My name is Melita Martin Radtke, a Travel Advisor and Franchise Owner with Cruise Planners. I’ve been in the tourism industry for 30+ years between hotels, international event planning, and travel advisor.

As a travel advisor, we have the luxury of working from home. For me, I enjoy spending time between home and a rented office. My typical work day starts with checking on emails and messages and prioritizing replies. This includes searching for great travel deals or unique travel to start featuring on social media. Included in marketing via social media and email campaigns to my customers, I am involved with several communities and travel associations. Virtual meetings as scheduled throughout the week. Additional meetings scattered throughout the day are with customers and continued training. Training is scheduled sometimes 2 or 3 times a day with suppliers. I wrap my day up with social media content and planning.

My desktop screenshot when I’m working on social media

Below is what I do daily to fulfill this:

• Client Communication – My day starts with my clients. I schedule a time to speak with them either by phone, text, email, or FaceTime. I take time with each client as I use this time to get to know them. What are they expecting on their next vacation, what did they experience on their previous vacation to help plan the current one? Are there special occasions coming up that we could include in their trip? I become their “travel friend” as become personal during the discovery call. I reach out to clients who are preparing or returning from a trip.
  

  Meeting with client

• Booking Trips – I work on proposed itineraries. This means I check almost every supplier platform such as our internal Cruise Planners booking system and directly with airline packages, tour, and hotel companies. I do research to ensure my clients are receiving the best options whether they are luxury or budget travelers. I spend half my day looking through travel promotions, itinerary routes, and learning about destinations before I provide information to my clients. I usually make it a rule to respond to my clients the same day or next based on the time of day of our communication.
• Training – Each day includes a couple of either webinars with my Cruise Planners colleagues to stay in touch with other advisors or training. The webinars is how we stay in touch with travel trends and supplier operations. If not webinars, I am reading articles or updates on the industry. Included in this is either supplier or destination training. We need to put in some time on training modules to become a specialist. It’s important for the clients to know that we specialize or have a niche. I am currently a Hawaii Destination Specialist and the training took about..
• Community Relations – In addition to industry calls or meetings, I schedule community involvement. Whether it’s helping out at the local chamber or putting together promotional product donations for a school’s golf tournament fundraiser, I try to remain involved continuously. I enjoy helping our community and it builds personal and professional relationships.
• Marketing & Social Media – I have allotted time to work on social media. Basic content is usually pre-scheduled a week out. Then I fill in additional posts with travel promotions or supplier operations updates that may pop up during the week. Several times a day I check on all the platforms for audience engagement and ensure I’m responding to comments in a timely manner. I create about 80% of the content and posts. Some days may include ad development or preparation for travel or bridal show.

My travel office view when I was in Berlin, Germany

Pros

• Making Friends – It’s very important that a Travel Advisor loves meeting people. I spend most of my day getting to know a person, getting to know their family and friends, and planning an experience to remember. I create wonderful relationships with my customers. And as their travel advisor, I become a part of their lives and help them with their family time.
• Personal Travel Experience – To educate ourselves, we get to travel around the world and experience different travel products such as cruises or excursions throughout the world. The travel is either highly discounted or complimentary.
• Flexible Schedule – My job is being independent and being able to structure my day may way. I make my own schedule.
• Flexible Office Location – I could work from home, from a cruise, or a coffee shop.
  

  My travel office view when I was in Melbourne, Australia

Cons

• You’re On Your Own – I do have to do everything on my own. All the marketing and sales strategies are developed and executed by me. Most of the administrative work such as accounting is also handled by me. Even with a virtual assistant who can take on mostly the social media managing, I’m still hands-on to ensure I understand and have a pulse on my business trend.
• Unpredictable Last-Minute Travel Changes – There may be a little stress such as airline or weather changes. We do our best to help our clients but a lot of times we have to rely on the suppliers to accommodate them.
• Lack of Supplier Change Info – An example of this is when a cruise ship shifts their departure day by 1 or 2 days for whatever reason, there are times when we do not get the information. We happen to fall upon it when we are confirming travel for our clients. Of course, this may become a problem for the clients.
• Incorrect Travel Arrangements – Sometimes, no matter how much we confirm with the client or supplier, the arrangements could end up incorrect. Such as the hotel room or cruise cabin type.

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