Strategic Travel Entrepreneur: Business Tips for Travel Agents/Advisors, Travel Agency Owners, and Travel Business Owners

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the sixth episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Diane Frisch, Founder of Diane Frisch Destinations, is our guest and we're touching on all things river cruising.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more river cruises, you're in for a treat from the 2024 ASTA River Cruise Travel Advisor of the Year. In this episode, we share: ·...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the fifth episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Danielle Linares, Founder of Absolutely Cuba, is our guest and we're touching on all things Cuba.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more of this destination, you're in for a treat. In this episode, we share: ·     How Americans have been able to legally travel to Cuba since 201...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the fourth episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Kristi Emo, Founder of Your Dream Escapes, is our guest and we're touching on all things Hawaii.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more of this destination, you're in for a treat. In this episode, we share: ·     An overview of the six islands you can visit ·     Matching your...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the third episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Lori Gold, Founder of Explore More Mexico, is our guest and we're touching on all things in the Riviera Maya Mexico.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more of this destination, you're in for a treat. Special note--please keep Lori and our friends in the Riviera Maya in your tho...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the second episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Ana Yacaman, Co-founder of The Best of Cartagena, is our guest and we're touching on all things Cartagena and Colombia.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more of this destination, you're in for a treat. In this episode, we share: ·     Why Cartagena is really great destination...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Welcome to the first episode in the Summer Selling Series.  Kate Thomas, Founder of North and Leisure and Travel Pro Theory, is our guest and we're touching on all things Ireland, Scotland, and the English Countryside.  If you're a travel advisor wanting to sell more of these destinations, you're in for a treat. In this episode, we share: ·     P...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Summer is here!  And while it's certainly a time for relaxation, it's also a great time to do a lot of prep work for the upcoming holiday travel season.  I'm sharing a summer checklist of things you can do to get your business in order and ready for festive NOW instead of waiting til Q4 is here. In this episode, I share: ·     Reviewing your proc...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Mastering your messaging can be a key factor in setting your business apart. As travel advisors, we’re not just selling vacations—we’re selling experiences, emotions, and life-changing moments. Understanding the deeper needs and motivations of your clients is crucial for delivering value that goes beyond just the logistics of travel. In this episode, I share: ·...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Join me as I chat with Kristin Richards, Founder of In Flow Design Co., on all things building your travel business brands and websites...and literally, we do talk just about everything. In this episode, we share: ·     Kristin's own rebrand from Girlboss Designer to In Flow Design Co. ·     The key elements every travel brand needs to drive their mission...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Tale as old as time....there's been a few thoughts I hear travel advisors say over and over again since I first started in the industry in 2010.  I wanted to address some of these thoughts and how you can reframe them to be more productive for your travel business. In this episode, I share: ·     My initial thoughts on this year's Canva Create ·     E...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Hootsuite came out with a Social Media Consumer Report and I'm sharing the findings with you and how you can apply them to your travel business :) In this episode, I share: ·     What consumers want to see on social media ·     What you can do to build a high-value following ·     What you can do to gain more exposure on social media ·     and so much more...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! My mom changed Mother's Day plans on me and I got a lesson in the synergy between a web search and social media--which of course means, I've got to share it with you :)  Take a peek into how my brain works when it comes to searching for things, which is probably how many of your travel clients are also thinking. In this episode, I share: ·     Why you...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! The 2nd Annual Travel Tech Audio Summit went live on Global Travel Advisor Day, 5/1/2024.  Listen in to hear incredible stories of entrepreneurship and learn about some of the amazing tech you as travel advisors, or even suppliers, can take advantage of. Special thank you to our Summit Featured Speakers: David Shull , CEO at Tern Liana Rowan and Chanell Facey ,...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Ready to make your travel business profitable?  I'm so stinking excited to welcome travel industry powerhouse, Jenn Lee, to the podcast!  Join us as we share what we feel are the five keys to profitability for your travel agency. In this episode, we share: ·     Some of the differences between the IC and Franchise models of business ·     The shift you nee...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! We lost a very dear friend in the industry this week, Edouard Jean.  He was the owner of Massive Travels and was very active with ASTA having served as Chapter President, and was getting ready to start a campaign for the Board. He was a champion for minorities in the industry, as well, having served as a Board Member of the Association of Black Travel Professio...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! We just wrapped up a 4-Week Series on where to find leads according to various travel agency niches.  Now it's time to take action and align your goals with a personalized plan! In this episode, I share: ·     The importance of focus and confidence to take help you take action ·     Targeting a specific niche rather than a broader audience ·     Using Q2 t...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! If you don't have leads in your business, you don't have a business.  So let's find you those leads! In this 4-Part Series, I'm going to share how to find leads in 4 of the top travel niches: family, romance, food and wine, and luxury. Join me as I dive in today to the Luxury Travel Niche for part 4. In this episode, I share: ·     Understan...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! If you don't have leads in your business, you don't have a business.  So let's find you those leads! In this 4-Part Series, I'm going to share how to find leads in 4 of the top travel niches: family, romance, food and wine, and luxury. Join me as I dive in today to the Food and Wine Travel Niche for part 3. In this episode, I share: ·     Un...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! In this 4-Part Series, I'm going to share how to find leads in 4 of the top travel niches: family, romance, food and wine, and luxury. Join me as I dive in today to the Romance Travel Niche for part 2. In this episode, I share: ·     Understanding the mindset of romance travelers at every stage ·     Where you can find them based on this information ·     ...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! If you don't have leads in your business, you don't have a business.  So let's find you those leads! In this 4-Part Series, I'm going to share how to find leads in 4 of the top travel niches: family, romance, food and wine, and luxury. I'm also going to share via a Google search of 4 locations around the country, on local networking eve...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! Inspired by some recent chatter, I'm tackling the challenge of consistent content creation, by sharing some of my top tips on maintaining a positive mindset, finding your content creation groove, and setting achievable goals.  I'm also diving into my personal journey with podcasting, blogging, and repurposing content for different platforms, as well a...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! We're officially/unofficially celebrating the 3rd Birthday of the Podcast--wootttt!!! Thank you so much for tuning in every-ish week, sharing the podcast with your peers, and leaving ratings and reviews that allow other business owners to find this goodness. I sincerely could not do this without your support, and I'm ever so grateful for it--THANK YOU...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! This past week has been a deeply personal week for me, so I wanted to share a personal episode about where I'm at and what I'm doing to thrive this year in business. In this episode, I share: ·     Prioritizing health and backup plans ·     Leaning into my passions ·     Changing my mindset ·     and so much more! Enjoy (and take action)! Nina Clapper...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! This week's episode was sparked by a conversation that transported me back to my years at Disney, where impeccable customer service wasn't just an expectation—it was a cornerstone of the magic.  As I reminisce about those early days, I'm inspired to share the remarkable strategies that elevate our travel services from good to great. In this episo...

Send Rita a text with your thoughts! One of my passions and purposes for creating this podcast is to help travel agents like you avoid some of the red flags that sometimes pop up in the industry and this can sometimes mean host agencies. Now I'm not saying all host agencies have red flags, but you should listen if you're questioning your current host situation. In this episode, I share:...