TravelResearchOnline.com Blog

The travel professionals writing for TRO have given some excellent advice over the past week on how to work with clients when a disaster like the Costa Concordia is splashed across the newspaper.  Steve Cousino’s  article recommends you address client fears directly and promptly. That is good advice.

Anyone who has been in the travel industry knows how timid the US traveler can be.  The slightest hint of danger can send consumers to their basements vowing never to get on an airplane again. Whether it’s a tragedy like the Concordia or a volcano somewhere in Iceland, people fear what they don’t understand.

And there’s your opportunity. Read the rest of this entry »

Costa Cruises has a mess on their hands. In addition to losing a ship, they are facing an environmental crisis; a public relations crisis; and the world is looking to see how well they handle it.  And so far it has not been anything to write home about.  While Costa Cruises, and their parent company Carnival Corporation, have seen their share of public relations nightmares before, don’t think that your agency is exempt from something similar.

With social media taking a lead in the Concordia disaster, the lines between verified fact, speculation, and outright fabrications have become very blurred. As of this writing, the only thing we do know is that the Captain did indeed abandon ship and there have been 12 confirmed deaths. Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you know, I consider myself a book junkie. Ever since I turned 35, I have been a bookstore’s favorite visitor.

My bookshelf is jammed with volume after volume of sales and marketing texts–all underlined and dog-eared.

From time to time, I will grab a book off of my shelf and open to a page just to read what I underlined on that particular day at that particular moment.

On Saturday, I picked up Dr. De Angelis’ book titled  “How Did I Get Here” and flipped randomly to page 21. There was a quote from Pema Chodron: Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve had that feeling – you enter the office, sit down at your desk, and (if your desk is anything like mine) eyeball the small, organized piles of work to be done. Clients to respond to with quotes; clients to follow up with; travel documents to verify and deliver; research to be done on the next requests in the pipeline. Each pile is a good size and you tackle it, all the while the phone is ringing and emails are coming in from new and current clients, interrupting your work through the day.

When the clock finally runs out, you smile satisfyingly at the ‘completed’ files that need to be put away, but then your eyes find the piles of work yet to be done and it doesn’t seem like you have even made a dent in your workload. At times, it seems like you have even MORE to complete than you did when the work day started!
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TravelSafe Insurance, a division of the Chester Perfetto Agency, Inc. has become the gold standard in travel insurance products through innovation, experience and excellent customer service.

Since 1971, they have marketed and administered the most comprehensive policies available in the industry and are leading the way in developing new solutions for the insurance needs of individuals and families throughout the United States and Canada. Whether traveling close to home or around the world, TravelSafe will provide the security and peace of mind travel agents and their clients deserve.

Scott came onboard in 1974 and is a familiar face to travel agents attending trade shows and industry events.

TRO: For 40 years, TravelSafe has provided travelers with insurance coverage. How has the business changed in that time?

SP: In 1971, travel insurance primarily covered people who traveled by bus and train. As airline travel became prevalent and popular to the traveling public in the mid 70′s, bus and train policies were redesigned and called Air Fare Protectors. Those original travel policies developed in the 70′s only covered Accidental Death, Medical and Baggage protection. Without computers, travel agents assigned policy numbers, wrote receipts for proof of payment and then mailed monthly reports after deducting their commissions.
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Hello from Boise, Idaho! As this new year begins I am overwhelmed with thoughts of what this year is going to hold for me both personally and professionally.  Like many people, I choose a few resolutions each January 1^st. Since I’m a realist, I select goals I know I can hit as to not be disappointed in myself.  That may be considered cowardly, but it works for me at the moment. Maybe I’ll shoot for the moon one of these days, but for now I need to set small, obtainable goals to build self confidence and belief in myself. Read the rest of this entry »

It used to be that when traveling internationally meant difficulty keeping in touch. When it was possible, it cost an arm and a leg, making contact difficult.

These days the globe is wired in ways that make it much easier to stay in touch without spending a ton of cash. Email and social media are the frontrunners, allowing folks to stay in contact and share their experiences – even destinations once considered “disconnected” have Internet cafes for a reasonable cost. But, sometimes, you need to TALK to the traveler in a situation that requires quicker communication than email or social media. What other option is there?
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