A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Erica Carr stumbled into travel in 2019, booking a jaw-dropping 100 trips her first year … just in time for the worldwide pandemic. But ain’t no pandemic stopping this lady. Nope, Erica and her team of three employees are on track to bring in $2.2M in sales for 2022!

Bookitbox TRAVEL is a luxury travel agency with a spin. Every client gets a box pre-departure with travel info and gifts personalized to their unique itinerary. As they say at Bookitbox, “All boxed up and TSA approved.” Join us as we take a peek inside her boxes and Erica shares why she thinks the boxes have been so instrumental in helping her agency grow. 

Oh, and copy cats. Most of us face them at one time or another. As you’ll find out, Erica is entirely transparent in what she does with the boxes and how it’s helped. So how does she deal with other businesses taking pages from her playbook? It might surprise you! 😊 

We’ll chat with Erica on how she made the transition from never having really traveled in the high-end luxury space ended up opening a successful agency that has a $10k minimum spend for clients. She’ll share with us her approach of ‘loving on her clients’ and how she surprises clients throughout their journey with small gifts and unexpected touchpoints.  

We’ll also touch on how she used the pandemic to systematize her agency so that coming out of the pandemic, she saw hockey stick growth in her sales. Through all this, she grew her team of employees throughout the US. If you’re wondering how to manage a remote team and hire the right people for your agency without being able to be in the same office, Erica has some tips for you on that too. 

Settle in and get ready as we take a deep dive into yet another success agency owner’s story!

****** Special thanks to our sponsor, Levarte Travel: https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts/levarte-travel ******

 ****** Transcript + Show Notes: https://har.news/vol24

Travel Agent Chatter

Trascript + Show Notes

Vol 24 | $0 to 2.2M in 4 (pandemic) years. Surprise travel box w/goodies for clients. Meet Erica!

In episode 147 Steph co-hosts with Lori Speers of Levarte Travel. Here’s a quick look at the three questions they cover this week. 
1.	I found a host agency which fits with my requirements but they don't have any reviews on host agency reviews. Is it okay or not to work with host agencies without any reviews on their profile?  --Meseret G.
2.	Is there an advantage to working with a host agency that has a storefront? Could you also please explain what the “Host Type” is on the HAR profiles. What is “Host Only”
 and what is “Hybrid (Host & Travel Agency)”? It’s my understanding that all host agencies are travel agencies.  --Anonymous
3.	Before I get started with my confusion I would like to tell you what an amazing job you and your team do!!! So thank you! (Aw, thank you!) I love organizing experiences and adventures. This is where I'm stuck at a crossroads; I want to start working and become more knowledgeable in the industry by working at a host agency, but I’m not quite ready to leap out on my own yet. I'm not sure which host would be the best fit for me as someone that has never done this before and would love to start this new adventure. - Stephanie U. 





TODAY’S RESOURCES:

https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/independent-travel-agent-contracts (What to look for in your contract with your host agency)

https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts (List of host agencies w/meta data on if they are a host or hybrid)
https://har.news/roadmap (ASTA’s roadmap to becoming a travel advisor course)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/host-week (Host Week! Party! YAY! )
https://hostagencyreviews.com/7-day-setup-accelerator (HAR’s course walking you through how to find a host, with community support, live Q&A calls and live expert calls)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/tips-on-how-to-find-the-best-travel-host-agency (Tips on how to find the best host agency for you)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/find-a-travel-niche (Finding a niche article with some brainstorming guides)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-training-travel-agent-education  (Training and education options for ICs )
https://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-conferences-events (In person events, webinars, conferences, FAMs, etc.)

Ask Your Questions

(147) HAR-reviewed HAs Only? Host Agencies vs. Travel Agencies? Just Starting and Need Direction!

We’ve got two listening delights for you on this channel, folks! 😲 

The first is Travel Agent Chatter (TAC), a spotlight interview of a wide variety of travel advisors that we publish every quarter. 

The second is our shorter, but more frequent Friday 15 series, where every Friday we answer your travel industry questions for — you guessed it — 15 minutes!

Travel Agent Chatter -- a Host Agency Reviews audio series -- talks about all things travel. We specialize in-depth interviews with travel agents from all walks of life.

Whether you’re a new or experienced travel advisor, we help you up your game by sharing where other travel agencies have found success and offering inspiring stories from the front lines!

Transcripts, videos and show notes of the TAC episodes can be found at https://hostagencyreviews.com/TAC

And every Friday at 12pm CT we publish the Friday 15 to our TAC feed. It’s 15 minutes over the lunch hour, where we answer your travel industry questions. Submit your questions and watch videos of the Friday 15 at https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15.

Travel Agent Chatter and the Friday 15 are hosted by Steph Lee, the founder of the website Host Agency Reviews and travel industry veteran. She's insatiably curious. A lover of travel, writing, gardening & the stars. Most importantly, she ♥'s her dogs, Fennec and Orion!

(147) HAR-reviewed HAs Only? Host Agencies vs. Travel Agencies? Just Starting and Need Direction!

Travel Agent Chatter :and: Friday 15

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