Travel Agents Share 10 Tips for Making Money in the Fall

By Joe Pike, TravelPulse

Make money and travel

Tips for Travel Agents

With the summer officially nearing an end, TravelPulse gets agents prepared for fall vacations and bookings by sharing 10 secrets from fellow travel experts on how to make the most money out of this unpredictable, but potentially lucrative travel season.

We chatted with roughly 10 travel specialists about everything from the trendy destinations to pitch this fall to the niche markets to target ...and the mistakes fellow consultants should avoid when the leaves start to fall.

Here’s what we found.

Pitch These Trendy Fall Hot Spots

Ait Benhaddou, an ancient fortress city in Morocco near Ouarzazate on the edge of the sahara desert. Used in fils such as Gladiator, Kundun, Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven

Based on our chats with travel experts, here are the trendiest destinations for the fall travel season.

This includes destinations people are vacationing to in the fall, as well as destinations clients are booking trips to in the fall but for travel at a later date.

Caroline Fridley, an advisor with Protravel International, which has headquarters in New York City, told us Morocco is gaining popularity, “especially for clients who have traveled extensively and are looking for a November/December destination that's warm and exotic, but not beach-focused.”

And while the Amalfi coast of Italy has always been popular amongst her clients, Fridley said that the destination has seen an unusual spike in last-minute bookings for this September and advanced bookings for next September.

It sounds like the potential for booking affluent Millennials - or any generation of savvy travelers craving an experience in Europe that hasn't been completely bragged about already on social media - could be brewing there.

Daniela Harrison, an advisor with Avenues of the World Travel in Flagstaff, Arizona, said her clients are currently vacationing in, or booking travel to, Costa Rica, South Africa, Egypt, Australia, Tahiti, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and “really the more exotic destinations” in general.

And while "exotic" is always a great pitch for the traveling veteran looking for a good, old-fashioned culture shock, some vacationers who don’t get to jet-set more than once a year simply prefer a place that’s easy to get to and warm.

And that’s why Katie Rahr Kapel, owner of Mode Travel Agency, Inc., which is based in Fargo, North Dakota, said mainstream, beach destinations like Aruba, where all-inclusives and the closest thing to do a no-rain guarantee in the Caribbean exists, is a popular place to vacation to this fall.

“Even though the flights may not be the best, the price is right,” said Kapel, “and [Aruba] is considered to be ‘hurricane-free’.”

In fact, the Caribbean and Mexico, in general, are solid options for value-seekers, especially families, since this is considered the low season in both regions for family vacations.

Rachel Morris, an advisor with Paradise Weddings and Travel in Houston, Texas, told TravelPulse wine-focused destinations, like New Zealand, that also offer an abundance of action-adventure opportunities are popular amongst Millennials traveling this fall. You can also add Chile and Argentina as two top destinations that fit that description.

Tom Varghese, owner of Travel Tom in Washington, D.C., told TravelPulse his agency always does a lot of business in the fall and one of the main reasons is Europe.

“We believe the fall and spring are the best times to visit Europe since the weather is perfect and comfortable for walking and touring,” said Varghese. “It is not as crowded to visit the sites and the airfare tends to be cheaper than the summer.”

For clients looking for long-haul flights this fall, Justin Lindblad, owner of Willing Foot Travel in New York City, suggests pitching both Africa and Japan.

“As always, Africa is incredibly popular and countries like Botswana, Uganda and Rwanda are much more on people’s radar,” said Lindblad. “Japan has been another very popular destination and, though there may be a bit of 'sticker shock' to the client, people are so interested in the beauty and intricacies of its culture.”

Get a Head Start

Couple On Beach In Summer.

Do you know who is sadder to see summer coming to an end more than you?

Your clients.

And the only way to ease the sadness of a summer vacation coming to an end is to begin the process of looking forward to the next one.

And that’s why Harrison suggests pushing spring break and summer travel for the coming year right now.

“People just returned from their summer vacations and are already dreading the daily grind,” she said. “They are looking for their next escape to relive the feelings of summer, freedom and fun.”

And Hannah Schremp, an advisor with FROSCH travel in Dallas, agrees.

“Fall is an exciting time to be an agent,” said Schremp. “Everyone returns from their summer travels and it’s game on.”

Target Destination Weddings

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons at Le Blanc Spa Resort

Destination weddings, especially in the Caribbean and Mexico, can be booked with a lot of added value in the fall since this is the season when hoteliers at romance-oriented properties are the most flexible in regards to negotiating room rates simply because they need to fill the rooms.

“Destination weddings have also taken off in the fall due to substantially-lower pricing at the Caribbean and Mexico all-inclusive resorts,” said Varghese. “Due to lower occupancies, resorts are willing to negotiate better rates and amenities, especially if you can book them in advance.”

Sell Couples/Parents Retreats

Friends smiling outdoors.

While family resorts across the planet are sad to see young guests go back to school, the parents of these 

young tourists are not.

In fact, parents tend to celebrate some away time from the children with a relaxing fall vacation.

And parents don’t necessarily want to travel alone. They just want to leave the kids behind.

The fall tends to be a popular season for young parents traveling with other young parents in villa destinations like Barbados, St. Barts and Turks and Caicos. Since it is still Hurricane Season through November, a lot of value can be found at villa-friendly destinations like these.

The fall is also popular amongst couples traveling with couples in general -- parents or not.

Couples retreats tend to be popular in the fall in regions like Mexico, Latin America and the South Pacific. Wine-oriented destinations like Chile and Argentina are among the hottest destinations for couples retreats. New Zealand, non-traditional Italy and Costa Rica are also picking up steam for couples retreats this fall.

Seek Out Value-Seekers

Vacation money savings in a glass jar with compass, passport and aircraft toy on world map

Again, because of the flexibility in room rates by hoteliers desperate to fill rooms, the fall is the time of the year to take advantage of bargain-hunting clients.

This is perhaps the most value-hungry traveling public the industry has ever seen.

And it’s been that way since 2009 when the recession forced most hotels and destinations to include a lot more value to go along with room rates and the overall cost of a getaway, whether that included anything from free rounds of golf to spa or air credit.

This was the smartest approach.

Some hotels that were desperate enough to slash rates never recovered. But the ones that included extra value without significantly cutting rates were the ones to come out of the recession stronger than ever.

The only “problem” is that the value-conscious traveler not only stuck around but became even more value-conscious in the years since.

They don’t need advisors to find a deal anymore, but they do need advisors to tell them if it has enough value to really be considered a true deal.

Be sure to constantly promote deals that you feel are legit. There is a difference between a discount and a deal. A discount could be 40-percent off at a hotel, but perhaps the retail value of the rooms was marked up 70 percent.

That's not a deal.

Only an agent who knows the destination and hotel product knows if the discount is a deal because the agent has first-hand knowledge of what the destination or hotel is, or should be, truly worth.

Pitch Last-Minute Travel to Millennials Without Children

A group of friends posing for a selfie by the pool.

The client to pitch last-minute vacations to usually doesn’t have children.

While parents looking to vacation without the kids still have to plan for a babysitter, a client without kids can leave whenever he or she decides.

“I actually like to try and target Millennials for fall travel,” said Emily Bertsch, an advisor with VIP Vacations, Inc. in in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “I’ve seen and heard from so many people that they don’t want to use their vacation time because of the fear of falling too far behind in their work.

"So, I like to go through my database, find the Millennials that can easily pick up and go -- they typically are young and spontaneous and don’t have children to coordinate babysitters with -- and remind them not to let those vacation days go unused," Bertsch continued. "I remind them that a break from work and time to unwind helps them recharge and come back even more ready to take on their work.”

And not to stereotype, but Millennials tends to love all things wine.

Wine-themed river cruises and wine-focused getaways like Argentina, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand tend to be hot spots for all Millennials traveling in the fall.

Sell Celebration Travel

Young Adult Summer Beach Party Dancing Concept

Since milestone moments worth traveling for can occur in someone’s life from January to December, celebration travel really doesn’t have a peak or low season.

And the fall is no different.

Like we mentioned, advisors should be promoting destination weddings in the Caribbean and Mexico for clients looking to tie the knot in the fall at a value-packed, all-inclusive hotel.

But other forms of celebration travel shouldn’t be ignored either.

After all, there is never a time in the year when there are zero family reunions, birthdays, vow renewals and wedding anniversaries.

And Harrison told TravelPulse the growing number of retirees in her area is leading to an abundance of celebration travel.

Not only are retired clients free to travel all year, they are usually old enough to start reaching birthday and anniversary milestones at a higher and more rapid pace than Millennial clients.

And the actual retirement can be a form of celebration travel in itself. There continues to be an influx of recently-retired Baby Boomers looking into vacations to somewhere gorgeous to celebrate the end of their careers.

To put it simply, if you are not selling celebration travel from the first day of the year until New Year’s Eve, you simply do not have a large enough client base.

Donât Ignore Families

A family enjoys a kayak ride.

Family travel is always at its highest during the summer because children are not just off of school, they are off of school for an extended period of time, giving mom and dad a larger booking window to work with when planning a vacation.

But if you ask experts in family travel, like Disney specialist Nikki Miller, owner of Travel With Nikki in Portage, Michigan, they’ll tell you the fall is when the family vacationer gets to take advantage of smaller crowds and cooler weather.

“So many of them are taking advantage of fall breaks at school to get away for an entire week filled with magic,” said Miller. “It helps that temperatures start falling this time of year and Orlando no longer feels like you're walking on the face of the sun. Kids and parents love celebrating Halloween at either the Walt Disney World Resort for some light-hearted scares and lots of candy or the Universal Orlando Resort for a bit more of a thrilling and chilling experience.”

Prepare for Availability Issues

Leave no stone left unturned – discover Hawaii

From a tourism industry prospective, this is a good thing, but many agents are having a tough to time finding availability for clients in the destinations they want to visit this fall.

And Harrison said there is no other fix other than getting clients used to booking earlier next year.

“For anyone looking for ideas this fall, we're seeing a lot of availability issues,” said Harrison. “We are literally booking into the end of 2020 already.”

Because of that, Harrison said advisors at Avenues of the World Travel spend a lot of time and resources in educating future clients on the benefits of booking vacatiosn early.

"We're developing a better strategy for a five-year travel plan to make sure we can get first pick on the options/itineraries opening," she said. "We secure a lot of group space on sailings to ensure availability. A good relationship with our preferred suppliers and [business development managers] is a huge help. They can pull space that doesn't always show in live inventory."

Research Special Events and Festivals

Grant Park Music Festival.

Find out what you’re clients love. Find out what music they listen to, what food they eat and what cocktails they favor.

Ask them if they like to be active, if they dance until sweaty at music festivals, if they have to be dragged out of museums after hours of staring, if they get bored at or pray too hard at cathedrals, etc. Then check your calendar every month for some festival, concert or other event that fits your clients’ taste.

And stay on it.

Fans miss stuff all the time.

Unlike celebration travel, festivals can creep up on you. For example, it's probably more likely that a concert-goer missed that his or her favorite band would be in New York City in November than grandpa forgot about his 50th wedding anniversary.

The fall, like all seasons, is stocked across the world with live concerts, food festivals, art walks and marathons. While the travel window is usually already determined in celebration travel, this type of travel is quite the opposite in that fans of a band, for example, might not know about a tour until a month out. But grandpa is less likely to forget that 50th wedding anniversary he's on the calendar for more than a year.


See more at: TravelPulse