Travel Business Lounge | For Travel and Tour Entrepreneurs

Today we discuss the best ways to retain and reward your tour guides long term. We cover the key to hiring the right people, how to reward those people, and the most effective strategy for retaining tour guides in the long run. 

Steph Myers, a travel agent turned course creator, shares her journey from agency work to empowering travel agents. She discusses challenges like imposter syndrome, finding recognition, and relaunching her successful podcast. Learn about embracing authenticity in a competitive industry.

In this episode, we are talking all about travel blogging and content creation in 2022. I am joined by Kirsten Maxwell, who is the brilliant mind behind Kids Are A Trip and Multigenerational Vacations, two fantastic websites that help families travel better. Kirsten first started Kids Are A Trip back in 2014 and after years of growing this really successful blog, she decided in 2020 that she is going to take on a new project and niche even further down, specifically to multi-generational vacations. Kirsten brings a really unique perspective specifically on blogging because she can talk us through how she got started in 2014 and what worked for her then, what she's learned in that journey, and what she's focusing on. But also what it's like starting a travel blog today because obviously, a lot has changed in the world of blogging. I absolutely loved interviewing Kirsten because she was really an open book, super down to earth had really great practical advice. One thing she said, and that we've really focused on throughout the episode because it's something that I haven't really touched on in previous interviews, are conferences. Kirsten tells us how attending these has been a great way to grow and monetize her business. It's really interesting to hear about the impact that these conferences have had on her business, and also some of the learnings and takeaways she's had after attending. I know there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of knowledge to share and are interested in starting a travel blog, but may be a bit concerned about whether they've already missed that window of opportunity. Every year you read these articles, or you hear these stories of people talking about how it's harder today than ever before to make it in travel blogging, how the landscape has just completely changed. But every single year we have these new travel bloggers rising to the top and having a lot of success. And it was definitely fascinating, to speak to Kirsten and hear about her experience of starting a new website in 2020. Though there are definitely challenges and she's still growing that business, I do think it's just proof, once again, that it is absolutely still possible to start a successful travel blog. You just have to approach it with a lot of strategy and intention. And luckily, because we're 15 years down the line from when travel blogging first became a thing, there's so much knowledge and so many resources out there. In a way, it's a lot easier to get ahead because you're not having to scrape around to find information or just learn through trial and error on your own. The information is out there and as Kirsten shares today, you can learn a lot in these conferences and they're definitely worth attending. So I really hope you enjoy this episode, it’s such a good one! Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here. And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Alexandra Kenin, founder of Urban Hiker San Francisco, shares creative B2B networking ideas for tour businesses. She discusses partnering with Match.com for dating hikes and working with DMCs. Her approach focuses on forming relationships and growing through corporate groups.

Jen Ruiz is a phenomenal travel blogger, travel influencer, content creator, and overall business genius. In this episode, she shares the story of how she decided to take 12 trips in 12 months in the lead up to her 30th birthday and how that decision completely transformed her life and opened up a career in travel blogging, with her now having a lot of success on TikTok. Jen is such an inspirational person, she has such a positive take and approach to life and to business. She is a dreamer, like so many of us are in the travel industry, but she's also incredibly strategic and practical in her approach to growing her business. Jen shares loads of really practical tips and strategies in this conversation. I particularly enjoyed our deep dive into TikTok strategies for travel brands. TikTok is such an important platform nowadays because it’s where people are seeing the best return on time investment and overall effort right now. It's been great to chat with Jen about how she's grown on TikTok, the types of posts that she's creating, and some of the challenges of the platform like dealing with haters. TikTok is pretty notorious for being a bit of an uglier platform when it comes to nasty comments, but Jen's take on how best to handle and treat those kinds of comments is just really fascinating and inspiring. I hope you all enjoy this episode, and that you can take away some really practical tips to help grow your own travel business. If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

In today's episode, we talk all about harnessing technology to help grow your travel business. Torunn from Up Norway is the founder of this incredible travel curation brand that is focused on sustainable luxury. They put together tailor-made luxury journeys within Norway, Torunn’s home country, for guests from around the world. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to speak with Torunn and hear about her passion for sustainability and her commitment to working with sustainable suppliers and creating partnerships that benefit both parties involved. She's so down to earth, so transparent in her approach, and also such an innovator in this industry. What I found really fascinating in this conversation was Torunn’s use of technology to streamline her processes, but also to get to know her customers and figure out what exactly they're looking for, even if they don't know. I think a lot of times business owners approach the technology side of their business as a bit of a pain point or as an additional thing that needs to be dealt with. Finding the right booking system or the right software is a bit of an afterthought at times, but for Torunn, it's integral to the success of her business. This conversation has really changed my perception of the role of technology within a travel brand. I hope this episode will equally inspire you to re-examine your use of technology within your own business. Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here. And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Kristin Richards, owner of Girlboss Designer, shares tips on branding in the luxury travel market online. Practical approaches to improving website, content, and social media presence are discussed. The importance of client uniqueness, transitioning to branding for luxury travel advisors, and creating unique brand identities in luxury travel are highlighted. Niche specialization in the luxury travel market is also emphasized.

Marissa Daniels, owner of Spread Your Wings Travel Agency, specializes in budget-friendly travel for millennials and has become a social media maven. She shares her unique Instagram strategy that fueled her agency's rapid growth, even during the pandemic. Marissa emphasizes niche marketing, knowing your audience, and the importance of leveraging social media to attract clients beyond personal networks. Additionally, she discusses balancing a demanding 9-5 with her travel business and how she maximizes productivity in her busy life.

Today’s guest is Rachel Hill of Rachel Travels. She’s a travel influencer, teacher, author, marketing guru, and just an all-around entrepreneurial force. I was so excited when she agreed to come on the podcast because she was just one of those people whose names kept popping up. Rachel is a wealth of knowledge. She’s been an influencer for a long time, but in recent years she has shifted a little bit to teaching others how to be influencers and harness digital marketing to grow their travel brands. This episode is definitely for you if you are an influencer, or want to become one, but you're worried you’ve left it too late. Rachel says it’s not too late, and we dive deep into what it means to be an influencer in 2022. Rachel is a pitching mastermind when it comes to approaching brands and you don't need a million followers on Instagram to benefit from what she’s talking about, she makes that very clear. We talk a lot about what it means to be a micro-influencer, or even a nano-influencer, and the power of smaller influencers. The thing I love most about this episode is that Rachel lays out a roadmap for approaching brands, for partnerships, for sponsorships, and just pitching in general. She describes in plain terms the steps you need to take to be successful in today's market. Our conversation was so inspiring, I loved it and I really hope you do as well.

 There are so many different ways that you can make money while working in travel or tourism. We've heard a lot of different stories of people who are travel planners, women who run their own tour businesses, and we've even heard from a woman who is a travel coach. Today we're going to hear from a woman who has also paved her own path. She is making money by selling road trip guides to places all over the world. Claire Robinson founded her business Zigzag Road Trips a few years ago. And what started as a side hustle has now evolved into a full time job. She publishes these road trips in multiple languages, French, German, and English and she covers destinations as diverse as Oman, Scotland, Slovenia, New Zealand, Iceland, and more. However, perhaps most impressive is the fact that she has built this buisiness without the use of social media. Claire is very upfront from the get-go that she does not like Instagram and so she doesn't even have an Instagram account instead. She's used other strategies like SEO and content marketing to really build a strong following of clients who continue to return to her to buy these road trip guides. She goes into a lot of detail on how she's grown her business to what it is today, the various ways and what she makes money with her business.