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Eileen Saunders Travel Counsellors agent insight

How welcome advice can set agents apart...

Never be afraid of making suggestions to holidaymakers says Eileen Saunders from Travel Counsellors.

There are so many trade events taking place at the moment that hardly a day goes by without another invitation arriving in my inbox. 

I went along to a Caribtours evening, which was held about 10 minutes from where I live here in Essex but had a bit of a shock when I arrived ? there was nobody there. My first thought was that I must have got the dates mixed up and come on the wrong night but I very soon found out that I?d just arrived too early. I have to admit this was a bit of a first for me as I never arrive early! I had a really enjoyable evening and I learnt more about some of the fabulous destinations and hotels that Caribtours offer.

I?ve had a mixed bag of enquiries and bookings so far this year, including European city breaks, an Alaska cruise and a mountaineering trip to the Himalayas. 

When I phoned the client at work to discuss the Himalayas trip, he was in the process of arranging a business trip to Dubai. I asked if I could help and, fortunately, he was more than happy for me to take over the arrangements, so I ended up booking both his holiday and his business trip. My timing was just right on this occasion!

One of the city break enquiries I had was for eight nights in Lisbon in early September. Given the duration and the time of year, I made the suggestion to maybe split the time by spending a few of the days at a hotel by the beach at Cascais. The clients loved the idea and said it was something they would never have thought of doing.

I think clients always welcome our advice and recommendations ? after all, that?s what sets us apart from the internet ? so we should never be afraid of making suggestions or recommendations. If we ask the right questions and listen carefully to the responses, we can then use our experience and expertise to suggest the most suitable option and hopefully secure the booking.



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