There couldn’t be a worse time to travel, so why on earth would I start a travel agency? Isn’t it obvious?
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Haven’t You Heard There’s a Global Pandemic?
There is absolutely a global pandemic crippling travel right now, not entirely, but dramatically. It’s not exactly the environment where everyone is thinking about going back out into the world, most are looking to avoid it. Travel restrictions, especially those on Americans, have put the world out of reach for many even if they feel comfortable traveling right now.
I’m well aware.
Opportunity Presented Itself
A couple of agents I knew were looking for a change. They wanted an agency that better reflected the luxury trips they wanted to take and enjoyed booking.
Most of the readers of this site will be able to understand. The agents book hotel stays for their clients at properties I prefer myself. Hotels like The Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay, The Waldorf-Astoria Bangkok, and The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman embody the experience that the agents booked for their clients, and I could relate.
Further, for a rare moment in history, there was a chance to start with experienced agents and a clean canvas. Doug Parker of American Airlines said that American is using this unique time to rebuild the airline from scratch; to add back just what they want and discard what they don’t. Everything in travel has been reset to zero, so in many ways, there’s never been a better time to start.
Enter: Scott & Thomas Travel Personalized
What Makes My Travel Agency Different
I loathed travel agencies before I began this work. Why? They were all the same. Travel advice from the largely untraveled. Would you eat at a restaurant where the chef hadn’t tried the food?
Many agents have run the normal US travel agency circuit. A trip to Cancun, an all-inclusive somewhere in the Caribbean, a guided tour through Italy – these are the travel resumes of many agents I have encountered. That was never for me and we built an agency where that’s not the case. The first example is one that every reader on this site should cheer on.
Miles/Points Are Welcome
We want you to earn miles, and we want you to burn them. That’s the advice we have always given on this site and we follow it ourselves. We will search for award space and cash options to let you know which one makes more sense, or help you book them in a way that ensures everyone in your party is together. There aren’t many other agencies (outside of American Express using Membership Rewards points) that are pleased to help clients book with miles and points. If it’s something even we can’t book, we can always enlist Matthew’s Award Expert service for the (near) impossible-to-book mileage redemption trips.
Personalized Travel
We get to know our clients. It’s not just “window or aisle” it’s that they love New York City, but aren’t interested in Broadway shows. They will stand in line for the perfect bagel, but not for the empire state building. The more we get to know our clients, the more meaningful guidance we can offer. It’s not just which cruise line they prefer, it’s knowing that the one they took last didn’t meet certain expectations and there is a better option available.
Travel Concierges, Not Agents
We don’t have travel agents, we have Travel Concierges. That’s not lip service. If our clients are in Rome for four days and decide halfway through their trip that they would like a change of pace, our Concierges might offer options to take a train to Florence for the day. That may mean we supply our clients with train times, secure the tickets and entry to see the David, along with a recommendation for dinner or a cooking class.
Our staff has some impressive credentials:
- 4.2 – Average number of continents visited
- 26 – Average number of countries visited
- 3.5 – Average number of continents lived on
- All staff is bilingual (English, Spanish, Italian)
If a client heads to Paris, we will, of course, let them know about booking Eiffel Tower tickets online in advance (instead of waiting in the lines) and offer to do it for them, but also highlight a can’t-miss Crepe stall across the Trocadero. If we know our client is an avid reader, we might let them know the best times to visit Les Deux Magots or La Closerie des Lilas where Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Camus, and Baldwin penned their seminal novels.
It’s also easier to reach our staff (due to our technology) and you won’t have to wait all day for the office to open when you’re across the world, just text your concierge.
Technology
Most importantly, our technology is far superior to any other agency we have found. Why is this important? Let me show you, here’s a sample itinerary:
Our client receives their proposals on the web, in an app or PDF attachment. For those that haven’t tried other agencies, this is not what most of them are sending customers. We utilize an app that allows those on your trip to chat with each other, discuss details, or even reach out to your concierge. Changes to your trip including up-to-the-minute flight details are adjusted in the app as you progress through your journey. Past trips are also available, especially important for our business clientele.
Most agencies use legacy technology that’s neither intuitive nor helpful – I’ve seen what everyone else is using, ours is better.
Focused on Where You Can Go, Not Where You Can’t
During this crazy year, it’s important to focus on what’s possible, not what’s impossible. When Croatia promoted the openness of its borders to Americans and others, one of our Concierges was there. She took the tests, went through the process, and has a firsthand account of what traveling is like right now. Scott & Thomas follows the changes in regulations, permissions, and access to ensure our clients are never caught off guard on a trip.
There are plenty of places telling travelers where they aren’t welcome right now. We focus on helping clients go where they are welcome.
Conclusion
It’s in many ways both the worst and the best time to start a travel agency. We utilize personal travel experience, industry expertise, and the latest technology to build crafted travel experiences that perfectly fit our client needs and desires. But it’s also a difficult time to start any business, let alone a travel agency. If you want see where you can go right now despite COVID-19 restrictions (the world isn’t entirely closed) or see what we can do to personalize your trip – reach out.
Where are you planning to go next? Have you used a travel agent before? Why or why not?
That photo. For a minute i thought had become transgender.
Come on, anointing yourself as a travel concierge is ridiculously pretentious. How many have their CTC? Rather than silly self-proclaimed titles that require nothing (financial advisor, anyone?), showing a high professional level of achievement with strong prerequisites like a CTC takes actual knowledge, ability, and work.
@Christian – we agree that being a travel professional isn’t something you can annoying yourself with. To answer your question, both of our agents are Certified Travel Consultants and one worked for one of the largest luxury and business agencies in the world before joining us. We are pretty clear that we believe (as you do) that real world experience is terribly important. This isn’t limited to just travel experiences but also as agents. But you might agree that many agents aren’t truly well traveled themselves. We believe that is just part of what makes us shine.
Then I’ll eat my words (mostly). While I still think it’s pretentious to go with the concierge moniker, it’s tough to argue that they’re not qualified. Nice that you’re getting high quality people. Are you getting ARC certification? Also, how is income derived: flat fee, pure commission, daily itinerary charge, other? If people have a better idea of cost structure and price then they’re more likely to avail themselves of something.
I think the concierge moniker is appropriate here, it seems like they are adding value /expertise because unlike many other travel agents and agencies, they have first person, Real World experience traveling or living in many of the places that their customers might want to go to. I think most people going with a personalized travel consultant versus buying from an OTA are less price sensitive and probably don’t need to know what the compensation structure is. I don’t care, I would do my own price comparison and see if the value add is worthwhile to me. It’s in fact you who sounds like a nit picky, cheap d-bag that is exactly the type of customer that would not fit their business model. Anyway, congrats Kyle.
@Lanie – We would gladly show you the difference, but we shouldn’t be any more expensive than you can find elsewhere. The travel providers pay us, not our clients.
Interesting that you feel the need to make childish insults because I want to know on a basic level how someone is making money by doing business with me. I understand how other professionals such as a realtor make a living when I do business with them and feel that this is a reasonable point, particularly given that it varies a great deal by travel agency. I’m not averse to paying for a service, I just want to know what I’m in for beforehand.
I am and have been a huge advocate of individual travel agencies. In many cases, the client is getting professional grade tools and expertise at no additional cost to them. Additionally, I was a full time professional travel agent myself for a number of years so I have a personal soft spot for them. I just want someone good when I need one. I’ve met lots of agents claiming to offer concierge level service over the years which is why I asked about CTC certification, which is tough enough to weed out any but the most determined aspirants.
Absolutely Christian, and I think it’s fair to question what makes us different from “agents” anyway. We will apply for ARC, though we have a facility through our consortium to ticket. Because we don’t have an office, legacy software, nor overhead, as long as there is a hotel or car rental associated with the itinerary we don’t charge for airfare bookings. Any change fees (for those that are left) or differences in fare are passed on, for air-only reservations, we have a service fee. But keeping in mind that we don’t charge air ticketing fees we are already cheaper than almost every other travel agency and should be at the same price as available to the general public. We also look at additional opportunities to pass on savings to our clients, for example, one client was quoted the hotel rates but we were able to save them money by utilizing a loyalty program rate. We are happy to show our clients how they can use the right credit card to earn and then later to burn points enhancing their trip and ensuring loyalty to Scott & Thomas.
Good luck with your project. I like the premise – starting with a clean slate, experienced staff and personalized service. Hopefully it will work out for you!
Frequently a great premise. However, normally one would quote someone more credible than Doug Parker “AA is using this unique time to rebuild the airline from scratch”. I don’t see that happening.
Best of luck
This is poorly written and I’m still not sure I understand what I read. Also, if you really think you’re distinguishing yourself because you’re booking people at the “fancy” chain hotels, you obviously have never actually dealt with a high end travel agent or ever really experienced high end luxury travel.
I agree with your premise and I like how you would incorporate miles/points into the itinerary. We travel a fair amount internationally for the past decade and have made all of the arrangements ourselves. However, we are interested to give your new travel agency a try and see what new perspectives you might have. We’ve rarely used a TA before because they have rarely had any real life experience more than us at many of our destinations. I’m inclined to think the three of you may be different.
Give us a call, send an email, or sign up on the form. We didn’t use travel agents ourselves for the longest time because there wasn’t an added value – we were reading them the flight numbers and fare rules. We know what we want when we travel and want to offer that experience to others. Give us a shot on your next trip – whenever and wherever that might be.
As a person that has been attempting to launch my own travel niche business since late 2019 it is a tough time for sure. Good luck.
I appreciate it. I think there is an opportunity on the other side of the pandemic.
I mean no offense, but as a long term reader – Do you consider yourself a Trump supporter? In your last post, you seemed to indicate that. I would LOVE to support your business, which you propose. I am always searching out travel agencies which conform to my needs. That being said, I personally can not support a business who aligns with the certain beliefs. It may be best, if you identified the type of customer , who you are seeking out. That would eliminate any future issues / customers who do not align to the values of your business.
rob
@Rob – Prior in the day I posted that Disney probably shouldn’t choose now to expand their Park capacity by 40% amidst the highest infection rates reported since the beginning of the pandemic. Later in the day, I posted that while the President-elect has stated both that they would and would not enforce a lockdown, and that I wouldn’t stick around for any further lockdowns in the US. I’ve been told I am a leftist and right-winger, sometimes in the same post and what it reveals to me is that people read into it what they want. I’ve also been called alt-centrist (whatever that is.)
I don’t think that if Senator Sanders or Eric Trump wanted to book a trip that they would come away with a feeling that they were treated differently or felt that they got anything but the best possible experience according to their preferences.
The kind of client we seek is one that looks for unique travel experiences. One that is looking for something different and wants a personal touch. A client we had was previously booked at an international all-inclusive which is not open and will not be for some time. We arranged a domestic private beachfront villa with a chef and menu along with staff to allow them the same all-inclusive experience for their party of 15 that they would have had at the resort. We also have business clients that just want to be able to send us their details and have their trip executed within parameters set up by themselves and their company.
The only thing I would trust Kyle with is booking Disney trips. Good thing I no longer have to go to Disney.
Maybe, Kyle, you should consider joining Trump’s team as a “scientist?” It seems to be far more in your wheelhouse of touted expertise and loyalty than understanding luxury properties in, say, Brazil or South Africa.
You didn’t click on the Park Hyatt Sanya link? That’s likely my favorite property in the world!
Knowledge of a well known Park Hyatt in China is your claim of expertise? No wonder you think of yourself as an epidemiologist as well.
Tell me your thoughts on the best unique luxury properties in Brazil? Or your suggestions for Russia, or Bhutan? Not the ones you can find using google, which is what you will mostly be doing.
Seems these days that everyone is either an “epidemiologist” or a “travel coach.”
Lol, tell me about it. We’ve had more epidemiologists comment on these posts in the last six months than have ever graduated from a science program. Shouldn’t these people all be at work trying to solve the crisis at hand instead of imparting their infinite knowledge in the comments section in a travel blog? Finally, we agree on something.
Kyle i think vitriol thrown at you is undeserved. People should treat you as a person and not take out their frustration on you.
That is just pathetic. People grow up!. It’s ok to make fun of a group or a public figure but not a single person directly. Treat them as people with feelings.
Kyle all the best in your venture.
Good one debit.
I’m so happy he’s back
So Matt’s blog is now an advertisement platform? Oh wait, what’s going on with the link to credit card applications? *sigh*
Literally every blog post Kyle makes is a shill for a credit card with the block phrase at the top. Matthew’s is a bit more subtle.
We use a travel agent for probably 75% of our trips. She is wonderful and understands the types of properties we like. She also is very well travelled herself so I trust her recommendations. We use her for long weekend trips when she can get us better upgrades and perks than FRH’s program.
However, I am very interested in the option of giving your agency a chance on a trip to UAE and South Africa. I have a decent balance of points I would like to use for business class (or may first) class airfare and hotels.
@Heather – We would love to put something together for you and see if we can wow you! There’s a contact form on this page, please fill it out and we will be in touch promptly. https://bit.ly/30weCgz
Well replied Kyle,
When do you believe that travel will ‘resort’ back to normal? I would like to give your agency a ‘try’.
Thanks
rob
Hey Rob – some of it has already come back pretty close to normal. We have booked Maldives, Colombia, Croatia, and Georgia for our clients. Others are opening up soon. Send an email to kyle@scottandthomas.com and let us put something together for you.