In episode 176 Steph is co-hosting with Lori Speers of Levarte Travel! Here’s an introduction to the questions they’ll discuss. 

1.Hi Stephanie and Guest du jour! I’m a very new advisor and would like to know how best to make the most of an upcoming trip. 

My husband and I are cruising the Caribbean in February with our adult children. To be clear, this trip was planned a year ago, long before I decided to plan travel professionally. We will be cruising out of San Juan, stopping in St Kitts, St Lucia, Aruba, Punta Cana, and Curaçao. Most of the stops are for 8 hours or so. We will be spending a week in Puerto Rico post-cruise. 

This is most definitely a vacation, but I definitely want to leverage my time and opportunity in these places. I am planning to reach out to our BDM for the cruise line to see if I can request a ship tour. 

How long do site inspections take? Would it be feasible to hit up a resort while in port and do an inspection while I’m in town? Or are there other, or better ways to mix business with pleasure? Obviously I am planning on taking tons of photos, and posting all about our trip and all the fun we’ll be having in the sun! 

Thank you so much for your response, and for all that you do for the travel community! —-Rachel M

2. Hi HAR Friday 15!

I'm checking Friday 15 and TAC episodes off with every commute to work and love it!  I'm retiring from a fabulous 20 year career as an art educator in a public school this year.  I am committed to making it the best school year ever, but am so excited to begin a career I've always dreamed of in the travel industry.  I will retire in May and I would love your input on what would benefit my path to this new career while I'm still teaching full time.  I'm ready to commit to 2 or 3 hours 3 to 5 days a week.

I'm really enjoying doing some of the upfront work: finding a niche, developing a name/brand, reading up on the travel industry, reading ASTA articles, HAR articles and so on.  My questions are:Should I jump in and do the 7 Day Agency Set Up?  Or would that be a mistake? Is it possible to start with a host agency part time? Or would it be best to wait until I can dedicate my full brain and time to this new career?

While I'm young at heart (being a traveler does that to you!) I would be starting this new career later than some(at 58) are there other aspects of the travel industry that I could consider that might be better for a late start? I feel like it is such an awesome thing to have the time to do this before I become officially in the biz...I appreciate and enjoy all of the information that you put out there for people like me, so thanks! Hi to the dogs in charge, – Another Stephanie

RESOURCES:

What travel expenses can you (and can’t you) write off? https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-expenses

Travel Agent FAM Trips: What They Are + How to Find Them + Etiquette (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-fam-trip)

How Travel Advisors Can Make the Most of a Cruise Ship Inspection (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/how-travel-agents-can-make-the-most-of-a-cruise-ship-inspection)

The Definitive Site Inspection Checklist (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/definitive-site-inspection-checklist)

Host Week 2024 Eduspot | Reels Blueprint: Create 30 reels in 20 minutes (No dance moves required) https://www.youtube.com/live/b8PvbmxA35U?feature=shared&t=7421

https://hostagencyreviews.com/7DS-accelerator  (HAR’s 7 Day Setup Accelerator course with over 70 bite-sized videos, 87 lessons, and 48 resources to help you get your agency set up faster, with the support you need.)

https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/travel-advisor-research-reports/ (Travel agent survey data on fee charging practices: what they charge for, how much, fee structures and more.)

Levarte’s HAR profile with reviews and info (https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts/levarte-travel)

https://levartetravel.com/