Podcast
Masters in Travel
Hosted by Whitney Shindelar and Brianna Glenn · EN
Join Whitney & Brianna as they explore how successful travel advisors grow travel businesses and what advice do they have for other travel entrepreneurs.
Tune in each week for conversations about all things growing and scaling a successful travel business, hearing stories from various industry professionals, unfiltered conversations about business fails and successes, and more.
Masters in Travel is for travel advisors who are ready to accelerate their success. Subscribe, rate, share, and tune in each week for advice, insights, and resources to maximize your travel business potential!
179episodes
Episodes
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Ep 283 [REPLAY] How to Scale + Grow Your Travel Business With an Employee Model
6d ago00:44:21Tap to summarizeJoin Brianna and guest Erica Carr for a conversation on their innovative approaches to scaling a travel business with an employee model, from implementing unique incentive programs to understanding the evolving roles within a travel agency. They delve into the significance of hiring ahead of growth, the shift in industry norms post-Covid, and the vital role of technology in adapting to change. Plus, they share their personal experiences in assembling teams that complement their strengths and drive business success, highlighting the balance between independent contractors and employees, the value of understanding employee motivations, and strategic hiring decisions that prioritize team dynamics and client satisfaction.For the next several weeks, enjoy this replay of a listener favorite episode. We'll be back soon with new content!
Transcribe →Ep 282 [REPLAY] Increase sales in your travel business without that "sales ick"
2w ago01:01:05Tap to summarizeLove travel and planning it, but hate the sales part? In this episode, Brianna and guest Glenda from The Art of Selling Travel delve into the art of sales and client relations. Glenda shares her seasoned approach to pricing negotiations and reframing rejection, all while maintaining an authentic human connection. She provides invaluable insights on asking the right questions and building rapport that help build connections with clients. Through this candid discussion and personal stories, they unravel the complexities of selling travel experiences, advocating the power of conversation over assumption.For the next several weeks, enjoy this replay of a listener favorite episode. We'll be back soon with new content!
Transcribe →Ep 281 [REPLAY] Shifting Your Mindset in How you Deal with Yourself in Your Business
3w ago00:58:58Tap to summarizeMindset 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.For the next several weeks, enjoy this replay of a listener favorite episode. We'll be back soon with new content!
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280 Soulful Experience w/ AmaWaterways
4w ago00:23:02Tap to summarizeIn this solo episode, Brianna closes the loop on her recent AmaWaterways Soulful Experience sailing through Portugal’s Douro River and reflects on what the trip taught her as both a traveler and a travel advisor. After previously sharing how to turn fam trips and personal travel into a marketing engine, she now pulls back the curtain on what actually worked, what surprised her, and how the experience shaped the way she thinks about river cruising. Brianna is clear that one sailing does not make someone a river cruise expert, but it can reveal where deeper product knowledge needs to grow. She shares why river cruise itineraries require more nuance than simply choosing a ship or destination, especially when the river itself shapes the pace, access, views, and traveler experience. She also offers a thoughtful firsthand perspective on AmaWaterways’ Soulful Experience, including the sense of community, cultural storytelling, and emotional resonance that made this sailing feel so meaningful. For travel advisors, this conversation is a reminder that strong product fit is about more than destination alone, it is about understanding the traveler, the itinerary, the community, and the story being told.
Transcribe →Ep 279 [REPLAY] Going Solo or Joining a Team; How to Know What’s Right for You
Jun 2300:43:20Tap to summarizeYou 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.For the next several weeks, enjoy this replay of a listener favorite episode. We'll be back soon with new content!
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Ep 278 What Travel Advisors Can Learn From Aman-Level Luxury Hospitality
Jun 1600:39:54Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Masters in Travel, Brianna sits down with Olivia Tambosso, a luxury travel advisor whose career began on the inside of one of the world’s most respected luxury hotel brands: Aman. After years in guest-facing operational roles in Morocco, Thailand, and Japan, Olivia brings a rare perspective to the travel advisor side of the industry. Together, Brianna and Olivia explore what true luxury looks like behind the scenes, from anticipating client needs to understanding the operational realities that shape a hotel stay. Olivia shares how her time at Aman taught her to communicate more clearly, advocate more thoughtfully, and view hotels as collaborative partners rather than simple suppliers. This conversation is a reminder that luxury travel is not just about beautiful rooms or impressive amenities. It is about care, nuance, relationships, and the small details that make clients feel deeply seen.
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Ep 277 How to Turn Every Trip Into a Marketing Engine
Jun 900:29:46Tap to summarizeIn this solo episode, Brianna walks travel advisors through the exact mindset shift and planning process that turns a trip from a one-time experience into a long-term marketing asset. As she prepares for seven weeks in Europe, including a Portugal river cruise with AmaWaterways, she shares how she thinks through audience, intention, content capture, and post-trip visibility before she ever boards the plane. Brianna breaks down why firsthand experience is one of a travel advisor’s greatest competitive advantages, but only when it is used with purpose. She also shares her approach to daily storytelling, identifying anchor moments, using honest reactions as content, and extending a trip into a 90-day content window. This episode is a practical reminder that the most valuable content often starts before the trip begins and continues long after the suitcase is unpacked.
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Ep 276 From Spa Treatments to Wellness Retreats
Jun 200:40:40Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate for a thoughtful and practical conversation about the wide spectrum of spa, wellness, and sport-focused travel. Together, they unpack why the simple question “Does the hotel have a spa?” often falls short, especially when clients have very specific expectations around relaxation, treatments, facilities, programming, or transformation. From diagnostic wellness resorts to choose-your-own-adventure retreats, hotel spas, hydrotherapy circuits, and active travel experiences, Whitney and Kate explore how travel advisors can ask better questions and better understand what clients are really seeking. They also discuss the importance of expectation setting, from knowing whether a treatment happens in a true spa or in-room to understanding whether a client should plan for one hour or an entire afternoon. For travel advisors, this episode is a reminder that wellness is not one-size-fits-all, and that the details can make all the difference in matching the right client to the right experience.
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Ep 275 Family Friendly Hotels
May 2601:14:41Tap to summarizeFamily-friendly hotels are often misunderstood, with many properties claiming the label without truly designing for how families actually travel. In this episode, Travel Advisor Lee Friedman of Mango Tree Travel shares firsthand insight into what makes a hotel genuinely work for families. The conversation dives into real-world considerations like room configurations, kids club quality, dining flexibility, and how hotel design impacts both parents and children. It also explores the gap between hotel marketing and on-the-ground reality, and how Travel Advisors can better evaluate properties beyond surface-level claims. Throughout, clear patterns emerge around what thoughtful hospitality looks like for families versus what simply checks a box. Travel Advisors will walk away with a sharper lens for identifying, positioning, and confidently recommending family-friendly hotels. This episode was originally aired on The Hivemind Podcast. Explore more hotel comparison and destination deep-dive episodes on The Hivemind Podcast at https://www.thehive.travel/podcast
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Ep 274 What I'd Do If I Were Starting Over in 2026
May 1900:33:57Tap to summarizeIn this solo episode, Brianna reflects on what she would do differently if she were starting her travel business from scratch in 2026. With 10 years of experience behind her, she breaks down the foundational decisions that matter most, from choosing the right host agency to getting honest about your network, picking a niche early, investing in the travel business, and building systems before they are urgently needed. Brianna also shares why proximity still matters when building a client base, how to use slow seasons as intentional build time, and why AI should be treated as infrastructure rather than a shortcut. Whether you are brand new to the industry or years into your travel business, this episode is a practical reminder that clarity, consistency, and confident decision-making shape the path forward. Above all, Brianna brings the focus back to the work that actually matters: getting in front of the right people and building a travel business that can hold real weight.
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