← Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Skip Google, Get the Suite: How Travel Advisors Deliver Luxury You Can’t Book Yourself
00:25:41
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- [00:02]
A
When the holidays start to feel a bit repetitive, reach for a Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry and put your twist on tradition. A bold cranberry and winter spice flavor fusion Sprite Winter Spice Cranberry is a refreshing way to shake things up this sipping season, and only for a limited time. Sprite. Obey your thirst.
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B
Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.
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C
And I'm Sally French.
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B
And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip.
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C
Well, Megan, it is the holidays and we've got something special for the listeners today.
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B
We do. It's an archive episode because we are off and enjoying time with friends and family as the year comes to a close. But before we hit play on that episode, what was your favorite trip of the year? Sally?
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C
Oh, that's a good question. I did go to Europe and we are going to talk about that in 2026. I feel like that's kind of cliche to say Europe was the best trip ever, but it was okay.
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B
I'm excited to hear more about where and what made it so good.
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C
You did lots of international trips, so tell me your favorite.
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B
Ooh, I think my favorite international trip was to Ireland and Scotland with my dad. There's something really special about bringing someone who's never really traveled there before to a place and just seeing him grow as a traveler was really fun.
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C
I'm so glad you got to travel with your dad. Every time I travel with my parents, it's so special. So I'm glad you did that. It has been amazing. Year of traipsing the globe. We are so grateful that you all listeners have joined us for so much, much of it. So with that, we wish you a very merry holidays.
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B
So, Sally, you brought on a travel agent to find out whether booking with one is actually worth it. Who did you interview?
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C
Yes, today you get to hear my conversation with Jen Lee. She is president and CMO of Travel Planners International and Vacation Planners. She worked her way up over the past 10 years from various roles in sales and marketing to ultimately become president and cmo. She is based in Maitland, near Orlando. Definitely vacation capital of the world.
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B
All right, I'm excited for this one. Sally, take it away.
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C
Jen Lee, welcome to Smart Travel. Thank you for joining us.
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A
Oh, it's a pleasure. I always love talking about travel and travel agents.
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C
Specifically, I would love to know what is the role of a Travel agent in 2025.
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A
So first off, we do refer to Them as travel advisors. We changed that vernacular several years ago for a very specific reason. And that is going to help answer this question.
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C
Okay.
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A
Travel agents of yesteryear were agents of the supplier of the travel partner. They were there representing that travel partner and connecting the consumer with that partner. The role has flipped over the last eight to 10 years where really the role of the travel advisor is on the consumer side. It's all about asking the right questions, ensuring that there's a curated experience that's going to meet their expectations of their vacation needs. So it's really think of it like your financial advisor. Like when you want to go get a new haircut, you go in and you sit down and say, advise me on what it is that I want. So their role is not just giving the advice, it's curating the experience. It's managing that whole multi pronged trip during travel, if there's a challenge, and then afterwards ensuring that. All right, we're back. What's next? So that's the role of today's travel advisor. It's not a booking agent any longer like it used to be.
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C
We just did an episode on Smart Travel about how to plan your trip and so many people don't know. One thing Megan and I talked about was a lot of people just say, I'm going to Italy. What do I do?
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A
Right?
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C
And there's so much more to it. A travel advisor can help you figure out, well, what's your travel style? Do you want a fancy hotel? Do you want a family for a hotel? What do you want?
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A
A lot of times, Sally, what happens is, and you and Megan are spot on. Nobody Googles or uses AI to say, this is what's motivating me to want to go to Italy. A travel advisor says, tell me why Italy? What's important to you about Italy? And they start from there because there's usually a story behind it and it could be a simple story. I've always wanted to go. My family's from Italy. My next door neighbor went to Italy. I'm jealous of this Instagram post that I constantly see of Italy. But what's that motivation? And that's really what kickstarts the whole curated experience.
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C
Of course, with that one on one attention, I have to know there's got to be costs involved. You have to get paid somehow. So what is the typical cost of using a travel agent?
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A
Travel advisors, There's a variety of different ways they get paid. And this is probably one of the things that I think most consumers don't understand. So to make a commission from the travel partner, right? Like, thank you for choosing us and we're paying you a commission to manage that booking. You, you were a salesper for us, you close the deal and now you're managing the booking on our behalf. But travel agents also charge fees. They could charge a planning fee. Maybe it's a multi country type of thing and you're piecing it all together with hotels and air and car rentals or tour guides or whatever. So they could charge a planning fee. Travel advisors sometimes will charge a modification fee. In other words, we've nailed all this. I've sent you all your documents and three days later you say, now I want to go to Germany. Well, that's a modification, right? Or a cancellation fee. You know, of course your travel insurance can help cover cover for your cancellation fees through the travel advisor. But the most part, most people find that they're saving money by working with a travel advisor as opposed to spending more money.
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C
So basically, some work on a commission where maybe I book a Disney cruise and the Disney cruise then gives you some amount of money. Or there are some models where I would just pay you and say, help me plan my trip. Is there one model that is better for a certain type of traveler?
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A
So let's use Disney as a perfect example. You mentioned Disney cruise lines, but I don't know if you go to the Disney parks or anything. Sally, are you like a theme park girl?
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C
I go to the Disney parks girl.
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A
That is one confusing mess of a whole situation, right?
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C
Yes, it is a lot to plan.
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A
It is a lot to plan. And it's like, you know, a Taylor Swift concert. You've got to be at the app right at time to be able to get your dining and all that stuff. So people pay advisors to curate that experience to set up the dining. If you just want to book a hotel, book a hotel direct. Like, you don't need to go through a travel advisor. If you just want to book a simple flight, then do that. If you only fly once a year, twice a year, just do it yourself. There's no reason to go through a travel advisor. Quite honestly, Travel advisors are mostly used for people who say, I have seven days of vacation. I have $7,500 that I've allocated for this vacation. I want to be by a beach or I want to be sipping martinis or whatever that is. Help me come up with something within that budget that really puts me on vacation. Because what happens is a lot of times people try to piecemeal this stuff together and they don't know that if you were going on, let's just say a Virgin Voyages cruise. I just got off a Virgin Voyages cruise. And if you book a suite, it's a little bit more expensive. But I save so much money because I get bar tab, I've got a butler, I get that door to door service. They're picking me up at the airport, driving me in my private limo over to the cruise. I'm going through a VIP section so I'm not standing there with a bunch of other people. Well, guess what? That was well worth the extra $700 to do all of that. Because you know what? My vacation started the moment I left the house.
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C
One thing you mentioned is ways that travel advisors can save you money. So I would love for you to talk about what some of those things are.
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B
Sure.
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A
There's three big areas where advisors can save you money. Anytime you're booking a cruise, travel advisors usually have access to what we call blocked cruise inventory. Like as an example, I'm a host agency and a franchise. So we Pay for cabins 2 and 3 years in advance at the 2 and 3 year ago price so our travel advisors can save their clients money. A client could look online and try to book with, let's just say celebrity and it's going to be $1,700 less to book it with us because we have that cabin already blocked. Another way is through packages. Travel advisors have access to group inventory within it comes to resorts. And when you package, maybe your air, your car, your hotel in it together or because there's promotions happen, happening again. It's about the buying power that the travel advisor has that the consumer doesn't have. The travel advisor has the buying power. So it's cruises, it's hotels, resorts and packages. And then third is air. So they have access to air rates, mostly business class or premium economy going over to Europe, they have access to special rates that the consumer does not have access to many times, but the first two are the big ones.
- [08:36]
C
Those are some great ways to save. Using a travel Advisor. This is a smart Travel podcast by NerdWallet, so we're going to focus on that a little more. Up next, we'll talk about how people can leverage travel agents to save even more money. Stay with us. The following is a paid sponsorship, not an endorsement by NerdWallet's editorial team. Today's episode is sponsored by Bilt. It is almost 2026 and you are still paying rent without Bilt. We cannot have that. Bilt is a loyalty program for renters that rewards you for what is likely one of your biggest monthly expenses. That's rent. With Bilt, every rent payment earns you points that can be used towards flights, hotels, Lyft rides, Amazon.com purchases and so much more. And when you pay rent through Bilt, you unlock access to exclusive benefits from a network of more than 45,000 merchants. Just link your credit card, spend at your favorite local spots, earn bill points and get one step closer to that trip you wanted to take. Week I would redeem my points for the fitness credits. They have Soul Cycle, they have Berries. See all at the Red Room. It's simple. Paying rent is better with Built Earn rewards. And finally get something back for being a renter. Join the loyalty program for renters at joinbuilt.com smarttravel that's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.com smarttravel make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you.
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A
Ford BlueCruise Hands Free highway driving takes the work out of being behind the wheel, allowing you to relax and reconnect while also staying in control. Enjoy the drive in blue cruise enabled vehicles like the F150 Explorer and Mustang Mach E available feature on equipped vehicles. Terms apply does not replace safe driving. See Ford.com BlueCruise for more details.
- [10:27]
C
And we are back with more money saving tips with Jen Lee. Now you mentioned some special upgrades experiences you can get when someone uses a travel advisor. Can you talk a little bit more about what someone might expect in terms of those extras when they book with you or another travel advisor?
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A
Again, it goes back to that kind of, I hate to use that word, bulk pricing, but that's the easy way for everyone to look at it, right? So you might be looking online as a consumer direct with that travel partner cruise line and you can get a veranda cabin for, let's just say $2,400 per person for a seven night cruise. The Travel Advisor actually could get you a suite for the same amount because they've got better pricing on suites than what's showing online for even a veranda. So those upgrades happen. Another thing that happens, and this is a lot when it comes to the hotel collection. We're part of the signature travel consortia, so that's even a bigger buying power on top of our agency. On top of what the Advisor so as an example, I just went to Dublin, Ireland, stayed at a beautiful hotel. I got $100 credit to use at the hotel any way I wanted to early check in, late checkout, free breakfast. And I think a bottle of wine came to my room with chocolate and strawberries. If you didn't work with a travel advisor, you wouldn't get any of that.
- [11:48]
C
And those benefits like the bottle of the wine or the free breakfast are always such a nice touch. We do see benefits like that on credit card programs like Chase's, the edit Amex Fil. Hotels and resorts often offer similar benefits like that, but with those benefits you have to have one of those credit cards to participate. Those credit cards, as our listeners know, have many hundreds of dollars of annual fees. NerdWallet does recommend those credit cards for frequent travelers, but for people who aren't frequent travelers who don't want to drop that annual fee up front, it does seem like using a travel advisor might be a way to get those similar benefits that you could expect on the edit Find hotels and resorts, but without having the credit card. Absolute what is something that customers should be aware of when working with a commission based travel advisor? Is there any sort of risk that they might try to put you in a Marriott because they get a commission there and not the Hilton, but the Hilton down the road is actually better? What kind of things should a customer pay attention to?
- [12:48]
A
That's an excellent question and I don't get that often enough. Here's something that's going to surprise you. Travel advisors are not motivated by commission. You know what they're motivated by? Building a business. And if anybody who's listening is in the business world, you know that. But it's not just ones and zeros, dollars and cents. It's the X's and O's which are the relationships. Right? So travel advisors don't want your one piece of business. A call center wants to close the deal. A travel advisor wants to keep you as a client. So recommending something that is not necessarily going to fit your need could put them out of business. One bad experience utilizing a travel advisor where the advisor didn't advise properly could actually cost them hundreds of clients down the road because referrals are everybody's best business.
- [13:33]
C
Now we did talk about money and I do want to sort of talk about other challenges besides money. I know travel agents became wildly popular in 2020 because they helped navigate all those country closure rules. There were so many last minute cancellations with flights. Obviously. Thank goodness we are long past that. But how are Travel Advisor is able to help navigate issues besides just the cost in booking?
- [13:57]
A
Once you're traveling, your travel advisor is still with you and a lot of times what happen is, let's just say you booked a hotel or a resort and it's full. Well, the travel advisor will already have known that. So they would have saved you time and money by making sure you got rebooked somewhere else. When flights get canceled, nobody has control over that except for the airlines and what's happening in the skies. They're usually there to help pick that up and recommend or walk you through that stressful time. You could have kids with you. You're in an airport, you're standing in line, maybe you're booked with a travel partner that doesn't have a really strong app that's going to rebook it for you because you don't have stat status with them. A travel advisor is already on top of it. They already know they've already gotten a ping that your flight has been canceled. They're already working on it for you. So that can save you money in having to sit in the airport or pay for your own hotel. Travel insurance is something a lot of people do not understand. They think they could just click it on the airline and yep, I'll take that travel insurance, but that's only going to cover you for the air portion. It doesn't cover you prior to leaving. What if there's a hurricane coming to your town? The right travel insurance will help pay for that non refundable event because you've got to get ready for the hurricane. So a travel advisor can help you with that. So they can definitely say this is a time for you to get the travel insurance.
- [15:14]
C
And then do you work off a commission model as well with say, World Nomads or the travel insurance company and then they give you a small commission.
- [15:22]
A
Yeah. So think of it like this way, Sally. The travel partner or the supplier, they pay a commission as a thank you to the travel advisor for choosing their product, booking, closing the sale and managing the client's expectations properly. So they pay them a commission. Travel agents make money in a variety of ways, but that's the majority of it.
- [15:43]
C
What does the process look like from start to finish when someone contacts you and then they want to plan their trip and then they go on their trip? How much are they interacting with you and how and what are we talking about?
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A
So every advisor is a little different. That's one of my irks of this industry. There's not a consistent consumer experience that you can settle into. But in general, they usually have some sort of 15, 20 minute consultation call asking those really important questions to make sure that they're Gonna recommend the right thing to you. They're gonna talk to you about whatever the terms and conditions and if there are any additional fees. A lot of advisors don't charge fees, but they'll let you know that right up front. Once you've agreed to that, then they're gonna send over a handful of options for you to choose from together based on what that consultation was. Then they're gonna require your credit card or credit card authorization. They're gonna book the travel, they're gonna send itinerary app so you can kind of keep up on it. Then you're going to get documents, they're going to keep you up to date, they're going to check to make sure your passport isn't going to expire too soon, maybe packing list things to know again. If this is the first time you're traveling with a child with autism, here are the things to know. They would have picked the right place for you understanding what those programs are. Then you go on your trip. If you've got any challenges during the trip, the advisor is usually going to let you know. I know. My advisors usually text me two days before, hey, it looks like your hotel. Your room is still confirmed. They're confirming the hotel. This is a concierge.
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C
I am so intrigued by travel advisors because it seems like something that was very popular pre Internet. Then we got Expedia and all that, and it felt like they kind of did your jobs for you in a way. And it seems like travel advisors are making a comeback. Do you think that's right? And why do you think that is?
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A
If so, Sally, we've never been busier than we've been now. And I will tell you, during the pandemic, people were joining the industry and I remember saying to our sales team, can we give these people some aptitude tests? Do they not know there's no traffic traveling going on? But what they saw and what we're still seeing is, is that people realize time is important. The Internet has not put advisors out of business at all. It's only made it stronger. AI has only made it even stronger because AI helps you kind of inspire. Instagram, Pinterest. You're inspired by that and then you want it to be specific to you. The reason why people thought advisors were gone was because the brick and mortars went away. We didn't see our local travel agency anymore with that little awning. And you'd walk in and see all the brochures. We didn't see that any longer. So that's one of My personal missions in the travel industry is to kind of bring back the best of yesteryear without having to have the brick and mortar. And that's, that's why I'm high about travel advisors. They're making well over six figures. Wow.
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C
Should I become a travel advisor, Sally?
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A
If you're not, what am I doing hosting a podcast? Girl, I've got advisors that are making $300,000 a year.
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C
Year. Amazing. It also seems to me like a big reason why travel advisors have become so popular is because travel is so much more complicated. Now. We mentioned kind of, you know, Disney with the reservations, but it is not just Disney. It seems like every museum requires a timed entry. It seems like even with airlines, there's so many confusing add ons that people aren't sure what they do or don't need. So it does seem like maybe a travel advisor is that good person to have just give you straight answers.
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A
Even with the visa requirements changing, there was a new visa that I had to get to go through the United Kingdom, even though I wasn't going to the United Kingdom, but I was going through the United Kingdom, so therefore I needed a visa. A travel advisor knows all of that. It's also more complicated, Sally, because we really want the best value for our money. And what does value mean? Value isn't necessarily saving apples to apples. Saving money. Value is that time, that investment. I got exactly what I needed out of it.
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C
All right, Jen, I want the listeners to get to know you so I have some rapid fire questions.
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A
Oh, good.
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C
One favorite place you've traveled to.
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A
You can't make me say one best place, Sally. I've United States, Jackson Hole, Wyoming all day long. I love Jackson Hole, mostly because it was a great experience for my husband and I was a great reconnection. And then I would say Munich, Germany, Dublin, Ireland was just lovely. I was just there. Cape Town, South Africa.
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B
Really good.
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C
Okay. Lots of places. You can't pick just one. I know.
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A
It's like lay's potato chips.
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C
Top place you want to go to next?
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A
The Galapagos and Antarctica. I want to hang out with some polar bears. Or is that the Arctic?
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C
That's the arctic penguins.
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A
Penguins.
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C
We could do both. We'll do the Arctic and Antarctica.
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A
Let's do it. Let's do it. Now.
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C
What is the top place most people who you work with are booking for this year or next year?
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A
River cruises. People are all about river cruises right now in Europe. River cruising is one of the best ways to travel through Europe because you're Actually pulling up right to the cities. You only unpack once. You don't have seasickness. It's small. It's usually 200 people. No more than 200 people on a ship. It's great to go with friends and it's great to meet new friends. River cruising is hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
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C
What is the worst travel mistake you see people make that costs them money?
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A
Worst travel mistake? Probably relying on Instagram to tell you.
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C
Where you go, ooh, interesting.
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A
And listen, with AI out there, there's all those AI generated photos. And there was one not too long ago that came out that looked like it was like a lazy river through Greece. And there is no such place. There's no lazy river in Santorini, babe. I'm sorry.
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C
Oh, my gosh.
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A
I would say also not buying travel insurance. I'm really serious about travel insurance. People think, oh, I'm not going to get sick or oh, I'm not going to cancel. Oh, nobody plans on getting sick and nobody plans on canceling. And I've seen people out hundreds of thousands of dollars because they had to be airlifted or they're at hospital somewhere that's not home, even if it's within the United States. That's an extremely costly mistake is not having travel insurance.
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C
If you could make one change to the travel industry, what would it be?
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A
Oh, one change. I would say I really want us to have a consistent consumer experience. Again. That is really the thing that is the missing component as a consumer. You're listening to this, you're like, I could book it myself. It's because you don't have a consistent, an experience that you can rely on. That is the one thing that I would want to change. I love people coming in that are kind of doing it part time, but they need to be serious about it. There's a lot of legalities behind working with somebody and curating an experience and taking their credit card and being fiduciary responsible. It's a consistent consumer experience. That's the one thing I wish we could get back to.
- [22:21]
C
Last question, Jen, what is one single piece of travel advice you want to give to listeners?
- [22:28]
A
Always have a carry on bag.
- [22:29]
C
That lost luggage will get you if you don't have the carry on.
- [22:32]
A
Exactly. Get the carry on bag and don't stress. The second piece of advice is really pack your patience. You've heard that over and over again. But you can tell those that use travel advisors and those that don't in an airport. I can promise you that those that have an advisor they feel like they're double covered. Right. Those that don't, they fill in very lots of. So always a carry on with a couple of days worth of clothes in there.
- [22:57]
C
Great tips. Jen Lee, president and cmo, Travel Planners International and Vacation Planners, thank you so much for joining us.
- [23:04]
A
Loved it.
- [23:05]
C
Talk to you soon.
- [23:06]
A
Take care.
- [23:10]
B
Wow, Sally, I really hadn't thought about how many perks travel agents have access to that you might not get when you're booking on your own. If it doesn't cost me any more money, I will take that. Late checkout and free breakfast. Thank you very much.
- [23:22]
C
Speaking of the unexpected, it is time for our hot Takeover off section. Megan, do you have any?
- [23:27]
B
Yes. I've actually been pleasantly surprised with my Airbnbs recently. I know they sometimes get a bad app, but I realized you can get some hotel perks at Airbnbs.
- [23:38]
C
What do you mean by that?
- [23:39]
B
So if you book like an Airbnb with a pool or whatever, that's like a hotel amenity.
- [23:44]
C
Sure. Right, right.
- [23:45]
B
I was really impressed that I was able to get late checkout from two of the Airbnbs I stayed at recently, and it was totally free. Obviously, there's no elite status. Notice one also let me store my luggage for a few hours.
- [23:57]
C
You just kind of broker this with the host?
- [23:59]
B
Yeah, and I'm just communicating with them through the messaging. Some of them also offer like, little amenities at the Airbnb itself, For example, like the one that I stayed at, they had a bottle of wine on the table that you could buy, basically like a little mini bar already in the kitchen. So I've just been really impressed lately with the service I've gotten at Airbnbs, especially if you're able to get some of those local hosts and. And if there is a perk that you're looking for that you're like, I'm gonna book this Airbnb, but I'm gonna miss out on the free breakfast. I would just ask them and you might be surprised at what they can do.
- [24:30]
C
You know, it's funny that you bring up that you don't actually need elite status, because often I'm at a hotel and I'm like, can I stay until 1pm at a place where I don't have elite status? And they're like, that will be $75.
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B
That could happen at a hotel or at an Airbnb. I mean, there is definitely a way that they could charge you, but I think it's worth asking. You might be surprised at what you get.
- [24:51]
C
Okay, great tips. We want to hear your tips? Tell us whether you do or don't recommend travel agents. Tell us how you feel about Airbnb. All the things. Email us@traveldwallet.com you can even leave us a voice memo. This is cool because I am inclined to play your voice back on the show.
- [25:06]
B
And besides giving us your feedback, come back for more by following the show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeartRadio.
- [25:14]
C
That way, they just automatically download next week's episode for you.
- [25:18]
B
This episode was produced by Hilary Georgi and Tess Viglen and edited by Nick Karisini. Claire Sosi helped with fact checking and our brief disclaimer.
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C
As always, we are not financial or investment advisors. This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes. It may not apply to your specific circumstances.
- [25:34]
B
Thanks for listening. We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. See you next episode. Your business is one of a kind, so your website should be too. With wix, it's easy, almost too easy to create a website that's perfectly yours. Just tell AI what kind of site you want to build or choose from thousands of templates. Templates Change whatever you want, whenever you want and get everything you need to start running your business your way. No matter what you sell or what you aspire to be. You can do it all yourself on wix.