The Lounge by Travefy

In this episode, we chat with Stuart Marra, Founder and Luxury Travel Advisor of The Opulent Explorer.  Like many advisors, Stuart entered the industry fueled by his love for adventure and exploration. He shares his path to success growing his travel business, highlighting The Opulent Explorer team's one-of-a-kind services, such as a tailored travel planning workflow, how he's how he&apo...

Who doesn't love getting new leads and prospective clients to their travel business?! We chat with travel agency owners, Penny Cooper and Christina Viera, who have discovered formulas of success when it comes to finding new leads. In fact, they even created their own company Magic Made Simple , that specializes in helping advisors attract and nurture leads!  During this episode, Penny and Chr...

In this episode, we sit down with Harish Schroff from Indus Travels on how travel advisors can create and host successful events to market group travel trips and tours. Harish shares his pro tips and best practices on how to plan, market, and execute effective in-person and virtual events. Discover the art of engaging your audience and turning event attendees into enthusiastic group travelers! Rec...

In this episode, we chat with Kelli Hayes Smith as she guides us through strategic tips to set yourself apart from the competition (ahem, booking engines, we’re looking at you). Learn the art of crafting compelling narratives that highlight your services and how to set achievable goals to optimize your social media presence. Kelli also shares real-life inspiration and ideas from fellow travel advi...

In this episode, we chat with Tammy Levent, Travel Industry Expert on the ways she's utilizing the power of ChatGPT and how others can do the same! Discover the essential tools and software that unlock its power and the secrets of seamless integrations. Tammy also shares her own journey with ChatGPT and presents real-life examples, demonstrating how you too can effortlessly apply this transfo...

This is episode, we sit down with Phillip, Co-founder  of Rise Up Retreats about how he turned his passion of surf and travel into a growing business. We talk about the importance of sustainability in the travel industry and how he and his team leverages digital marketing and harnessing the power of word-of-mouth to attract new travelers and keep past ones coming back for more! Recorded on June 27...

“Artificial Intelligence”, or better known as A.I., has been growing in popularity since the start of 2023 and the buzz isn’t slowing down, especially within the travel industry! In this episode, we chat with Glenda Beagle and she shares what is A.I. is, how it can impact selling travel, and the ways travel advisors should be using and thinking about it. Recorded on June 8, 2023 Show Notes:  Visit...

In this episode, we connect with Grace McBride, Founder and CEO of Lucia, a freelancer marketplace for the travel industry. Grace shares the story of how and why Lucia was created and how it works for travel advisors and the travel industry. She shares success stories of how travel advisors have unleashed their full potential of their travel business with freelancers. Visit Lucia at https://www.le...

Create FAMtastic strategies to make the most out of your FAM trips! In this episode, we chat with Anne Smith, CTIE, on how to harness and maximize the education and networking power of a FAM ("familiarization") trip. Anne shares what a FAM trip is, including  the different ways it can be achieved, mistakes to avoid when attending a FAM trip, how to plan out marketing strategies before, d...

Join The Lounge as we chat with Stephanie Louzil and Danielle Meyer from the Travel Anywhere Virtual team! Hear the story of how they started the company during the pandemic and how it continues to thrive today. We discuss how other travel professionals can implement virtual travel experiences into their business and create once-in-a-lifetime memories for clients...virtually! Show Notes: Visit Tra...

Grab a pen and paper for this episode! Gabbie Borgus, or better known as Gab from @thatguidedtravelgirl, shares her top five tips on how to not only increase your own social media presence but also how to decrease burnout from the social media. Each tip is crafted with the busy travel advisor in mind with actionable items you can start implementing today. Show Notes: Gab's Instagram: @thatgui...

Join us on this special episode with Tamika C. Carter, Executive Director of Group Travel Academy! We set the stage for Travefy Academy's upcoming "Travefy Academy’s Grow With Groups Mini-Event" happening on May 18, 2023 ( register for event here ). In this episode, Tamika shares an overview of what selling group travel can look like for you and your business and what to know before...

In this episode, we chat with Guida Botelho, CTIE, Senior Director of Education for The Travel Institute. We discuss how advanced education and the power of knowledge can be crucial for travel professionals growing their business and expertise, which in return can increase booking revenue! Guida shares not only the educational opportunities available through The Travel Institute but also how to de...

In this episode, we chat with Jessica Pressler, Owner and CEO of Radiance Travel on how she began to pivot her growing business into the luxury travel space. Jessica shares how she's created her brand to reflect her own travel inspiration and elevate her client's itineraries and travel experiences into the luxury market. Recorded on March 8, 2023 Radiance Travel Website: https://radiance...

It’s no secret that travel professionals are busy people when it comes to booking client trips, running their business, managing life and everything else in-between. In this episode, we chat with Travel Entrepreneur and Strategist, Roslyn Ranse, on how you CAN do it all! Roslyn shares her own story and what she has found to help her manage business and life by implementing systems, getting the rig...

In this episode, we chat with Erin Carey, Founder and Director of Roam Generation, who shares insider tips on how travel advisors can unleash their media potential. Erin dives into the importance of finding the right media contacts, crafting compelling pitches, and staying top of mind with journalists and influencers. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out in the travel industry,...

Join us on our latest episode as we sit down with Tesa Totengco, Owner and CEO of Travels with Tesa. Tesa shares valuable insights on the importance of immersing yourself in travel in order to better cater to your clients' needs and preferences. She also delves into the crucial role of finding quality suppliers, how you can plan your own FAM trips, and shares how she markets and inspires her...

Join Travefy Academy as we sit down with Sandra McLemore, industry expert and Founder & CEO of Travel Marketing & Media. Sandra shares her expert insights on how to set and achieve your goals for 2023 with her five tips for success. Learn how to stay on track and boost productivity throughout the year, as well as manage stress and maintain a business mindset. Tune in to this episode for va...

In this episode, we chat with Ralph Iantosca, a luxury travel entrepreneur who discovered his secret to long-term success was charging fees in a different way. After being in the industry for over 30 years and dealing with the pandemic, Ralph decided his business model needed to change to accommodate not only his happiness but a growing and sustainable business model.  Ralph quickly discovered tha...

Join travel industry thought leaders as we look back at the last 12 months and discuss what’s ahead in 2023. We chat about where the industry stands today, how you can keep track of emerging trends, and ask our panel questions about what they see in the year ahead. During this webinar, you’ll also gain insight knowledge, strategies, and hear real-life stories to help you and your clients prepare f...

Sarah Bogaczyk was on the hunt for a career that not only fulfills her but also gives her the flexibility she wanted for her family. Enter the travel industry. Sarah discovered that she could create a business playing on her strengths and doing what she loves which is helping people plan travel and create memories. In 2021, she started Connections Luxury Travel and quickly became a million-dollar...

In this episode, we chat with Scott R. Stout and Jimmy Zimmerman of FamilySearch International about how travel advisors can help clients create unforgettable travel memories with family heritage insight. What if you were able to provide your clients with knowledge of their own family history on a trip you plan for them? Well, you can (and for free!) with FamilySearch International resources. It&a...

In this episode, we chat with Emma Weissmann, managing editor at TravelAge West, about the amazing and helpful resources available to travel agents - and Emma would know. It’s in her blood, as her family started a travel textbook company for travel agents in the 1980s! Luckily, so much is now available online (and for free) from Facebook groups, web content, email newsletters, and more. Emma break...

In this episode, we chat with email marketing guru Nicole Barrett, Founder, and CEO of Espy Global! Nicole shares how email marketing has changed and what’s working today for travel advisors. We talk about how to create and grow your email list as well as powerful tools you can implement in your own business to captivate a new audience and engage with your current clients. Nicole also talks about...

Join us for a special series of “How I Built My Business” where we get to hear from industry experts on how they created and are continuing to grow their business! In this episode, we chat with Josh Rome who is a Travel Advisor turned co-founder and CEO of Runway Health. Josh saw a gap in the industry and wanted to fill it by giving travel advisors and agents an easy and simple solution to offer m...