To All My Friends, you know I work in the Travel Industry. You’ve seen so many posts about my travel experiences and the importance of booking with a travel agent. NOW more than ever, your local agent needs your business.
Did you know that in 2019, the US travel industry accounted for $2.5 trillion in economic activity, and supported 15.7 million American jobs? Plus it drives economies around the globe when Americans travel. Dire consequences come when the travel stops.
These past few weeks have been horrific for the travel industry, and last night we were dealt a bigger blow with new travel bans & restrictions. I so appreciate all of my friends, clients, and family member’s calls and acts of support. Please, continue to support your local travel professionals including locally owned hotels, tour companies, restauranteurs, taxi companies, and travel agents as travel rebounds, which will, but certainly faster with your help. When you book locally (vs with Expedia, Costco, Orbitz, VRBO, etc), you’re truly helping ensure their family’s viability, and that’s huge right now, particularly as many of us watch our earned commissions vanish (a GIANT thanks goes out to the suppliers who are going above and beyond right now, including guaranteeing commissions). We don't get paid until our guests travel...so when you cancel, all the work we've done leading up to your trip is for naught and no payday comes. Verbally thanking us might seem like a nice thing to do, but verbal thank you's don't pay our bills. These are dark times for us all, and I’m personally feeling the pressure. (To my clients, I appreciate everyone’s patience, as I know there have been long hold times, and I’m doing my best to get to everyone.)
Please don’t stop traveling after we’re all able to once again! We need to see life around the globe to better appreciate our own place in this giant world of ours, and better relate to the other inhabitants. Like so many other crises before, this too WILL pass, but the economic impact will be devastating for so many across this land and around the world if people don't start traveling once again.
Turn to your local travel professionals for assistance when you're ready to travel again. I understand you think you know what you’re doing, you found a better rate, it’s easier online, etc., etc., I’ve heard it all. Travel agents need your support. They not only need your business now, but they want it. So please do think about your local travel agent when you’re asking your Facebook friends to support small and local businesses. Expedia, Costco, Orbitz, VRBO, etc, will do just fine. But your small, local travel agency - well, they need your support. So when you post “support small business”, please do just that. I treat every trip as if it were for my own family, and care about your travel plans. The big boxes and online sites treat you merely like any other transaction - you're just a number to them. With the recent events we are all facing right now, those big box stores & online sites (i.e. Expedia, Orbitz, Costco, et al) - well they won't be there to help you through this rough patch. I am here, 24/7 if need be, to help you work through cancellations, rebookings, etc.
If you are booked for something in the next few weeks - I'm closely monitoring and working on your travel plans to re-accommodate, change, or transfer to another time as works best for you. But if you are booked for something later this summer or fall and are considering canceling - PLEASE - hold off, have some patience, and let's get through this rough patch together. This too will pass. The worst may be coming shortly, but with so many measures being put in place to slow the spread, it will not last for long. Don't throw in the towel out of fear. Be strong, and let us get beyond it and then make a measured decision at a more appropriate time.
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