Travel Agent Life Update - Travel Agent Diary

Update on Work Life

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in touch regarding my life as a travel agent. One of the reasons I started this blog was to educate those who are interested in becoming a Travel Agent what life is like. I honestly feel like I haven’t been keeping up with this as much as I need to. Being that this field is antiquated, there’s truly not many articles and posts out there about what life is like. So, here’s an update on my work life and I plan to make this a recurring post EVERY Friday:

Hell Quarter

Well, I’m proud to say I successfully made it through my first ‘Hell Quarter.’ That took place from January – March (Q1). It’s only Hellish because there’s so many clients who need you all at once and it’s challenging to get to everyone. There are crazy long days you work and a few bridal expo shows around this time you have to attend to network with ~~Bridezillas~~ brides. I’m going to explain why this quarter is hectic. For starters, people fall into some money they weren’t really counting on before such as:

Christmas bonus
Quarterly bonus
End of the year bonus
Income tax return
New job (most hiring is done in Q1 because the budget hasn’t been eaten away yet like at the end of the year)

On top of that, the weather is FREEZING during these months so everyone decides they want to travel somewhere warm whether that travel take place in the winter months or later on in the year. Also, Spring Break for both colleges and K-12 students is right around the corner and there are many last minute scramblings to book these trips.

So with the factor of new found money, cold weather and longing for warmer weather, and last minute spring break trip, it is very hard to catch your breath these months. But, as Travel Agents who make commission, this isn’t such a bad thing after all when you count how much you’ll make from the hustle at the beginning of the year

Sandals Annual CSS Training

Every year, Sandals Resorts requires Travel Agents to attend an in-person workshop at their nearest city’s hotel. In order to keep your certification, this is mandated. Trust me, you definitely want to keep your certification as a Sandals sale will likely be your bread and butter, and they offer some of the best commission in the industry as well as other benefits.

I thought the workshop would be redundant at first since I attended it last year but I actually learned a lot more. Some of it was refresher material, but some of it talked about NEW plans happening soon. New Barbados Property opening this December! Say what?! It’s going to be called Sandals Royal Barbados. They also talked about the name change from Sandals White Hall to Sandals South Coast and the renovations at that property look stunning!

While we’re on the subject of Sandals, I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be heading to Bahamas next month for a FAM trip! I’ll be checking out their two properties there: Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau and Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma. Can I just say how excited I am to swim with the piggies? Been on my bucket list for far too long! Last year, my FAM trip was in Cancun and I visited the Palace Resorts properties. This year, checking out Sandals Resorts. It’s a hard job, but eh. Someone has to do it 🙂

For up to date pictures of the resort and life at Sandals in the Bahamas make sure you’re following me on instagram: @travelagentdiary

Tahiti Tourisme Reception

Last night, I got to mingle with the great folks at Tahiti Tourisme along with our supplier partners like Travel Impressions and GoGo Worldwide. 118 Islands, 5 archipelagos, 1 Pacific Ocean. I finished my training modules to become a Tahiti Tiare Agent, however I still have a long way to go before I can become a Tahiti Tiare Specialist.

For those interested in getting certified, here’s the website: www.tahititiareagent.com. Just note that in order to be a specialist you will need to:

Be a Tahiti Tiare Agent already (you completed the required modules)
Participate in a FAM trip and visit at least 3 islands
Book a minimum of $30,000 in gross sales to the Islands of Tahiti within 12 months of your registration date in the program. So basically, like 2 bookings there LOL

Also, side note: this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the over-the-water-bungalows that started here first. Now, different islands are starting to get their own over-the-water bungalows designed such as Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica. Uh-oh! Competition’s on. I think both Tahiti and Caribbean should let me come stay at their over-the-water bungalows and I’ll be the judge which is the best. What do you guys think?? I can settle this once and for all. I’m here to help.

Here are some images from the dinner. Salad, Chicken w/ mushroom cream sauce and polenta, asparagus and a caramel crunch cake. So delicious!