MailPound MAC CHAT

I am excited to introduce you to Laurie Guzda, Director of Marketing for Woodloch Resorts. I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Laurie while shooting the video tour of the Lodge at Woodloch. 

Hi Laurie, thank you for joining us today! You have three unique properties as part of the Woodloch Experience. Our first video focuses on the Lodge at Woodloch which was named one of the Top Ten Destination Spas in the US by Forbes. Com. While I visited the Lodge at Woodloch I was very impressed with the attention to detail and customer focused attention to every guest needs. Can you share with us what a guest can expect during their stay? 
Unrivaled hospitality. Really. As soon as you pull under the portico our staff will welcome you by name and escort you in the front doors. Once you check in you’ll be given a private, guided tour of the facilities. Then you’re free to take advantage of all our luxurious and health-conscience amenities. You’re going to experience TREATMENTS, FACILITIES. Cuisine. Comfort and relaxation.

The sister resort, Woodloch Pines has been named "ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORTS" by Family Circle Magazine. What type of activities do you offer your guests?
More appropriately, what don’t we offer?! Woodloch Pines is really focused on the whole family, “From 2 to 82” we have something for everyone. Set on beautiful lake Teedyuskung we have every lake-activity available for you. Our entertainment department develops and runs the most interactive, fun and exciting games like the Woodloch Winter Olympics, Scavenger Hunt and so many more – if you’re not a part of it you’re missing out. But of course there other activities and amenities, for example in the winter we’ve got snow tubing, snowshoeing, ice skating, indoor fun like our pool and kids splash zone, the Woodloch kid’s forest… Really I could go on and on…

The Country Club at Woodloch Springs is nationally recognized by GOLF Magazine as "one of the finest courses in America" and rated “4.5 Stars” by Golf Digest’s Best Places to Play. Can you expand on what the type of facilities that you offer the golf enthusiast?
Woodloch Springs is truly an amazing golf course. We have an 18-hole par-72 Championship style course that winds its way over 6,500 yards of fern-carpeted forest, lush wetlands and broad upland meadows. Our greens are kept in such great shape we really are a hidden gem in the northeast plus we have an impressive 16 acre practice facility available to all players to warm up or tune up. The course is fun for everyone, we encourage families to play together and to learn together, there are 4 sets of tees for all skill levels. Our PGA Director of Golf has been named by US Kids Golf as one of the top 50 kids instructors in the nation, we are really family focused.

During the video we hear directly from Woodloch’s President, John Kiesendahl and his commitment to Travel Agents. Can you please expand on the agent commissions you offer?
We welcome and embrace the travel agent market with open arms. We have made a consistent, standard 10% commission available at all our properties and accommodation styles, all year round. We will also be offering higher commissions for some select dates where we have some extra inventory.

Many agents are excited to experience your facilities. Do you offer agent rates? 
We do, our properties are open for any travel agent interested in a site tour. $99 per person per night includes 1 night, 3 meals, tour of the property and of course access to all of Woodloch’s endless activities, amenities and entertainment. Offer excludes holidays and is subject to availability of course.

Thank you for your time Laurie. We look forward to learning more during your webinar!

This week's MAC Chat features our interview with MailPound's October MVP, Harini Narasimhan of American Express Travel.  

Why did you decide to become involved in the travel industry and were you in a different industry prior? 
My degree is in journalism and English and for many years I was an ESL teacher. It was a very rewarding career and worked great when my kids were young. During this time, I was also able to do outside sales for leisure travel for my friends and family.

Currently my career with American Express Business Travel allows me to continue my passion for helping others in my work life. I do a lot of volunteer work in my personal life and have always carried my passion into my work life. After all, we spend the bulk of our waking hours at work five days a week and with this job, I have the opportunity to help someone every hour, every day. 

If a client is stranded in an airport, or sick while travelling or any one of a million scenarios that occur daily- with every action, there’s an opportunity to use my knowledge to help out which gives me tremendous job satisfaction. Take for example- by selling preferred vendors, I am enabling my employer and vendors to build market share and prosper. In my travel career spanning over 28 years, I have evacuated people, helped doctors reach remote areas, arranged for transportation of remains, coordinated large, fun reunions, and met people of various temperaments.

Some people I meet are so unhappy in their jobs and only believe that being a doctor, nurse or work in the medical field is the only way to help others.
I disagree!! 

One can help others in any field of work if one dedicates every action into the act of helping. It does not have to be a dramatic gesture.

I took early retirement from work 4 years ago and was at home. One night, I got a call at 2 am from a close friend whose dad was dying in India. I felt so helpless, not being able to help out (no Sabre set at home after retirement) though I had the travel knowledge! At 5am PT, I called my wholesaler on the East Coast, and got my friend on a flight at 9am PT. He was very grateful and managed to reach Chennai and see his dad before he passed on. 

At that moment, I decided to get back to work in the travel business since I realized that I could still continue to help others in this field. In fact, my salary helps me with all my volunteer work - which makes it a win-win situation!

Knowledge is only good if one shares it and uses it to help others.

What was the biggest obstacle (if any) that you had to overcome in the beginning of your career as a travel professional?
Since I started with outside sales and leisure bookings, finding clients was a challenge initially. Then finding the time to research each detail for custom trips became a challenge- since I did still have a full time job as an ESL teacher!
But the biggest hurdle I faced was separating work from my social life. Every friend was a client, and conversations at social or religious events would invariably turn to business with questions like” So, what is the best airfare to xxxx- we are thinking of going there in xxxx “and I had to learn how to gently maneuver my way out of making it the focus of our conversation!!!!

What is the best marketing technique that you use to reach your clients and how do you get them to become repeat clients? 
I used to write a chatty style newsletter which my clients looked forward to every week- and I could spotlight the item with the best discounts and commissions (remember those days when we got commission!!!)
Currently, in this internet age, we have to be “Consultants” not order takers. To maintain clients, we stick to good old fashioned excellent customer service - and making our team indispensableJ.

What is the most challenging aspect of this industry for you? 
* I also believe that while "online" is definitely the cheaper channel for travelers, it does not yield the cheapest product, nor the best value. Clients tend to make mistakes on self booking tools and ask us to fix the mess! 
* Staying current in an internet frenzied world.
* We need to grow enough young talent to replace the specialized counselors in the industry.

What do you enjoy the most about this industry and what is your best advice for travel agents just beginning their career?
With careful analysis, and after trying out both leisure and business travel, I consciously chose the path for business travel. The fact that corporate travel is unpredictable and not by choice (unlike leisure trips) is a challenge I really enjoy. I tend to utilize many tools and reports available at American Express to make a positive impact on a person’s day by ensuring a smooth trip. 

My best advice to the newcomers in this industry is to take time to figure out whether you like leisure or corporate travel. Drill down to the various aspects/niche markets/specialties and build your future on the aspect you really enjoy. Then focus your energy in that direction. When you enjoy your job, it reflects in your demeanor and voice and the enthusiasm you project is the best sales tool you can find!

To every newcomer who is coming into the travel business for the glamour or the free perks, I would like to say:
“Come for the tremendous job satisfaction you will get from helping others every day".

This week's MAC Chat features our interview with MailPound's September MVP, Vivian Villena of MWR ITR LEISURE TRAVEL.  

Why did you decide to become involved in the travel industry and were you in a different industry prior? 
With a father in the military traveling was not unusual. My mother had a passion for travel and adventure. One of the greatest lessons I learned from my mother is that wherever you go don’t look at what’s NOT there to see look at what opportunities to see that this location has to offer you with regards to history, entertainment and education. Because of that I have never been somewhere that I didn’t find something to see or participate in during my visit or stay. However, my original plans were to be an outside sales agent to work from home while I focused on a full time music career. I allowed “life” to get in the way and put my music career aside. Although I am still involved with music it is not to the extent I had originally planned and my passions are with offering my travel services and experience to our military community.

What was the biggest obstacle (if any) that you had to overcome in the beginning of your career as a travel professional?
The biggest challenge early in my career was lack of knowledge and experience. I was just about to turn 20 when I started my career so I was always referred to as the “new kid.” In addition, we didn’t have the internet accessible to us like we do now. So, finding resource information was attending seminars, meetings and asking questions of my colleagues. Now, I can practically “Google” everything. However, I still rely on the knowledge and experience of colleagues to help me in areas I am unfamiliar.

What is the best marketing technique that you use to reach your clients and how do you get them to become repeat clients? 
There really is no “best” since our clients our constantly in transition. Most military installations have a representative available to assist them on their leisure travel plans. Although I have the ability and opportunity to continue working with clients even when they transition our focus is to promote the local facility at their new base to assist them. This maintains a level of teamwork and shows our military families and community that we are not trying to compete for business against our sister bases. 

Most of my clients do not contact me unless something has gone wrong. In that sense, I’ll consider the expression, “No news is good news.” The other way I know my customers are happy with my service is when they come back again or they pass the word to a friend/family to contact me for a booking. Anytime I have had customers ask if they think they can find a better price elsewhere, my answer always, “YES.” However, I follow it by explaining to them that they have the choice of having themselves a few extra dollars at the sake of losing valuable time in their life to do other things they would likely enjoy more. By allowing myself to handle their travel plans tells me they are happy with my service and expect a great value for what they have paid, based on what I sold them.

What is the most challenging aspect of this industry for you? 
One of the great lessons I have learned to take on is focusing on looking an opportunity versus a challenge. People may view the fact that we do not have a CRS to book airline reservations for customers where I see the opportunity to offer air tickets in conjunction with a package. By doing so, I am able to earn commission for hotel, car, added options and insurance. The nice thing is when that happens is the customer tells me they were trying to piece it together themselves online and now they don’t have to worry since I did the work for them. The only challenge I see at this point in my career is when it comes time for my soldier to transfer to another base is whether or not that installation has an opening for me to continue the job I do now as I can truly say that it is the best career I have had till now.

What do you enjoy the most about this industry and what is your best advice for travel agents just beginning their career?
The opportunity to sell the world! J  

My best advice to agents starting their career is one I’ve taught many agents starting their career, “Learn to answer the customer’s questions before they even know what is the question.” A good example is when it comes to a customer choosing to purchase the air offered by the cruise line explain to them why they should consider choosing an air deviation. The explanations I have given many a time over are in their ability to know what airline they are confirmed on far enough in advance to obtain seat assignments which may not normally be available to them until approximately 30 days prior to sailing. In many cases, 30 days prior the seat choices are limited and can cause an even greater challenge when people want to sit together. Another example is when a customer calls asking for the “cheapest” room type or category you can easily upsell them when you explain what “cheapest” may mean and what the price difference is to them (most times breaking it down to a daily or per person cost) allows them to see they are getting a great value with the upgrade. Most people really don’t want “cheapest” they want the best value that their money offers them.

This week's MAC Chat features our interview with MailPound's August MVP, Jason Izzi of VIP Vacations, Inc.  

Why did you decide to become involved in the travel industry and were you in a different industry prior? 
I became involved by accident. I was planning several trips while in high school, and really enjoyed it. As time went on it became a passion to be a part of making great memories for my clients. I was in the customer service industry my whole life.

What was the biggest obstacle (if any) that you had to overcome in the beginning of your career as a travel professional?
I think my biggest obstacle was finding a host company I could trust. I only had to go through one before finding my current company. I signed on with VIP Vacations Inc. and that has been the best decision of my travel career. I can honestly say that I work with the best team in the travel industry.

What is the best marketing technique that you use to reach your clients and how do you get them to become repeat clients? 
I use several. I use the social media outlets that are available, and have had some positive outcomes with them. I also do several mailings a year with my sales letters. I advertise in the local papers and the wedding sections of those papers. I still find that word of mouth is the best.

What is the most challenging aspect of this industry for you? 
I would say the state of our economy. Although, this year has been good so far I still think people have in their head that it is too expensive to travel. If they only knew the deals out there I feel they would reconsider. Everybody needs to take a vacation, all work and no play is not healthy.

What do you enjoy the most about this industry and what is your best advice for travel agents just beginning their career?
I enjoy turning my clients travel dreams into lifelong memories. My passion is working with a client to meet their budget and overcoming all obstacles in the way of that once in a lifetime vacation. What makes all of this possible is working with a great team. I believe that I work for the best travel agency in the industry in Vip Vacations Inc. They truly are the best at what we do. I am lucky to work for them.

My advice to new agents is to educate yourself about the industry. Find a company that you can trust and that will help you along. There are many companies that will collect a big fee and then you will be left on your own. Last but certainly not least is follow up! Do not leave your clients and potential clients hanging. Follow up with them either through email, text, or a phone call. Don't be afraid to ask for help.