This year, travel advisors are experiencing incredibly high demand, which leads to an unprecedented number of details to confirm for each trip. We’re tackling one of the biggest challenges that advisors face: managing the multitude of small details that go into each trip. We’re talking spa, dining, and all those granular details that can make for an incredible trip….as long as everything goes smoothly.

We’ve gathered our favorite ways for advisors to manage all the details.

Use A Digital Itinerary Creator

We love systems like Axus, Umapped, and Travefy (our favorite) for many reasons. An online itinerary creation software gives you a great birds’ eye view of what is happening each day of the trip and the icons quickly showed me the overview of each day. Travefy’s system uses icons so that you can easily read the itinerary at a glance to ensure that all details of each day are accounted for. In the event that you notice that something hasn’t been booked, you can use Travefy’s new task feature. This allows you to either import a task list per trip or assign ad hoc tasks.

Choose A Supplier That Offers Concierge Assistance

Not all suppliers offer concierge assistance, but if they do- take them up on it! Some may charge an additional fee, which you may be able to make up for through your client’s fee. When a supplier is the one managing these details, you are more likely to have all itinerary items accounted for in the final documents. Another point to consider is that the DMC would be the client’s point of contact in an emergency for any of these items, which releases your obligation to be “on call” throughout all hours of their trip.

Collaborate With The Hotel

Don’t be scared to utilize the concierge for transfers, since they can provide a backup solution in case of a cancellation. If you’re going to go this route, it’s important to make sure your fee compensates you for planning these details, particularly since you won’t receive commissions for these items. Utilizing the hotel for certain items (transfers, spa, tours, etc.) can empower the client to better manage their itinerary on their own and with the help of the hotel (rather than calling you).

Audit The Itinerary

Auditing every booking is truly make or break, particularly if you have pieced a trip together on an a la carte basis. Things like a transfer not being booked, a dinner time not being confirmed, or a digital itinerary not reflecting the most up-to-date information can really impact a client’s experience. Performing occasional audits can save you from disaster before it strikes!

Outsource, If You’re Able

If you’re focusing on creating relationships with clients, as well as suppliers, as well as marketing, and managing the finances- it can be impossible to track all itinerary details while still maintaining any work/life balance.

If you are doing both, you are risking missing something, because it is impossible to do everything well.

An option is to bring on someone to handle these tasks or use a service like Lucia. To learn more about our course on hiring administrative support, check out Agency Expansion Academy.