We're back with another episode of Shop Talk, the conversations where we don't hold anything back and share transparently what is going on right now in our travel businesses. Whitney shares about her ambitious goal to double her business in the next two years and the uncertainties she is facing right now. And Brianna updates us on her ongoing website refresh and reflects on her successful sabbatical in Portugal, sharing insights on managing business operations remotely. Finally, we talk about the importance of understanding the "why" behind various business goals and how to retain the excitement during each stage in business.

Building a book of business from scratch, regardless of how you do it, is a big feat. Most commonly, travel advisors start off by diving into their personal network to find their first clients. On this episode, Kim and Haleigh share their unique stories of networking as a launching pad in building their travel businesses. Learn about the journey from accepting any business to setting boundaries, how to tap into a corporate background, and building trust no matter who your clients are.

Do you ever find finance-related conversations to be dry and not very inspiring? Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at an Advisor Accelerator Master hour call – we welcome Travis Shelton, an executive financial coach and host of the Meaning Over Money podcast, to help us find the meaning behind the work we do and the $ we bring in. We talk abut the challenges faced by small business owners in the travel industry, balancing financial stability with passion, and defining personal success in unconventional ways.

On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and Kate Thomas continue sharing how they seem to conquer it all. This second part of their discussion dives even deeper into what it takes to manage a business and life. Together they talk about working with fear, stress, doubts, and rising above it all.

It’s very easy to look at someone successful and imagine they’re working on multiple projects and approaching their busy lives with grace and ease. Is there a secret? Or is there something different going on behind the scenes? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate Thomas, Cofounder of Travel Pro Theory. Both Whitney and Kate are busy, successful women who seem to balance everything well. Listen in as they discuss their secrets and what’s actually going on behind the curtain.

The right technology can not only help advisors to connect with clients, but also save time and energy while making us all look more professional. We utilize and rely on technology on a day to day basis, but what goes on behind the scenes of our favorite systems? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and her guest Irving Betesh, dive into Sion. The technology that supports us as professional travel advisors in the back end, enabling us to track our commissions, month to month revenue, and so much more. Irving is the co-founder and CEO of Sion, and he joins in on this episode to share the founding ideas, inner workings, and new updates to this amazing technology.

The idea of expansion and growth in your business can sometimes be overwhelming. Should we grow a team, shouldn’t we grow a team? What are the pros and considerations? How do we even begin the process? On a brand new Master Hour edition of Masters in Travel, the community comes together to discuss growing your business through IC’s and Personal Assistants. Our special guests today are Heather Keller, Founder of Perfect Landing Travel, and Emma Major, Founder of Major Traveler. Together Whitney, Heather, Emma, and other members of the community discuss the ins and outs of expanding your team.

Technology is imperative in running our day to day businesses, both efficiently and effectively. With this technology that we rely on a day to day basis, we likely don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. How are decisions made in what to fix or edit within those technologies? On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and her Guest Scott Rutz, dive into one of the most important technologies that advisors use, Travefy. Scott Rutz is the VP of sales and marketing and part of the founding team at Travefy and in this episode he shares Travefy’s founding story, along with some incredible insight into how the company works and what’s coming next.

Discovering and diving deep into both new and old favorite destinations is a part of being a travel advisor. And no matter what, there are always destinations that clients request that we've never done before. So how do we do it? How do we go from a new inquiry to delivering a proposal and executing a once in a lifetime style trip for our clients? To discuss their discovery process on this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Angela Isherwood and Ashley Theis. Together they come up with solutions and processes that can help any advisor work with a new destination.

With the industry booming, burnout has been a hot topic lately. After realizing that the way you're feeling isn't sustainable, what comes next? How do you approach and fix this problem? For some, feelings of burnout lead to thoughts of leaving the industry, selling your business, or merging with another company for mutual support. To talk more about her experience in selling her business, Bailie White joins Whitney on today’s episode of Masters in Travel. Join in on the discussion as Bailie shares her thoughts and experiences during this journey.

As a solo entrepreneur, the idea of taking any sort of leave feels scary and uncertain. But its sometimes very necessary to take a leave, specifically maternity leave. On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Brianna Glenn of Milk & Honey Travels. Together they discuss Maternity Leave and how to plan for it, how to ask for help, how to prepare for new business, and how to balance this new season of your life.

Growing a team is a path that many advisors consider and some even take on fairly early in their entrepreneurial journey. So what's the motivation to grow a team? Is it absolutely necessary to really build a thriving business? Or can you go it alone? If you're still on the fence about whether to build a team or not, today’s episode of Masters in Travel is here to help. Our special guest this time is Heather Christopher, Founder and President of Heather Christopher Travel. Together she and Whitney discuss growing a team and all that goes into it.

Boundaries as a travel advisor is an ongoing topic. But in this hectic season, it feels more relevant than ever to not only have boundaries, but to stand strong in them. Here on this episode of Masters in Travel is Beth Bastian, owner of Bastian World Travel, and Kate Sullivan, founder of Anthology Travel. Beth, Kate, and Whitney discuss the world of evolving boundaries and learning how to say no to clients.

In this exciting roundtable episode, we welcome three incredible travel advisors: Haleigh, Lina, and Ashley, all members of the Advisor Accelerator. Our onversation delves into the unique value of being part of a supportive, peer-to-peer community designed for travel advisors. And each guest shares how they have grown their businesses while being part of a collaborative, diverse learning space like the Advisor Accelerator. (Sneak peak: Haleigh hired someone and can't imagine 6 months ago before she did, Ashley revamped her business approach, and Lina transitioned to travel planning full time over a year before she anticipated.) Tune in for more inspirational stories!

In this month's Master Hour edition of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Julie Patterson of Wanderfully Planned and Madeline Steuber of Steuber Travel Group. Listen in as they are joined by other members of the community and think-tank to tackle some great questions on how to run and grow your travel business.

The, “what's your budget?” question can be difficult for both clients and advisors to answer. This very important step in the trip planning process can be daunting, especially if it’s for a brand new and unfamiliar destination. But what if there were strategies to keep this process simple and fast? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate Thomas, Owner of North & Leisure and Travel Pro Theory. Together they get down to business and find great and easy ways to deal with numbers and budgets.

Planning the bones of a custom FIT itinerary is sometimes just the beginning. Once the client is comfortable with the basics of their trip, the concierge like questions and requests start rolling in. What should we do during our free time? Where should we eat? Do we need reservations? And the list can go on and on. What are we as travel advisors expected to do for our services? How do we serve our clients best while not letting it take over our day to day? Where do we draw the line? Here to discuss dealing with the concierge questions are Whitney Langholz of Journeys Travel and Rochelle DeBaun of Five Senses Journeys. Listen in as Whitney and our guests talk about all of the questions and considerations that may come up with these special requests.

Planning group travel seems quite appealing as an individual advisor. Especially when we see the potential revenue and commissions earned from a group booking, we're often very eager to dive into this type of travel planning. But when you learn more about groups, a few big questions and potential challenges often. What type of group will you organize? Will it be a custom itinerary or an organized tour or a cruise? As our guest on today’s episode of Masters in Travel, is Kate Sullivan of Anthology Travel. She and Whitney discuss a recent experience Kate had planning a group trip to Paris, while giving some great advice and tips on how to plan this kind of trip.

Mindset is a topic that we hear about in our personal lives and in our professional lives. It is a topic that lingers behind all decisions that we make, especially as an entrepreneur. If we asked ten people, or ten advisors, what mindset means to them we would get 10 different answers. On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Lina Sutton and Danielle Gaerte. Three travel advisors talking about their experiences and their challenges in running a travel business and their mindset related to being an entrepreneur.

When starting a travel business, there's so much information out there. Very little of it feels structured and most of it is just that, information. Sometimes it's reliable but very rarely is it relevant to you where you're at in your business. But it doesn’t have to be this difficult. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and Korrine Johnson discuss an amazing project that they’ve been working on; The Journey. The Journey is an in-depth course in everything you need to know to develop and grow your business, working from square one and upwards.

On a prior episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney, Kate Sullivan, Julie Patterson discussed the pros and considerations of planning FAMs. Now, Julie is back from Portugal to talk about her experience. Listen in as Whitney and Julie discuss the trip, what Julie learned, and what she might do differently moving forward.

It’s time for another Master Hour, the special forum discussion when members of the Masters in Travel community ask experts important questions about running a travel business. This time, Whitney is joined by Andrew Finn, of Kartagener Associates Inc and Rochelle DeBaun, Owner of Five Senses Journeys. Together they discuss in-depth solutions to making your business efficient and successful.

When planning a customized FIT itinerary, there are so many individual components that come into play. How well do we know the destination and how experienced are the travelers? Do we feel comfortable piecing together the itinerary one component at a time? Or do we sometimes prefer to work with the DMC? Deciding to specialize in customizing your design and receiving this type of request is just the beginning. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate Sullivan of Anthology Travel and Angela Isherwood of Olive & Atlas Travel. Together they discuss the ins and outs of working with a DMC and which route to choose for you and for your client.

You may be interested in being a travel advisor, but are you also interested in being an entrepreneur? Sometimes running a travel advisor business requires much more than just planning travel. You may have to ask yourself if you’d rather join a team to help with the workload, or go solo to control more of your business. On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Korrine Johnson to dive into this big question, considering all of your options, and how to figure out what will work for your business.

You asked, we're answering! We put out a question: "What do you want to know about client experience?" and listeners really challenged us with some great questions. How to level up the pre-travel experience, how to request feedback from clients effectively, and tips for surprising and delighting clients that have worked for us...this are just some of the topics we cover today.

On this brand new episode of Masters in Travel, Master Hour, Whitney is joined by Kate Sullivan and Kelli Bakopanos. During this panel discussion, Kelli shares her experience and expertise in recruiting, hiring, and all it entails to onboard new assistants. Listen in to hear best practices in hiring and how to set yourself, and your new hire, up for success.

FAMs, or familiarization trips, are a part of our industry that provides an invaluable opportunity to learn about a new destination and supplier partner services on the ground. They offer a tremendous opportunity to connect with and forge relationships with fellow travel advisors, but they can sometimes feel rather elusive. How do you get invited on a FAM anyway? To talk about the ins and outs of FAMs, Whitney is joined by Kate Sullivan and Julie Patterson on this episode of Masters in Travel. Together they do a deep dive into planning, attending, and even marketing FAMs.

On this month's Master Hour, the expert in the room is Kate Thomas, owner of North + Leasure and co-Founder of TravelPro Theory. Whitney and Kate answer tons of community questions in this all-encompassing episode. Topics today include; reaching out to suppliers, finding new clients in a post-covid world, and much more.

Working with supplier partners can sometimes be risky. Even with consortia or host agency relationships, most of the time, we take a leap of faith. The conversation about who to work with, who is financially sound, and who is really taking care of their business behind the scenes, can often be a really hard question to answer. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Marnie Brown, Founder of Trusted FIT Services. Marnie is here with a solution to this problem. Listen in as they discuss what Trusted FIT Services can do and how it’s changing the Travel Industry entirely.

After receiving an exciting inquiry, we may celebrate, but then what happens? Do we spend time on research or forms? Maybe this is a chance to welcome clients into our world, our business, and our experience before talking with them about their specific trip requests. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Madi and Kristen Steuber, Cofounders of Steuber Travel Group. Together they discuss the importance of onboarding a client while Madi and Kristen share their experience in learning from past mistakes and constantly striving to improve their business.

In the world of business, and especially in the role of a travel advisor, selling is a vital factor. Some people hate it while others excel at it, but the key in closing a deal is first knowing who you’re selling to. Jenn Lee, expert saleswoman and VP of sales and marketing at Travel Planners International, is our guest on today’s episode. She and Whitney discuss the BOLT Process of learning how people operate and the best way to handle them in closing deals and building better relationships.

On this month’s Masters in Travel Panel Discussion in collaboration with The Bridge, Whitney  is joined by Anita Powell, Founder of The Africa Hub & the Managing Director of Small World Marketing. This episode is all about the fantastic resource that is The Africa Hub. Listen in to hear more about how this hub can provide you training tools, marketing resources, and tons of tips and tricks in both learning about and selling Africa.

Sustainability is a growing interest and a priority for some. But what does sustainability actually mean? How would implementing sustainable practices affect the way we do business and our clients’ experiences? On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Clark Kotula, Kate Sullivan, and Whitney dive deeper into this topic and find ways to make sustainability easier for everyone.

On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by three amazing advisors who are a major part of the Masters in Travel community and Think Tank to talk about the power of community. Being an entrepreneur can be isolating at times, and sometimes you need others to help you grow your business. It's about collaboration. It's about sharing ideas, inspiration, troubleshooting, and finding a better way than any of us could do alone. To share what community means to them, Kate Sullivan, Korrine Johnson, and Beth Bastian are the special guests on this exciting and inspirational episode.

On this new and exciting episode of Master Hour, Whitney is joined by Jenn Lee and Theresa Chu-Bermudez to answer all of the questions from the community. This episode includes topics on optimizing Traveljoy, managing challenging client requests, and deciding how you can best use your time to grow your business.

In our third Client Experience series episode, we delve into the intricacies of communication and systems in the four phases of the trip design process. Learn what those four phases of trip design are and how client communication will change in each phase, Plus, get our tips for tools and systems to streamline and support each phase of trip design so that you can truly master the most important part of travel advisor work. Plus, we are hosting a free masterclass – learn more about it!

When starting a new business, advisors can get busy with all the steps necessary to establish ourselves as business owners. But what about protecting ourselves as business owners and our clients? Liability insurance and other policies, though at times intimidating, are vital to get drafted. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Jeff Ment, Miguel Campos, and Kate Sullivan. Together they discuss the importance of being prepared for the unexpected and ensuring that your business is protected.

In the travel industry, representation companies can be a bit of an enigma. Many advisors don't know representation companies exist while other advisors may know about them, but they aren't really sure how best to work with them. Why should advisors work with representation companies in the first place? On this special Bridge episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Janine Cifelli, David DiGregorio, and Dave Kartagenerto clear the fog a little bit and bring to light the tremendous resource that representation companies truly are.

Introducing the Master Hour, a monthly coaching call for the Masters in Travel community and Think Tank where advisors can bring questions to a panel to discuss what's going on in their business right here and now. On this first episode of this very exciting discussion, Whitney is joined by Emily Steele of Love Local, and Korrine Johnson of Travel Biz Boss and Journeys Travel. These think tanks are a really great place to push, to challenge, and to really encourage all of us to step into our CEO role of our own businesses.

Questions asked during this month’s Master Hour:

• What is the hierarchy of organization when we're feeling overwhelmed? What should I be doing first when I'm also trying to manage a book of business that is admittedly too big?
• How is  everyone presenting travel documents to clients?
• What is the number one way to move the financial needle? At the end of the year, when I look at my numbers, I realize that I didn’t make the money I thought I would make.
• What questions do you ask someone who is interested to join the travel industry and who you're considering offering a position as an IC within your organization?
• How to know when to say no and when to say yes to new inquiries when the end goal is to increase my total sales numbers?
• 99% of my business is comprised of repeat and referral clients, most of whom all live in the same community and who know each other personally. How do I say no to specific requests that are coming in from clients I've been working with for 15-20 years in a way that doesn't turn them off for future requests?

Profitability is a topic you've surely heard about, but what does it really mean? What does it look like in the numbers and in the financials of your business? What numbers should we be looking at and monitoring on a regular basis? And at the end of the day, is it really that important to our small business? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Jenn Lee to discuss everything about what profitability can mean. Together they discuss tips on how to analyze your business as well as how to utilize and maximize the money that comes in.

As a travel advisor, planning fully customized FIT itineraries is a trip design style that fuels the passion of so many of us. It seems simple enough upfront because for most of us, we were planning every detail of our own travels prior to starting our travel business. So it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to transition into the world of FIT trip design as a professional travel advisor. Right?

It's only after you dive into the deep end of FIT itinerary design that you realize, no matter the experience we had prior to starting our travel businesses, there's so much to learn. There are so many moving parts and there are so many questions that we never knew we had. 

On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate Thomas, Owner of North & Leisure Travel to discuss uncovering the iceberg that is FIT itinerary design.

On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney, Lila Fox, and Kate Sullivan are back to dig deeper into tough conversations. Expanding on their first conversation, there are so many more tough conversations to cover. Not only in how to look out and avoid sticky situations, but how to navigate your way through difficult conversations with clients while staying true to your values.

In the journey of hiring an assistant and seeking out support for a growing business, there are many places you can look to get the help you need. One great way to find an assistant is through agencies, like Tailored Assistant Services, that train assistants to help in travel businesses. On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Tiffany Wade, CEO of Tailored Assistant Services. Together they talk about what it looks like to engage a service that provides assistance to travel advisors, some best practices, and how you as a business owner can prepare for success when bringing someone onto your team.

On this special episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Gwen Rawlinson and Maria Kuznetsov of ERM tours. For this panel discussion, Whitney, Gwen, Maria talk about the art of collaboration between advisors and DMCs. They go over their experiences working with clients as well as how to foster a creative and productive relationship between travel advisors and DMCs.

Air is sometimes described as simply a necessary evil. It can be nice to earn a commission that you aren’t expecting, and at other times it’s a hassle to deal with changing flights and finding refunds. Some advisors say that they just let clients handle air on their own, but no matter whether we book air or not, it still affects us as advisors and the itineraries that we've planned for clients. On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by two air experts, Sam Dorfman and Rachel Grosso, co-owners of Curated Coast. Together they debunk some of the myths and mysteries about booking air while talking about the amazing service they’re providing to travel advisors everywhere.

The perception that a travel advisor has of themselves is at the core of everything. Every travel advisor has a “Why?” behind the reason that they started their business. In this more casual, candid conversation, Whitney and Jenn talk about their vision for the future of the travel industry and what they would love to see in the coming years. They get out their magic wands and talk about what they would change to make the travel business successful for all travel advisors.

In this second episode of our 4-part client experience series, we explore five top areas of business that impact any client's experience working with you: service offering, aesthetics, communication, systems, and attracting new clients. Do a self-audit on your travel business with this episode, and hear our experiences and advice as you consider these vital parts of your business and how to improve each of them.

On this very special episode, in collaboration with The Bridge, Whitney is joined by Habib El Fassi of Visit Morocco Travel & Events, and Bram Evers of Pure! Travel Group. Together they talk about creating unique experiences and what it means to truly support local communities and make the most out of destinations. Learn about what it takes to create a truly tailor made, creative, and uniquely personalized experience for clients.

Building a team of advisors is something that many of us talk about and aspire to do. On the other hand, joining a team of people in an already established travel business is something that many new advisors are seeking out. On this very exciting and guest-filled episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Heather Keller, Lindy Schuch, Sarah Fazendin, Mallory Worthington, and Julie Patterson. With more guests joining than ever before, listen in for a deep dive into this topic from both perspectives. Both from an experienced advisor's perspective and from a new advisor's perspective.

Having tough conversations is part of the job of both a travel advisor and a business owner. Whether it’s a mistake that we made, not having exactly what a client is looking for, or an experience that did not meet expectations, complicated and awkward situations happen. Whatever the reason, it's important that we not only feel confident going forward, but it's just as important that we are ready and prepared to navigate those tough conversations. Kate Sullivan, owner of Anthology Travel, and Lila Fox, owner of Lila Fox Travel Company, join Whitney on this episode of Masters in Travel. Together they discuss past experiences and strategize ways to make the most out of a tough situation.