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 151 Steph tackles some great questions with co-host Henley Vazquez from Fora! 

1.	I have my agency set up after going through your 7 Day Set Up program but now I’m lost on how to find clients and start advertising. I know there is no one way to do things, but what would you recommend for next steps once my agency has opened? I sent an email to my friends and family about my new agency and also set up social profiles.  –Anonymous

2.	I am looking for a host agency and I have never had one before. I have compared a ton on your site and I am feeling overwhelmed. What are the main things I should be looking for in a good host agency? Or should I start my own?  ---Judi N.

3.	I was just invited on my first fam trip! Do you have any advice on how to make the most of it or tips for a new travel agent going on their first fam? Thanks! ---Anonymous




TODAY’S RESOURCES:

https://hostagencyreviews.com/7DS-lite (HAR’s 7 Day Setup LITE is a free online course that helps you start your agency. It does not have support and takes you through resources to help you make things happen)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/7DS-accelerator (HAR’s 7 Day Setup Accelerator course with 70+ easily digestible videos, 48 exclusive resources, monthly live meetups with HAR team and others for support and accountability, priority email support)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts (List of host agencies.) 
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/tips-on-how-to-find-the-best-travel-host-agency (Advice on how to find the best host agency.)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-fam-trip (Travel Agent FAM Trips: What They Are + How to Find Them)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/how-travel-agents-can-make-the-most-of-a-cruise-ship-inspection (How Travel Advisors Can Make the Most of a Cruise Ship Inspection)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/how-travel-agents-can-make-the-most-of-a-cruise-ship-inspection (The Definitive Site Inspection Checklist)
https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/make-your-travel-conference-count (5 Ways to Make Your Travel Conference Count)

Ask Your Questions

(151) Opened agency – now what? Finding a good HA? FAM Trips!

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!

(151) Opened agency – now what? Finding a good HA? FAM Trips!

Travel Agent Chatter :and: Friday 15

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