The 4 Phases of Being a Travel Agent – Episode 46

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Chances are, you’re trying to figure out where you stand in your travel business journey.

Maybe you’re stuck, or maybe you’re crushing it but not sure what comes next.

Here’s what I’ve learned after working with travel advisors- there are four distinct phases of being a travel agent that every travel entrepreneur moves through: Foundations, Rinse and Repeat, Grow, and Ascend.

I’ve been spending a couple of months looking back and trying to pinpoint the exactness of these phases, as I see them happening with entrepreneurs both inside and outside the travel industry.

And I’m not even sure if I’m totally sold on the acronym yet, FRRGA, which stands for the initials of each phase, but bear with me here because this framework can really help you understand where you are and what you actually need to focus on instead of spinning your wheels on tactics that aren’t right for your current stage.

I see the first two phases as startup phases.

I think most travel entrepreneurs are in this phase because you’ve been trying to do things that are in the second level, but you haven’t mastered the foundations first, so you’re a little bit stuck. 

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Phase 1- Foundations: The First Steps of Being a Travel Agent

When you’re in the Foundations phase, you’re literally building the infrastructure of being a travel agent.

This is where you’re filing for your EIN, setting up your LLC, and getting your business tax receipt, or whatever your local area calls it, sorted.

You’re securing business insurance like E&O coverage because that’s a necessity in this industry.

You’re signing up with a host agency or franchise, and figuring out your seller of travel certificate requirements if your state requires one, or you’ll be working with clients in those states.

This phase also includes getting your branding elements together like your logos, colors, and fonts.

When I first started my travel business back in 2010, nobody talked about picking hex codes for colors or sticking with certain fonts so every marketing piece you put out there could be uniform.

We didn’t discuss legal agreements like we do now.

But times have changed, and if you want to run a successful travel agency, these foundational pieces matter.

You’re also setting up your website and social accounts during this phase.

The thorn in your side during this stage? There’s a lot to do, and it can feel overwhelming. You might be tempted to skip steps or rush through because you want to start making money. Taking the time to get your foundations solid will save you headaches later.

Focus on getting everything legally set up, choosing your host agency or business model, establishing your brand identity, and creating your digital presence.

Don’t worry about fancy marketing strategies yet; just get your house in order.

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Phase 2: Rinse and Repeat – The Heart of Your Travel Agent Business

This is my favorite phase 🙂

Why?

Because this is where the art of being a travel agent really happens.

The Rinse and Repeat phase is all about one thing, getting clients and doing it over and over again.

You’re talking to people about your travel business.

You’re getting exposure, so you have a big pool of people who know about your services.

They might not book immediately, but they might know somebody else who needs a personal travel agent.

You’ve just got to meet people, tell them about your business, create and deliver on the travel experiences, and do it again (and again). 

This phase is one that technically shouldn’t end. 

You may not have to do as much once you get in a flow, but you shouldn’t ever stop meeting new people. 

When I launched my travel business after that trip to Tunisia, I had this incredible moment that made me think, “People need to experience this kind of amazingness.”

So I started with girlfriend getaways.

But I couldn’t just create one trip and hope people would magically find it. I had to tell people. I had to rinse and repeat that process of connecting, sharing, booking, delivering, and starting over.

How do you know you’re in this stage?

It’s relentless.

You might feel like you’re doing a lot of work without seeing immediate results.

Or maybe you’re getting clients, but struggling to keep that momentum going consistently.

Travel agent marketing can feel exhausting when you’re in the thick of it.

What you should focus on: Consistent visibility and client acquisition activities.

This means networking, content creation, following up with leads, asking for referrals, and staying top of mind.

You need to master the art of talking about your travel business without feeling salesy, and you need to track what’s working so you can do more of it.

Phase 3: Grow – Refining Your Systems and Processes

Once you’ve mastered the Rinse and Repeat phase, you’ll start noticing friction points.

Maybe you’re getting plenty of clients, but your workflow now feels chaotic.

Maybe you’re spending too much time on tasks that could be automated.

That’s when you know you’re in the Grow phase.

This phase is all about refining your systems and processes to make your travel agency run more efficiently.

You’re looking more polished to your clients.

Your business is moving smoothly through your workflow.

You’re thinking strategically with your CEO hat on, looking at the big picture instead of just the day-to-day tasks.

This reminds me of my time as “the fixer” in the theme parks.

If a restaurant needed help or we were opening a new venue, they’d bring me in.

At Discovery Cove, I created closing checklists that transformed how the restaurant closed.

Before them, people would just disappear and tasks wouldn’t get done.

With those checklists, everyone knew what needed to happen before they could clock out.

The opening team could start their day set up for success instead of in a mess.

That’s what the Grow phase looks like for your travel business.

You’re implementing tools and automation to handle repetitive tasks.

You might start hiring help, maybe a virtual assistant or outsourcing specific tasks.

You’re documenting your processes, so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time you onboard a client or plan a trip.

How would you know if you’re in this phase? You’re probably working a LOT, and you feel that you’re at capacity. You know there’s a better way to do things, but you’re not sure where to start or what to prioritize. You might also struggle with letting go of control when it comes to delegating tasks.

What you should focus on: Creating standard operating procedures (SOPs), implementing automation tools, and being strategic about where you spend your time.

This is also where you start thinking about what kind of travel agent business you actually want.

Maybe you’re okay with getting $500 commissions and you want to be working 60 hours a week, but maybe you only want to have four-figure commissions and you only want to work 30 hours a week.

If it works in your life for your family for whatever you have going on, then go for it.

No one should make you feel like less or more than because you’re doing business one way or the other.

Phase 4: Ascend – The CEO Mindset for Your Travel Business

The Ascend phase is where you’ve truly stepped into the CEO role.

You’re not just running a travel agency, you’re strategically leading a travel business.

You’re thinking long-term, making visionary decisions, and creating connections that benefit your entire operation.

At this level, you have a team or significant support system in place, whether that’s employees, contractors, or solid automation.

Your team has access to your SOPs and tools.

They can slide in and get to work without you having to train them on every little thing.

Some people in this phase want to grow a large team, while others stay lean with just an assistant or even no assistant, relying on automation and processes instead.

I think about Vanessa Lau‘s reflection that really stuck with me.

She realized she’d been hiring for client experience roles when what she actually needed were business operations roles.

As the CEO, she needed experts who were smarter than her in specific areas where she needed help.

That freed her to focus on what only she could do: meet new people, identify opportunities, and move the business forward.

How do you know you’re in this phase? Different problems arise. Each phase has its own set of problems and issues. Just because there might be less things to think about once you get higher up in the phases doesn’t mean problems don’t exist. They’re just different problems, and you have to deal with them differently.

What you should focus on: Long-term planning, streamlining operations even further, and being strategic about the type of work you take on.

Maybe you decide you’re done selling cruises because there’s more money in luxury safaris for your particular business model.

That’s the kind of decision you’re making at this level.

You’re the visionary keeping momentum going while your team or systems handle the execution.

Where Are You Right Now?

It’s important to be honest about where you actually are, not where you think you should be or where some online business coach says you need to be.

Our travel industry is unique and finding a good balance is tricky.

Remember to take what you need and leave what you don’t.

Every business owner and every business is different.

There’s no umbrella formula that works for everyone.

The qualities of a travel agent who thrives are adaptability and self-awareness about where they are in their journey.iness that serves you as much as you serve your clients.

The first two phases, Foundations and Rinse and Repeat, are what I call the startup phases.

We all have to do basically the same things in these phases to stay in business.

But when you get to Grow and Ascend, things get more individualized based on your goals, life, and what kind of income you really need.

Maybe you’re perfectly happy as an independent travel planner working part-time from home.

Maybe you want to become a vacation planner who runs a seven-figure agency.

Both paths work, so fly your travel agency flag high 🙂

What matters is that you’re building on solid foundations, consistently doing the work to acquire and serve clients, refining your systems as you grow, and eventually stepping into that CEO role where you’re planning the future instead of just handling the day-to-day.

Being a travel agent is about creating those transformative experiences for your clients, like the moment I had in that parking lot in Tunisia.

But to do that sustainably, you need to understand where you are in your business journey and what phase you’re really in.

I feel like sharing this information with everyone just helps us as a travel industry become better and stronger.

I think a lot of this business, we’re so hush hush, ‘I don’t want them taking what I’m doing’ or ‘I don’t want them to have the edge on what I’m doing’.

But I feel like sharing this information helps us all grow and flourish together.

So where are you?

Foundations?

Rinse and Repeat?

Grow?

Ascend?

Once you identify your phase, you can stop spinning your wheels and start focusing on exactly what you need to move forward.

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