3 things to know about the travel advisor client
Building a successful travel advisor business starts with understanding your clients — what they want, what they value, and what keeps them coming back. But these types of insights are often limited. To bridge this gap, we looked deeper into the habits and preferences of travelers who use advisors for you to better meet their needs.
We conducted a 10-country custom survey with Wakefield Research that looked at patterns and trends across 5,000 travelers who used a travel advisor in the last 18 months. In this article we identified three key insights on travel advisor clients to help support your business. For more insights, be sure to read the full report, Decoding the Travel Advisor Client.
1. Turning to the experts to save time
There are plenty of reasons people choose a travel advisor instead of planning trips themselves, but two stand out: saving time and benefiting from expert advice. Travelers value the convenience of having a professional handle the details and trust an advisor's expertise to create a seamless, well-planned experience they may not be able to do on their own. 
Tip:
Highlight your expertise and proven success in delivering exceptional trips to attract new and existing clients. Emphasize how you handle every detail of trip planning so your clients save time and have a personalized, stress-free travel experience.
2. Drawn to deals
Travelers turn to advisors for their expertise and the added support they provide throughout the trip planning and booking process. Travelers especially value knowing that they’re getting the best deals and savings that would be harder to find on their own. In fact, 51% of travelers said they compare prices from their travel advisor with what they find online, so it’s important to provide them with the best deals. 
Tip:
Make sure you’re providing deals and special offers to retain current clients and attract new clients to your business. Learn how to book a competitive package rate with Expedia TAAP and be confident that you’re giving your clients the best rate.
3. Loyalty isn't a given
Building loyalty through great service and communication is an essential part of any successful business. There is a loyal group of travelers who appreciate consistency — 38% have stayed loyal to a single travel advisor in the past five years — and stay with those who offer expertise, good deals, and excellent support. On the other side, limited options, poor value, and missed deals are top reasons they switch advisors. 
Tip:
To maintain loyalty, it’s important to consistently deliver personalized, high-quality experiences and customer service with clear benefits, like exclusive deals, expert recommendations, and hassle-free planning. From the start, ask your clients about their communication preferences and set clear expectations for updates and response times to ensure their needs are met. To learn more on loyalty, take a look at our series of free marketing e-books.