stories that fascinate you, then New Orleans has many to choose from, including those from the past and those from the present day.
Join us in today’s show to learn more about how you or your clients can take a deep dive into the beauty, culture, history, and hauntings of New Orleans.
“Our real niche inside New Orleans here is … we have a variety of tours … we do like the ghost tours and we do them in sort of a different and unique manner but we have a variety of history tours that we’re really proud of.”
“We have a true crime tour which we started with, and really that’s our most popular tour because it’s kind of something that’s got mass market appeal and going to historic murders and … recent as well.”
“We also have a garden district tour that’s all sorts of history-type stuff, and the French Quarter, what we call our locals guide to the French Quarter, gives people a local spin on New Orleans in general and go into a lot of the history of the City.”
“The one thing that you will get on our tours that go up to the La Lurie mansion is a very well-researched version of the story. We don’t like to put out anything that isn’t fully accurate. … We like to make sure that when you go on our tours, we’re not going to lean into the kitschiness of certain things like the La Lurie mansion. … It’s important to us to stick to the historic facts.”
“One of our main selling points is that we keep our tours to fifteen people or less. We like the more intimate tour, and this is the case for all of our tours.”
Links to Items We Talked About in the ShowUnique NOLA Tours
Email Chris at info@uniquenola.com
Phone: (504) 777-7769
The Fine PrintThank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.
© 2023 All Rights Reserved
Show NotesWhere do people want to travel in 2023? Peter Worthing with Audley Travel explains that Japan and Australia are among the top ten destinations according to Audley Travel’s survey of their clients. In addition to the popular destinations, trains have become a popular mode of travel particularly in Europe, and the Japanese Bullet Train is fascinating as you travel nearly 300 miles per hour between destinations.
Perhaps you have clients who love the destinations that you specialize in but one day one of those clients asks you to put together a trip that is outside of your specialty. What do you do? Audley Travel is there to help you. Audley has over 250 destination specialists to assist you in planning your client’s trip. In today’s show we talk about the top ten destinations and how Audley Travel can help you put together a unique trip that will exceed your clent’s desires.
“What we do at Audley is custom design every single itinerary, they’re never the same twice, for the travel advisor team.”
“Like most decisions we make it’s based on feedback from our clients and our travel advisors. We look at trends. Japan is number one on our list this year.”
“Another top destination for us is Australia. It’s always been a strong seller.” “If you look to Europe, Spain is making a big rebound.”
“Another one that is topping the charts for us is Egypt. We’re seeing more and more people going to Egypt.”
“We did a very unofficial survey this year of our over 250 country specialists and amazingly we figured out that each of them has lived in the destination they sell for an average of two plus years. … And, we invest a lot of money and time every year by sending them back to their destination on a yearly basis. They get to meet the ground handlers, they get to stay in the hotels, they get to meet the guides which is really important. That in depth insider knowledge really sets us apart.”
Links to Items We Talked About in the ShowAudley Travel
Email Bart at sales@gotahoenorth.com
The Fine PrintThank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.
© 2023 All Rights Reserved
Show NotesNorth Lake Tahoe is a beautiful destination where you can explore the beauty of all that nature has to offer. There are beautiful beaches, crystal-clear freshwater lakes, and mountain vistas blended with amazing sunsets. Along with the beauty of North Lake Tahoe, you have ample opportunity to enjoy the area through recreational activities such as hiking, mountain biking, skiing, water sports, and just relaxing.
Bart Peterson, the Business Development Manager for North Lake Tahoe, joins today’s show to detail all that North Lake Tahoe has to offer you or your clients. We’re excited to have you join us and learn more about North Lake Tahoe.
“North Lake Tahoe, we’re really known as having the greatest concentration of ski resorts. We not only have the big resorts that are on the popular passes, the Epic Pass that Vale has, the Ikon Pass that Alta has. We have some smaller ski areas as well that’s fun to mix it up with the locals and get that unique, quirky atmosphere with the smaller ski areas.”
“We also have an extensive network of mountain biking and hiking trails in our mountains. The beaches really get busy in the summertime, so I suggest to use that opportunity to find a vista; pack a lunch, go for a hike, explore that network of trails and take a view of Tahoe from up above.”
“But beyond recreation in the summertime, we’re also talking about touring historic estates. We have Thunderbird Lodge on the Northeast shore of the Lake. The east shore of the Lake is largely undisturbed, and the reason for that is this gentleman, George Whittel, Jr., owned the whole eastern shore of the Lake in the early 1900s and thanks to him, we can now enjoy that space. You can tour his mansion on the east shore and can learn about the guy who’s the reason for our shoreline being undisturbed and pristine as it is.”
Links to Items We Talked About in the ShowGo Tahoe North Website
Email Bart at sales@gotahoenorth.com
The Fine PrintThank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.
© 2022 All Rights Reserved
Show Notes Shane Mahoney of Lugos travel joins the show to describe how his company takes the stress out of creating unique luxury travel packages for his clients. The process of creating a unique luxury travel package is time-consuming and stressful for the client. Often the potential client will avoid the stress and time of … Continue reading 450 – Luxury Travel With Shane Mahoney →
Show Notes Morrow Bay is an enchanting small town on the coast of California between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Morrow Bay is a fishing town with a beautiful harbor, but it is unlike any other harbor. It is punctuated with a large 800-foot rock rising out of the ocean. You will find several of … Continue reading 449 – Morrow Bay, California With Michael Wambolt →
Show Notes You are going to get hacked or scammed. Adam Levin says travel is a petri dish for hackers and scammers. He says this is a fact of life as sure as death and taxes. It’s essential that you become educated about hacking, scamming, and fishing to protect yourself against such an eventuality. Adam … Continue reading 448 – Travel Scams and Hacks With Adam Levin →
Show Notes Dara Busch, Co-CEO and head of the consumer team at 5WPR. 5WPR is the ninth-largest travel public relations company in the world. We have the opportunity to speak with Dara in today’s podcast and discuss their recent investigation and report on consumer spending behavior. Specifically, we talk about how consumers are now spending … Continue reading 447 – Dara Busch On How and Why People Are Spending Their Money On Travel And What They Expect →
Show Notes Maneuvering the ins and outs of social media can be a complex task but very important for your marketing efforts. Successful businesses today must have a social media presence and a marketing strategy to go with it. It doesn’t matter if you are selling to a local market or you have a nationwide … Continue reading 446 – Social Media Tips for the Travel Advisor With Cyndee Harrison →
Show Notes Exploring nature and spending time in environments that is conducive to such activities is growing in popularity among all age groups. Combining exploring the Grand Canyon, and native cultures, and adding in luxury accommodations where you can spend your nights gazing at dark skies is a winning combination. Imagine sleeping in a geodesic … Continue reading 445 – Luxury Under a Dark Sky at Clear Sky Resorts →
Show Notes Unlocking the hidden treasures in our cities is easy when you have a kind person showing you around; showing you the culture, exploring the food, and letting you in on the history. Finding these treasures is a real joy whether you are a first-time visitor or even if you’ve been to the city … Continue reading 444 – Discover Cities Like Never Before With David Naczycz →
Show Notes Space tourism is all about looking down whereas astrotourism is all about looking up as Michael Marlin describes astrotourism in this podcast. We have lost a precious resource over the last twenty to thirty years and that is a dark sky where, with the naked eye, we can see the Milky Way and … Continue reading 443 – Astrotourism With Michael Marlin →
Show Notes Today, for most people, travel is about the experience and not so much about acquiring things and partying. Millennials want to travel to have an experience they can share with friends on social media. Environmental awareness, healthy diets, exercise, spirituality, and a desire for new experiences are all a part of the Millennial … Continue reading 442 – Health and Wellness Travel – Yoga Retreats With Rachel Roberts →
Show Notes Rail travel has something to offer everyone; the speed of bullet trains, the scenic journey through beautiful landscapes, or the nostalgia of vintage trains. Rail travel isn’t about the destination as much as it is about the journey. A rail journey is an excellent, pre or post, add on to a river cruise … Continue reading 441 – Beautiful Adventures by Rail With Jim Marini →
Show Notes Travel has its own set of challenges, the TSA, passports and visas, renting cars, finding a hotel, and many others. But, what if you add the challenge of traveling with a child who is on the autism spectrum? And, why is this important for the travel agent or the travel trade? It’s important … Continue reading 440 – Traveling Different with Dawn M. Barclay →
Show Notes One of the most important aspects of your business, right along with making sales and servicing your clients, is to know your numbers. In fact, if you don’t know your numbers, there is a 90% chance that you will go out of business. Knowing your numbers is all about tracking your income, expenses, … Continue reading 439 – Put On Your Business Owner’s Hat and Know Your Numbers →
Show Notes A commodity is a mass-produced or non-specialized product. The travel products you offer could fall into the category of a commodity. This is not where you want to be as a travel advisor. First and foremost you want to offer your clients an experience coupled with outstanding service. This is what will separate … Continue reading 438 – Are You Selling a Product, A Service, Or An Experience? →
Show Notes Airfares are chaotic, and the old models that tell you to book thirty days in advance, or any other time frame, no longer apply (if they ever did). Airfares are affected by pandemic inspired consumer behavior, labor shortages, rising fuel prices, new travel restrictions, and many other things. This makes predicting airfares almost … Continue reading 437 – Airfares are Chaotic But Here’s How to Save Your Clients’ Money →
Show Notes: The unkempt drifter crushes his cigarette into the pavement and slowly walks to the road that borders the bush station. He sticks his thumb in the air to flag down the next kind person who drives by in hopes of getting a ride. How many times have you watched a scene like this … Continue reading 436 – An Old Form of Transportation Transformed Into Luxury Travel →
Show Notes: The travel industry is leaping forward as we reach a critical mass of people accepting the risk of the virus and returning to travel. According to several surveys, people are ready to spend big on their vacations. Travelers are embracing open space destinations, upscale travel, and health and wellness travel. Hotels are rebounding, with … Continue reading 435 – This is the Year of the Travel Comeback →
Show Notes: The cousin of marketing is public relations. Media outlets are constantly looking for sources to use in their publications. You can get free advertising because getting quoted in media serves the same purpose as advertising. People use Google to find travel agents, and when you are quoted in publications, Google will put you … Continue reading 434 – Public Relations Equals Free Advertising for the Travel Advisor →
Show Notes: Planning is critical for any business and in particular for the travel agent. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” In this show, Barry outlines a framework of strategic planning for the travel agent business. You will learn about some planning tools that can keep … Continue reading 433 – Strategic Planning for the Travel Agent →
Show Notes: As the Coronavirus begins to wane and people begin thinking about leisure travel again, we hear the phrase, “pent up demand.” This term has a broad meaning relating to how anxious people are to take those vacations they’ve been waiting to take. But, the phrase “pent up demand” has little meaning unless you … Continue reading 432 – Planning and Marketing Strategies for 2022 with Richard D’Ambrosio →
Show Notes Links to Items We’ve Talked About Seth’s product page at http://www.gosipnclip.com Podcasts Related to This Posts Topic In Show 418 we talk about creating client avatars to help you target your marketing and insuring your client experiences are relevant. The Fine Print Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent … Continue reading 431 – Creating Loyal Clients with Seth LaPierre →
Show Notes Many of us have missed those opportunities to mingle, face-to-face, with other travel agents and suppliers. That is what this month’s show is all about — the importance of making those face-to-face connections again. Mary Pat Sullivan, Senior Vice President of the Northstar Travel Group, and I discuss the value of those connections … Continue reading 430 – Travel Agent & Supplier Networking at CruiseWorld 2021 →
Show Notes
Creating good content for your social media marketing channels is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Research has shown that the average person spends two hours and twenty-five minutes every day on social media. Another poll found that 79% of the people polled indicated that social media influences their purchasing decisions. These two numbers alone indicate that a travel agent is missing out on marketing and sales opportunities if they do not have a good social media presence.
You have to produce interesting content for your social media channels and interesting content will attract more people and will grow your influence (and sales) as a travel agent. Creating great content is the topic for this show and Barry breaks down what it takes to make your content interesting so you can grow on social media.
Links to Items We’ve Talked About * Catherine Heeg’s Customized Management Solutions
Podcasts Related to This Posts Topic * 428 – Why is SEO Important for the Travel Advisor? * 418 – How to Find New Clients for Your Travel Business (Creating client personas or avatars) * 351 – Using Social Media To Build Client Trust And Increase Sales * 317 – Catherine Heeg Explains How to Find Content to Put Into Your Travel Agent Blog
Music Credits * The song, “Zazzie” is by Keving McLoed and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. * The song, “Mining by Moonlight” is by Keven McCloed and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Fine Print
| Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz. | | © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
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| SHOW NOTES | | As a travel advisor, your own website or blog is essential. This is where you will put your customer testimonials, post photos of trips that you and your clients have taken. And, importantly, it is a place to show your expertise and where potential customers can go to get to know you. But, you put all this work into your blog or website, and you discover that no one is finding you. Clients and potential clients search for you in Google, but they don’t find you because you are on page 10 of the search engine results. Most people don’t go past page 3 when they do a Google search. So, how do you go about moving your website up into the top three pages? Well, this is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. This is the topic of our show for this month. Our guest, Eric Seropyan, is a search engine and business marketing specialist. Eric gives us several tips on how to begin the journey of optimizing your website so the search engines will find you and move you up in the page ranking. SEO is a journey, so start yours today by listening to the show. | | LINKS TO ITEMS WE TALKED ABOUT | | Eric Seropyan’s company, www.thisismysouthbay.com. |
| CONTACT US | | The Home Based Travel Agent’s Facebook Page | | Email Barry barry@hometravelagent.net |
| HBTAS RECOMMENDATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS | | The Home Based Travel Agent Show is a proud affiliate of the ASTA Small Business Network – Formerly NACTA. | | Build Your Knowledge and Earn Certifications at the Travel Institute | | Do you want to create a podcast? Please check out Blubrry.com. |
| Music Credits | | The song, “Zazzie” is by Keving McLoed and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. | | The song, “Mining by Moonlight” is by Keven McCloed and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. |
| The Fine Print | | Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz. | | © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
| SHOW NOTES | | Tours are a great way to expand your business income and at the same time expand your client base of FIT travelers. When you book a tour, whether with five people or fifty people, and you create an excellent experience for the people on your tour, you are influencing those five or fifty people to continue a relationship with your business. However, creating a tour has a few more challenges than booking a FIT vacation. Keeping track of the capacity of your tour, the number of people booking and canceling, working with vendors, and who has paid and who hasn’t paid can challenge the most experienced spreadsheet user. Our guests in this month’s show are offering a service to remove the complexities of creating tours. If you have hesitated in creating a tour because of those challenges then your worries are over. You can now take advantage of the profitable tour business and bring in those new clients to your agency simply by listening to this podcast and taking advantage of the special offers. During the month of August 2021, Group Travel Odyssey is offering the first month free to travel agents. If you are not a travel agent but a group planner then you will get $20.00 off the setup fee reducing it to just $39.00. Email Kevin Cabe at kevin@gtonetwork.com and mention the promo code GEHomebased1 in your email and Kevin will get you set up. | | LINKS TO ITEMS WE TALKED ABOUT | | www.groupexperience.com |
| CONTACT US | | The Home Based Travel Agent’s Facebook Page | | Email Barry barry@hometravelagent.net |
| HBTAS RECOMMENDATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS | | The Home Based Travel Agent Show is a proud affiliate of the ASTA Small Business Network – Formerly NACTA. | | Build Your Knowledge and Earn Certifications at the Travel Institute | | Do you want to create a podcast? Please check out Blubrry.com. |
| Music Credits | | The song, “Zazzie” is by Keving McLoed and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. | | The song, “Mining by Moonlight” is by Keven McCloed and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. |
| The Fine Print | | Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz. | | © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
| SHOW NOTES | | If you are not familiar with the Galapagos Islands or you think a wildlife expedition is something you would like to add to your specialties then this podcast is a great place to start. Chris Christensen describes his cruise around the Galapagos Islands on a Quasar Expedition cruise ship. You will learn about the wildlife, accommodations, and what to expect on a Quasar Expedition. Chris Christensen is the producer of the blog and podcast at amateurtraveler.com. Chris’s podcast and blog have won numerous awards for his travel journalism. Chris’s website features over 400 destinations around the world and is a fantastic resource for travel agents. | | LINKS TO ITEMS WE TALKED ABOUT | | The Amateur Traveler website, blog, and podcast | | Quasar Expeditions | | Direct link to Chris’s blog article about the Galapagos Islands |
| CONTACT US | | The Home Based Travel Agent’s Facebook Page | | Email Barry barry@hometravelagent.net |
| HBTAS RECOMMENDATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS | | The Home Based Travel Agent Show is a proud affiliate of the ASTA Small Business Network – Formerly NACTA. | | Build Your Knowledge and Earn Certifications at the Travel Institute | | Do you want to create a podcast? Please check out Blubrry.com. |
| Music Credits | | The song, “Zazzie” is by Keving McLoed and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. | | The song, “Mining by Moonlight” is by Keven McCloed and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. |
| The Fine Print | | Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz. | | © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
SHOW NOTES Imagine moving to a small rural town where you know no one and the population is not wealthy but the people are hardworking. Then imagine yourself starting a travel business in your new home town. It seems like the odds may be against you but not for Michele Cartwright. Michele started her travel … Continue reading 425 – Michele Cartwright on Building Your Travel Business →