When the State Department upgrades its travel advisory for a destination, or updates an advisory with new information, it can make clients a little jumpy. How should travel agents navigate the situation? Get the answer on this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, when co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by travel advisor Brittany Shuford of Darling Destinations in Birmingham, Ala.

Thanks to our friends at OutsideAgents.com for helping us solicit travel advisor questions this season. 

This episode is sponsored by Travel Insured International. 

Further resources

Find Brittany Shuford on Instagram and Facebook

Mentioned in this episode:
The State Department’s travel site, Travel.State.Gov
The State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)
Emma’s Humans of Travel podcast
Travel attorney Mark Pestronk’s free resources, including disclaimer and release forms
A travel agent guide to selling high-risk travel

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 



Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license



See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the State Department upgrades its travel advisory for a destination, or updates an advisory with new information, it can make clients a little jumpy. How should travel agents navigate the situation? Get the answer on this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, when co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by travel advisor Brittany Shuford of Darling Destinations in Birmingham, Ala.
Thanks to our friends at <a href="https://outsideagents.com/">OutsideAgents.com</a> for helping us solicit travel advisor questions this season. 
This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://www.travelinsured.com/">Travel Insured International</a>. 
<hr>
Further resources
Find Brittany Shuford on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shupowski">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/brittany.shuford">Facebook</a>
Mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The State Department’s travel site, <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html">Travel.State.Gov</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">The State Department’s <a href="https://step.state.gov/">Smart Traveler Enrollment Program</a> (STEP)</li>
<li aria-level="1">Emma’s Humans of Travel <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Podcasts/Humans-of-travel">podcast</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Travel attorney Mark Pestronk’s <a href="https://pestronk.com/resources/">free resources</a>, including disclaimer and release forms</li>
<li aria-level="1">A travel agent guide to <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/Trending/A-Travel-Agent-Guide-to-Selling-High-Risk-Travel">selling high-risk travel</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
 
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at travelweekly.com/podcasts.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:

Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.

Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.


Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners&rsquo; questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more &mdash; as long as it&rsquo;s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at <a href="http://travelweekly.com/podcasts">travelweekly.com/podcasts</a>.
<hr>
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:
Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors&rsquo; 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives &mdash; the highs and lows that make them human.
<hr>
 Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod Link: <a href="https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop">https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop</a> License: <a href="https://filmmusic.io/standard-license">https://filmmusic.io/standard-license</a>
<hr>
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

Trade Secrets Podcast

Trade Secrets

How should travel agents address travel advisories?

Balancing work responsibilities with the needs of personal life has become exponentially more difficult for travel advisors as workloads have increased. But it’s also critically important to find time for friends, family and hobbies outside of work, and to develop systems at work that improve efficiency and allow you to step away. What kind of boundaries should you set, and how can you enforce them? What can you automate to take more things off your plate? Hear all about this and more on this episode of Trade Secrets, featuring Host Agency Reviews founder Stephanie Lee.

Further resources

Host Agency Reviews on the web

Steph Lee’s email and LinkedIn page

Mentioned on this episode:
From Travel Weekly, Dispatch, Disney World: The day after Milton's visit


From Travel Weekly, Dispatch, Wondrous moments from a Taylor Swift affinity cruise


From TravelAge West, HAR launches travel advisor tech software directory
From Travel Weekly, Host Agency Reviews starts listing technology providers
Steph Lee’s previous appearance on Trade Secrets


Trade Secrets episode on dealing with travel advisor burnout


Host Agency Reviews’ software profiles


Calendly


Text Blaze

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 



Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license



See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Balancing work responsibilities with the needs of personal life has become exponentially more difficult for travel advisors as workloads have increased. But it’s also critically important to find time for friends, family and hobbies outside of work, and to develop systems at work that improve efficiency and allow you to step away. What kind of boundaries should you set, and how can you enforce them? What can you automate to take more things off your plate? Hear all about this and more on this episode of Trade Secrets, featuring Host Agency Reviews founder Stephanie Lee.
<hr>
Further resources
Host Agency Reviews <a href="https://hostagencyreviews.com/">on the web</a>
Steph Lee’s <a href="mailto:stephanie@hostagencyreviews.com">email</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamstephly/">LinkedIn page</a>
Mentioned on this episode:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">From Travel Weekly, Dispatch, Disney World: <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/Hurricane-Milton-impact-on-Disney-World-Orlando">The day after Milton's visit</a></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
From Travel Weekly, Dispatch, Wondrous moments from a <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/Experiencing-Taylor-Swift-affinity-cruise">Taylor Swift affinity cruise</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
From TravelAge West, HAR launches travel advisor <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Industry-Insight/Business-Features/travel-advisor-tech-comparisons">tech software directory</a>
</li>
<li>From Travel Weekly, Host Agency Reviews starts <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/Host-Agency-Reviews-starts-listing-technology-providers">listing technology providers</a></li>
<li>Steph Lee’s previous <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Podcasts/Trade-Secrets/How-do-I-get-started-as-a-travel-advisor">appearance on Trade Secrets</a></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Trade Secrets episode on dealing with <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Podcasts/Trade-Secrets/travel-advisor-burnout">travel advisor burnout</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Host Agency Reviews’ <a href="https://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-agency-software">software profiles</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://calendly.com/">Calendly</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://blaze.today/">Text Blaze</a>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
 
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do I find and maintain work-life balance as a travel advisor? (Feat. Stephanie Lee)

What’s the difference between a tour operator and a destination management company (DMC)? How can advisors find DMCs to work with, and what are the top do’s and don’ts of working with them? What if a contact at a DMC ghosts a travel advisor? Hear the answers to these questions and more in this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, where co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada chat about all things DMCs with Andrea Grisdale, CEO and founder of I.C. Bellagio in Italy.

This episode is sponsored by AmaWaterways.

Further resources

IC Bellagio on the web

Andrea Grisdale’s email

Mentioned in this episode:


Death of a Travel Advisor by Dori Saltzman -


From TravelAge West: The ultimate travel advisor guide to destination management companies


Conde Nast’s travel specialists


Travel + Leisure’s A List


Wendy Perrin’s WOW List

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 



Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license



See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the difference between a tour operator and a destination management company (DMC)? How can advisors find DMCs to work with, and what are the top do’s and don’ts of working with them? What if a contact at a DMC ghosts a travel advisor? Hear the answers to these questions and more in this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, where co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada chat about all things DMCs with Andrea Grisdale, CEO and founder of I.C. Bellagio in Italy.
This episode is sponsored by <a href="amawaterways.com/agent-home">AmaWaterways</a>.
<hr>
Further resources
IC Bellagio <a href="https://icbellagio.com/">on the web</a>
Andrea Grisdale’s <a href="mailto:andrea@icbellagio.com">email</a>
Mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Travel-Advisor-Best-Mystery/dp/B0D6J9BVH7?ref_=ast_author_dp">Death of a Travel Advisor</a> by Dori Saltzman -
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
From TravelAge West: The <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Industry-Insight/Business-Features/what-is-a-destination-management-company">ultimate travel advisor guide</a> to destination management companies
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Conde Nast’s <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/travel-specialists">travel specialists</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Travel + Leisure’s <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/a-list/a-list-travel-advisors">A List</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Wendy Perrin’s <a href="https://www.wendyperrin.com/wow-list/">WOW List</a>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
 
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Demystifying DMCs: What are destination management companies, and how can travel advisors best work with them?

This week, Trade Secrets takes on the world. Jennifer Doncsecz of VIP Vacations returns to the podcast to discuss her specialty: destination weddings and honeymoons. She talks about everything from getting started selling destination weddings and honeymoons, to turning those travelers into clients for life. Then, she answers a number of listener questions about destinations, ranging from the benefits of visiting a spot before selling it, qualifying for fam trips and where to send clients headed to Europe for the first time.

This episode is sponsored by AmaWaterways.

Further resources

VIP Vacations on Facebook

Jennifer Doncsecz’s email

Jennifer’s previous Trade Secrets episodes:


All things branding


Destination weddings and honeymoons

Mentioned in this episode:


Death of a Travel Advisor by Dori Saltzman - 


The Travel Institute’s course on destination weddings and honeymoons


From Travel Weekly, Getting into groups

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 



Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license



See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Trade Secrets takes on the world. Jennifer Doncsecz of VIP Vacations returns to the podcast to discuss her specialty: destination weddings and honeymoons. She talks about everything from getting started selling destination weddings and honeymoons, to turning those travelers into clients for life. Then, she answers a number of listener questions about destinations, ranging from the benefits of visiting a spot before selling it, qualifying for fam trips and where to send clients headed to Europe for the first time.
This episode is sponsored by <a href="amawaterways.com/agent-home">AmaWaterways</a>.
<hr>
Further resources
VIP Vacations on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/travelbyvip">Facebook</a>
Jennifer Doncsecz’s <a href="mailto:jennifer@vacationsbyvip.com">email</a>
Jennifer’s previous Trade Secrets episodes:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-three-all-things-branding/id1555272051?i=1000513923719">All things branding</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-four-destination-weddings-honeymoons/id1555272051?i=1000515794088">Destination weddings and honeymoons</a>
</li>
</ul>
Mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Travel-Advisor-Best-Mystery/dp/B0D6J9BVH7?ref_=ast_author_dp">Death of a Travel Advisor</a> by Dori Saltzman - 
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<a href="https://www.thetravelinstitute.com/courses/honeymoons-and-destination-weddings-a-lifestyle-specialist-course/">The Travel Institute’s course</a> on destination weddings and honeymoons
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
From Travel Weekly, <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Getting-into-groups-part-1-of-2">Getting into groups</a>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
 
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How should travel agents address travel advisories?

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