And Speaking Of... The Future Leaders in Travel Retreat

This week, I am simultaneously returning back to real life after my amazing time with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and ramping back up to prepare to welcome our partners and advisors to Charlotte for our 2024 Gifted Travel Network Conference at The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte .

This felt like a perfect week to bring in a guest writer for my weekly article, and it worked out perfectly as GTN's "social media guru," Lybbi Hebel , has just returned from attending the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat . GTN has sponsored this fabulous event for several years now, and I am so excited to read about Lybbi's experience as a first-time attendee!

Drop your comments below and show her some love!

-Vanessa

Last week, I was honored to represent Gifted Travel Network at the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat in the Dominican Republic. This annual event is designed for travel advisors under 40 to come and network, learn, and meet with travel partners from all over the world. Unlike most industry events, the advisors in attendance must apply and go through a careful selection process. Advisors can only attend once (unless they return for their second year as a guide).

Before I attended, I heard from many different people that this was such a unique event with a very special energy, which could not have been more accurate. From the moment I landed at PUJ and found some fellow attendees also on their way to Hilton La Romana, everyone was so friendly and eager to connect as much as possible. As someone who tends to be more introverted, this was so helpful and made me feel immediately comfortable with this crowd.

Before I left, Vanessa asked me to write a follow-up for her weekly newsletter, and I hoped I would have enough to share when I returned. And now that I’m on the other side of this trip, the issue is more that I have to wade through my notes and pick out only a few highlights from this fantastic event. That being said, please enjoy just a few of my top takeaways from the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat.

After Great Effort Comes Ease

One of the optional events during the retreat was an early morning yoga session with Tory Sneden, Personal Trainer and lululemon Ambassador. I’ll be 100% honest with you – I had big intentions of getting up early and going to yoga, but the packed schedule and limited free time made me choose an extra hour in my bed instead. However, when Emma Weissmann came to the stage later that morning, she shared a line Tory used throughout the exercise:

“After Great Effort Comes Ease”

Even though I didn’t get up and do yoga that morning, this line struck me because it felt like the perfect summary of this event. On the first day of the retreat, we had mini workshops where the advisors would go from table to table for short discussions on various topics related to their travel business. From these discussions, there was a common theme where advisors would talk about what they SHOULD be doing and acknowledge that they know they NEED to start using whatever new technology, bringing in help, implementing a new marketing strategy, and so on. Still, they are so overwhelmed by the hugeness of these tasks.

But here is the thing: Taking on something big, that will take a lot of set-up and transition and will shake up your day-to-day for a little while, is intimidating. But after that great effort of making a necessary change comes ease when your business runs smoothly and efficiently. So Tory, if you’re out there somewhere, please know that while I didn’t make it to yoga that morning, you still found a way to inspire me!

The Power of Language

One thing I was excited about before this trip was that I would finally meet the famous Jenn Lee in person. I had heard she came to this event every year full of knowledge and energy, and she did not disappoint! Jenn held a workshop for us on the second day of the retreat, and I loved her perspective on the power of language for travel advisors. Though I don’t sell travel myself, I can see where some of what she shared would seem terrifying to an advisor who has always done it this way and is nervous about changing their habits. However, her reasoning for making these changes was rock solid.

For example, Jenn told us that advisors should never ask, “What is your budget?” This is obviously necessary information, but asking outright will immediately put the client in a defensive state. They don’t know what a realistic budget is, and now there is a limit on the conversation.

Instead of asking that one specific question, she said that you should ask lots of others to get them to tell their story. Start with “What is motivating you to want to go to X place?” From there, you can ask leading questions to get an idea of their travel style, what they want to see and experience, who they are traveling with, etc. After asking all these questions and filling in all the blanks, you can then go into the budget conversation.

“So, based on what you are describing, it sounds like you are looking at a window of $X to $Y. Does that align with what you were planning on spending for this trip?”

That way, you have given them a realistic idea of the cost, and you are taking the pressure off of them to try and deduce what they think the trip might cost, and you can go up and down from there.

These little touches make all the difference in a sales situation, and it was so fascinating to hear Jenn share a list of “don’t say this/instead say that,” while providing the exact reasoning why it will make or break your client interaction.

Travel Trends

One last thing that was interesting to me at this event was hearing about recent travel trends from other suppliers and advisors beyond GTN. Many topics aligned with what I hear from our network, like clients wanting to book more last-minute trips rather than planning out for the next year or two. I also learned some fun new phrases, such as “Set-Jetting,” which means people planning their whole trip around one destination or experience featured in pop culture (think White Lotus, for example).

Other travel trends that were discussed include families planning multi-gen group trips over holidays when they would have been together anyway or clients favoring shorter and more frequent trips versus taking fewer trips over longer timespans. Medical tourism is on the rise, as people can take a whole vacation to another country and take care of necessary or cosmetic procedures for a cheaper cost than just doing it domestically.

There is also a significant uptick in people wanting to explore new places like a local and trying to avoid the “touristy” things in favor of authentic experiences. They want to respect and participate in local customs and traditions. Clients want to see wildlife IN the wild versus in zoos or sanctuaries.

I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to attend this retreat, and I can confidently say that it does live up to the hype! Thank you to Emma Weissmann , Ximena Llanes , and everyone at Northstar Travel Group for arranging this fantastic retreat! It was such a pleasure to come out of my comfort zone and make so many wonderful connections!