Masters in Travel

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 advis...

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 wo...

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 th...

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...

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...

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...

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 t...

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 p...

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 trick...

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 be...

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.

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. Toge...

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...

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 ar...