Behind the Scenes of the Inaugural Wave Week for Travel Agents –  Episode 36

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

If you’re a travel advisor gearing up for wave season, you know the drill.

January through March typically hits like a tidal wave of inquiries, bookings, and client questions, and if you’re not prepared, it can leave you drowning instead of riding the momentum.

That’s exactly why I created Prep for Wave Week, a jam-packed virtual event designed to help travel advisors build the business foundations they need before the busiest booking season of the year arrives.

At the original time of recording, we hosted 10 incredible sessions featuring industry experts who shared everything from avoiding burnout to crafting memorable client experiences.

And honestly?

It exceeded every expectation I had.

Let me walk you through what happened and why this event has become such a critical resource for our community.

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Why Prep for Wave Week Exists in the First Place

Most events and programs in our industry focus on supplier relationships or how to become a travel advisor.

But very few actually teach you how to run an effective and profitable business.

That’s the gap Prep for Wave Week helps to fill.

After running the event this first year, I adapted it to have daily themes: essentials, operations, marketing, sales, and growth.

This way, travel advisors could focus on the big operations of running a business, not just booking travel.

Because at the end of the day, if your business isn’t structured properly, no amount of supplier knowledge will save you from burnout or financial stress.

Listen to the episode on YouTube

The Sessions That Set the Foundation

We kicked things off talking about avoiding burnout this wave season with Steph Lee from Host Agency Reviews and Shannon Cunningham from Gifted Travel Network.

For me, this session was a reminder to take a lunch break…I know, it sounds so simple.

I actually still deal with this.

I get so enveloped in the work I love that I forget to take care of my physical needs, which are also incredibly important.

I’m not feeling well, work doesn’t get done, so I need to figure out the best way to not forget meals and water intake during the work day, especially when I’m so wrapped up in the projects that make my heart sing.

To hold my own self accountable, that day I took a dedicated lunch break without any distractions. It helps being aware of what the signals are when you’re approaching burnout and putting the brakes on before you hit that breaking point where you’re completely overwhelmed.

Getting Your Legal House in Order

Our second session covered contracts and agreements with Tom Carpenter, who is both a lawyer and a travel advisor.

Tom helped draft my terms and conditions years ago, and we’ve stayed connected ever since.

We’re great friends now.

He broke down the basics: your terms and conditions, agreements, website terms of use, and privacy policies.

But he also talked about the extra contracts many advisors don’t think about.

Things like group leader contracts if you’re working with a group leader- outlining what their responsibilities are versus what yours are as the advisor.

He’s also been doing a lot of work for advisors wanting to sell their business or create independent contractor and virtual assistant agreements. 

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Stephanie Cannon joined us to talk about determining your numbers and goals.

I’m not sure exactly how Stephanie and I met, but we’ve also become really great friends and colleagues throughout the years.

Stephanie broke down what your number goals need to be to cover all your expenses, what a healthy monthly budget looks like, and all the fun stuff you want to do as well. 

We talked about this in Study Hall afterwards, too. 

I may want a full-time income because I’m still in working age, but somebody else is in retirement and doesn’t want to be working 40 hours plus.

Maybe you just want to work 20 hours.

So what do you need to do to adjust so you can work less but earn more money? How many people do you need to be talking to? How many do you need to be closing? What needs to be in your product mix to get the sales you want?

The Power of Trade Associations

Aligning with a trade association was our next topic, featuring ASTA, CLIA, and the Travel Institute.

Jackie Friedman from Nexion (who also serves on the ASTA board), Guida Botelho from The Travel Institute, and Shai Boston from CLIA represented their organizations beautifully.

The biggest takeaway?

We identified the clear differences between these organizations.

The Travel Institute is all about quality education within the travel industry.

ASTA’s biggest priority is to defend and protect our travel industry, and they’ve done incredible work getting assistance for travel advisors this past year.

And lastly,CLIA has been a huge player in getting cruise lines back to sailing.

I asked the question: if somebody can only pick one, why should they pick your organization?

And nobody said “mine’s best because of this.”

The conversation really was a collective effort, and that energy is exactly what we need in this industry.

We need to be working together, not fighting against each other.

Systems, SOPs, and Supplier Relationships

Midweek, we dove into the operational side of things.

For systems and SOPs, I brought in people who do very different things within the travel industry.

Dave Natale I met in 2017 on my first river cruise FAM and he shared so much of his success with myself and the other travel advisors present.

We reconnected in 2021 on a marketing FAM and I knew I had to have him at this event.

Ana Ruiz who at the time was a travel coach and recently started a VA business for travel entrepreneurs. 

She’s now a travel and UGC creator.

And to round out the group, we had Alicia Lozano, a Dubsado expert who’s not in the travel industry but is well-versed in creating SOPs in different systems.

Later that afternoon, Shanel Knight from Regent Seven Seas and Janet Bava formerly at  AmaWaterways joined us to talk about building strong supplier relationships- the kind that will serve you and your clients year after year.

Marketing, Sales, and the Client Experience

Thursday and Friday brought the sessions that really got into my personal favorite fun stuff.

Emily Matras talked about copy and updating bios, profiles, and web content.

A. Lynn Blanco of The Travel Agent Podcast and Margie Jordan of Jordan Executive Travel discussed building real world relationships that actually matter.

Then we tackled something that feels counterintuitive: attracting clients withOUT social media.

Courtnie Nichols talked about using values to attract clients, and Michelle Woodson Howell covered joint venture partnerships- working with other business owners to be group leaders of their own travel groups.

Finally, Nicolette Reynolds and I wrapped up the week talking about crafting a memorable client experience that doesn’t rely on social media at all.

The Study Hall Magic

I want to talk about the Study Hall Pass which gives you an extra 30 minutes after each session with me and your fellow advisors.

These sessions have become almost mastermindy where we break down everything from the main session and create concrete plans together.

Throughout the years, Study Hall has become more and more powerful, and now there’s just one hour-long session per day.

I also now partner with different businesses and companies to co-host those with me, and they bring a whole ‘nother layer of expertise to the conversations that I think is so beneficial to attendees who register for that option.

It’s really like a co-working session where we get personal, dive deep, and we share insider information you won’t get anywhere else.

Plus, we just genuinely enjoy getting to know each other.

If you missed watching our inaugural event, head on over to our YouTube to watch the entire playlist.

And if you’d like to join us on the next one, register here at this link 🙂That’ll also get you on the email list so you’ll know about future programs and events.

Wave season is coming whether you’re ready or not.

But with the right systems, education, and community support, you can navigate it successfully.

That’s what Prep for Wave Week is all about- giving you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to build a travel business that’s not just surviving, but thriving.

I can’t wait to see what you do with everything we covered.

Let’s make this the best wave season yet.

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