We undeniably live in a world of technology, information, and convenience. The answer to every question is available immediately, right at our finger tips. There’s an app for everything at this point. And in the context of travel, it has never been easier for people to book travel for themselves. So why become a travel advisor?

Well, turns out, for a lot of reasons actually. 

Telling people you are becoming a travel advisor is interesting, because even those who are supportive, are also immediately skeptical. That skepticism leads to A LOT of defending your choice to become a travel advisor, against what most people think are insurmountable odds. But the silver lining to having to defend my decision again and again, is that I’ve really come to be acutely aware of why I actually want to do this. 

As it turns out, I can pretty easily summarize why I am becoming a travel advisor using what I will now be calling the “Three Es”: Education, Experience, and Efficiency. 

Prior to choosing this career path, I’ve been lucky enough to be, what I consider, pretty well travelled. Sometimes I do feel a little like an imposter, especially when I compare myself to people who have been to 30 or 40 US States and dozens of countries across the world. But comparison is the thief of joy, and I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to travel to 15 US States and territories and 7 countries so far. Over many years and many conversations, I’ve come to see that the same list that seems too short to be impressive to me, feels like an unachievable dream to a lot of people. 

Realizing how unachievable travel feels to so many people is what really pushed me into not only verbalizing and really exploring my philosophy of the “Three Es” but also clearly seeing a distinct area within travel that I am interested in focusing on: accessibility. In a traditional sense, I’m interested in finding accommodations for people whose needs don’t necessarily fit into an easily checked off box. But in a more abstract sense, I’m interested in helping people realize that the barrier to entry for travel is actually much lower than they think it is. In both cases I very strongly believe that travel has the power to change your life, and believe that it should be accessible to everyone. 

So how do the Three E’s make travel more accessible to anyone? Let’s find out. 

We’ll start with education. The first point I want to make is that knowledge is power. The second point I want to make is that Knowledge IS Power. The most common bemoanings I hear, from people who believe that travel is outside of their reach, are usually tied directly to a lack of knowledge. These are people who are afraid of going somewhere where they don’t know the language or understand the money or public transport. They’re afraid of getting lost in a large, chaotic international airport, or losing their luggage. They don’t know where to look or who to trust when booking accommodations, excursions, and even restaurants. A lot of times the barrier to entry for travel is simply a lack of confidence that leads to decision paralysis.

Having a Travel advisor working for you gives you access to a dedicated professional who can actually address your fears and answer your questions. A good travel advisor can tell you what destinations have enough English speakers that you won’t have to worry, or we can give you a list of enough local phrases and cultural norms to successfully navigate you through your stay. We can tell you what airports to take the long layover in to give yourselves, and your luggage, more than enough time to make it onto your connecting flight. We can also tell you what essentials should be in your carry on in case something does happen with your luggage along the way. We can confidently narrow down the list of destinations, resorts, cruise cabins, and even dining plans to be able to tell you that these are the options most in line with what you’re actually looking for in your perfect vacation. 

Knowledge is power and Education stands on the shoulders of Experience. I’m pretty confident in saying that most, if not all, Travel advisors in the game today are travellers first. We’ve been to these places and in these situations first hand, so we know better than most how to temper, meet, and exceed expectations, get the most out of your travel, and resolve situations as they arise. 

When I tell you to take the long layover in a certain airport, because luggage has a habit of missing connecting flights on short layovers, it’s because I’ve experienced my luggage missing the connecting flight. But, as horrible as that was for me, it also means that if something similar should unfortunately happen to you, I already know where to go to find out if your luggage is missing or just delayed, when it should be arriving, and even what types of compensation airlines are required to offer you for your delayed luggage. 

Travel advisors have the benefit of our own experiences and of the world class education we receive from our suppliers. That’s what helps us work day in and day out, helping prevent the common pitfalls and mistakes that can come with booking travel. We are here to help you prevent the headache of booking a double room and finding just one double sized bed, instead of the two beds you thought you were getting. We’re here to save you the heartache of arriving at a monument you’ve waited your entire life to see, only to discover that they’ve changed to a ticket based entry system and tickets sold out months ago. We’re here to make sure that the airport gate is not where you find out that the ticket fare you purchased doesn’t include checked luggage or carry ons. We’re here, with our breadth of experience, to trouble shoot for you!

If Education and Experience go hand in hand, then Efficiency is the byproduct of this warm embrace. Travel advisors are efficient because, well, it’s our job. But we’re also efficient because of the knowledge we’ve accumulated over all the time we’ve spent travelling, talking to others about travelling, learning about travelling, and booking travel for other people. We have the ability of taking never ending pages of search results and chopping them down to the best, most desirable results for you specifically. We can find what you’re looking for at lightning speed, because we know where to look. And we do all of this so that you don’t have too. 

The options for booking your own travel are truly endless. Which is great if you have the time and energy to dedicate to doing it yourself. I know there are plenty of people who certainly have the time to do it and even enjoy the hours of research and planning. Heck, I was one of those people; that’s another part of why I’ve decided to go down this road. But there’s an equally large population out there that would really rather be more hands off. They may be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options; they may be too nervous to trust online reviews left by unverified sources. Some people may not be able to dedicate time to planning a vacation, and others may even simply not want to. 

Ultimately this is where and why travel advisors step in to help. We are here to guide you through the process, to make it less daunting, to give you the confidence that you’re receiving exactly the vacation that you want, and to save you as much time and hassle as we can in the process. 

I strongly and genuinely believe that travel has the power to change lives and that it should be accessible to everyone. So, for all the individual reasons I’ve covered already, and all the other reasons floating in the background, this is why I’ve chosen to become a travel advisor: to help!