by John Frenaye
Monday April 20, 2015

Times are tough for business. It has nothing to do with the economy or the state of the travel industry. Business is tough—period. If it were easy, everyone would own their own. So, how do you hedge your bets toward success? I am a firm believer in listening to others who are more successful than you. With that in mind, I asked several very successful agencies how they did it and came up with these 10 marketing tips. Try one, two, or all 10 and see if they work for you—and let us know.

Offer a unique experience

Far too often, travel agencies and focus on marketing the features of the suppliers. They talk about their location, their amenities, and their luxuries. Instead of selling someone else’s…

I was reminded recently how this thing called "trust" really works. Trust is an intense concept. It takes months, if not years to establish… and mere milliseconds to destroy. Once you have it, however, you become an authoritative figure worth listening to.

My Inner Circle Sales & Marketing Group features an "open" phone call now and then where members get to talk, share, and collaborate.

  — Travel Research Online
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by Richard Earls
Sunday April 19, 2015

Raise your right hand if have ever had a problem client, the type of individual that made you reconsider your entire career as a travel professional. Keep your hands raised. Now, raise your left hand if you currently have a problem client. Even at this distance, I can see most of you have both hands in the air. Go ahead and lower your hands, you are going to need them to assist some of these clients to the door.

Problem clients eat away at vital and scarce resources. Throwing time and effort into a bad travel consulting exercise drains your ability to more carefully tend to your other clients. Chronically dissatisfied clients sap your energy and represent the…

Eliana was born in Cusco, Peru. While living there she focused her life around conservation, adventure travel, and the ecotourism industry, designing tours that explored the incredible diversity of nature, culture, and history that Peru has to offer with one of the premier inbound tour operators in the country. She spent over four years working in the Peruvian Amazon as a licensed guide for companies involved in ecotourism. Afterwards, she spent two years as a tour leader traveling throughout Peru leading families and small and medium-sized groups specializing on itineraries focused on history, culture, and nature.  Since moving to North Carolina, Eliana has continued her career in tourism working as a travel consultant designing customized itineraries…