Travel Consultant - Sydney, Australia

Tell us about your work with Travel Counsellors.

I work as a travel consultant. Although I work from home, I’m connected to a franchise called Travel Counsellors. It’s an amazing travel company that allows me to work from anywhere I want: the beach, a café, from home. I do my work online to meet my clients’ needs. I provide airfares, tailor-made itineraries, travel insurance, hotels, B&Bs, villas in Tuscany – I can do it all. I’m like a one stop shop because I’m available to my clients 24/7. I look after clients if they’re stranded somewhere, or if flights get cancelled; I can get them back to their home. I’m like a personal assistant for people who travel.

How many clients do you work with at once?

I have a few hundred clients in total, but in an ordinary week, I’m providing services to around nine clients. As a Travel Counsellor, it’s a commission-based job so I don’t earn a salary; as such, my time is money. I have a 60/40 split with the franchise Travel Counsellors which is a UK brand. Any bookings I make, I get 60/40 split so I give the franchise 40% and, in return, they do all of my marketing, ticketing, accounts and ongoing training and support.

What led you here to this field of work? Please tell us about your career trajectory.

For nearly 30 years, I’ve worked in the tourism industry at all levels – for the airlines, wholesalers, sales and customer relations, reservations, and for travel agencies. I’m an all-rounder. When I was a child I travelled extensively with my family. I caught the travel bug at a very young age. I then left school and worked for an airline in the U.K., which gave me the opportunity to travel often. I went to Thailand and other parts of the world doing hotel site inspections and familiarising myself with holiday destinations. In the early 1990s, I tried to find work in Los Angeles, U.S. but struggled to get a green card and eventually returned to the U.K. I missed the blue skies and sunshine, so I wanted to find a work opportunity in Australia.

When I arrived in Australia, I worked with a few different travel companies but really enjoyed working for Flight Centres as they had a great training program. I enjoyed the team I worked with – everyone had a love and passion for travel – and learned the trade quickly. I was like a sponge in that environment, soaking up whatever I could learn. Working on the beach, I booked travel plans for backpackers, students, and families.

After starting a family, I wanted to work from home. I googled ‘home based travel agencies’ and a franchise called Travel Counsellors came up. I gave them a call, learned about their terms, and they were just amazing. Eventually, I joined their team.

What do you love about your work as a travel consultant?

I love being able to work for myself and call the shots. I really love what I do. It’s my passion. Making people’s dreams come true is such a cool job to have! I’m earning more money than I would working for anyone else. I can work from anywhere. I can sit in a café and listen to some funky music and work. I get to work in an environment that I love, instead of some air conditioned office with a manager, rules and agendas.

I also love building relationships with my clients. I don’t focus on the money. I work from the heart and focus on making people’s travel dreams come true. It’s amazing. I get to help people visualize themselves washing elephants in Laos, or visiting the amazing temples in Angkor, Cambodia, or visiting schools in India. I love it when my clients get back from their trips and show me photos and share stories about their experiences. It’s so rewarding for me that I helped make those memories happen.

What are some of the challenges associated with being a travel consultant?

Some clients can get pretty emotional when things don’t go according to plan. For example, if a client’s passport wasn’t up to date, and their travel plans get delayed until they get a new one. This isn’t my fault, of course, but I often have to calm them down. Sometimes people arrive at a hotel and the room configuration isn’t what they wanted, or perhaps their expectations were really high. I am available 24/7, but that is meant for dealing with emergencies only. At times, clients will call me up at 10 pm on a Saturday night and ask ‘Can you book me a flight?’ and yet they aren’t leaving for a few months. Normally, if I sense a client is going to be really negative, or high maintenance, I’m not afraid to send them elsewhere to get their holiday booked. It has to be a good match between client and agent. I’m not afraid to turn away business.

What are some of the skills and abilities required in order to be successful?

Most importantly, you have to be really good at building relationships. At times, you’ll have to deal with people’s anxiety levels. People get very anxious about travelling because we’re scared of the unknown and as a travel counsellor, you need to learn how to manage it.

You also need to be good at selling travel to people by painting pictures in their minds. You need to be able to connect with people and hold the space for them – this is about their holidays; it’s not about you. That means taking the time to get to your clients’ lives; their families and friends, their cats and dogs; their dreams, aspirations and expectations.

It’s important to be really honest and make sure they have realistic expectations, as well. Remember that it’s your responsibility to look after your clients. Don’t focus on the money. If you focus on providing quality client care, it will pay off. I’ve never spent any time on advertising – it’s all word of mouth. My client base isn’t massive, but the clients I do have are quality people. I would rather have quality than quantity.

Do you think having a specific degree or type education is important or relevant to getting work in your field?

To be honest, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to have a degree. Life experience is essential. Travel experience is essential. It’s important to have the gift of gab. Also, psychology is important. I suppose if you wanted to get a degree in something , travel and tourism is great – but understanding psychology and human behaviour is also important to this kind of work. I’ve always been interested in this aspect of the job. If you wanted to start your own business, of course, a degree in business or marketing could be beneficial. Personally, I didn’t have any of that because I went the apprentice route. I first travelled and worked extensively in the sector – from airlines to travel agencies – before starting my own consulting business. It’s more about building really good people skills.

What’s your best advice in terms of tangible steps a person could take to work in this sector?

I would encourage people to start by taking a job with a bigger company, such as Flight Centre, where you can learn the basics of the industry. They’ll teach you about fares, ticketing, and accounts. It will build your foundation as a travel consultant. Also, it can be beneficial to find a larger umbrella organization that have international offices. Once you get established, you can move around. These companies don’t require that you arrive with much experience. You need to have people skills. You need to have travel experience. You need self-confidence. If you haven’t yet got the self-confidence – because many of us struggle with this – fake it until you make it. Stay positive and pumped up as you can during your interview.

What they’re looking for is that you have a passion for travel and the drive to make money. They do look for people who will perform well in sales. Once you’ve done a few years there, depending on how quickly you can pick up the trade, then you can look at working for yourself and establishing a home-based consulting company.

Anything else you’d like to add?

As much as I love what I do, I’m still getting paid for it. If you’re considering this kind of work, don’t be scared by working for a commission-based company. This scares many people. But if you’re a good networker, you can find clients quickly. I had no client base when I joined Travel Counsellors but my Business Development Manager helped me network. What you put in, you’ll get out. The sky’s the limit.