Jessica Scott. (Source: Jessica Scott)
Travel Advisor Success Stories focus on savvy advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Jessica Scott, founder of Alpenglow Travel.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
I started my career as an investment banker in New York City, but after five years working in finance and not loving what I did day in and out, I ultimately decided to follow my passion for exploring the world and sharing those experiences with others.
I discovered that my attention to detail, my knack for planning and my extensive personal experiences around the globe were well-suited for a career in the travel industry. I took a leap of faith to follow my passion and accepted a job at a luxury vacation club, Inspirato, back in my home state of Colorado.
I played a pivotal role in pioneering and managing an innovative new hotel partnership program. I was responsible for vetting properties, negotiating deals and overseeing relationships with renowned hospitality partners around the world. This experience equipped me with a wealth of invaluable insights and widespread connections around the globe.
After five years at Inspirato, driven to share my wealth of knowledge and personal passion for travel with others, I decided to venture out on my own and launched my first company, J. Scott Travel, in 2021. Four years later, I’ve grown my team and rebranded under the name Alpenglow Travel to better align with my expanding business.
How did you build your business over the years?
Since I launched my business in 2021, immediately following the COVID travel shutdown, I was a bit hesitant to aggressively market my business right off the bat. That said, I started by booking travel for friends and family, and from there, things grew quite organically, mainly through referrals. Referrals and word of mouth have been the foundation of growth for my business.
It is amazing how one good client can lead to an expansive network of referrals and phenomenal business. Besides referrals, staying active on social media – specifically Instagram – has been a surprisingly strong tool for lead generation and also for keeping my business top-of-mind with existing clients.
As my business continues to grow, I have brought on several sub-independent contractors and partner agents with whom I am working on some very exciting new business development opportunities!
What characteristics make you a successful advisor?
I think the most important factor that has led to my success as an advisor is my willingness to go the extra mile for clients. Beyond providing clients with expert travel guidance, consistent service and added benefits, I always aim to go above and beyond to ensure that I deliver a travel experience that is unique and meaningful to them.
Scott noted that referrals and word of mouth have been the foundation of growth for her business. (Source: Jessica Scott)
No two clients are the same, so no two trips should be the same. Since each person is unique and experiences the world in their own way, when it comes to planning travel, not only do I invest time in understanding my clients’ specific preferences and desires, but I also get to know them personally. This allows me to thoughtfully plan and customize each experience in a unique and meaningful way. I believe my highly personalized approach and attention to detail are what keep clients coming back and lead to strong referral business as well.
On top of that, I always reach out to the hotel and/or supplier that I’m working with to ensure my clients are well-looked after – whether that means sharing clients’ personal preferences, passing along a special photo to have in their room upon arrival or requesting that the hotel GM greet them personally. These extra touches may seem small, but they make a world of difference in the client experience!
What have been your greatest challenges?
What I find to be most challenging in this industry is maintaining boundaries and a work-life balance. It seems all too common for agents in our industry to experience burnout and feel like they never have a break. As a busy mother of two young boys and often being on the go myself, I can certainly sympathize with this. It can be extremely tricky to navigate being responsive and attentive to clients while also balancing family and personal life.
By the nature of our jobs as advisors, we are somewhat on call, whenever and wherever. With time-sensitive requests, deadlines and ever-evolving customer demands, it can be easy to feel swamped and to never ‘turn off.’ That said, I realize the importance of maintaining a balance between my personal time and my professional responsibilities/ambitions. While I am still working on finding the perfect harmony between my business needs and personal well-being, I have tried to implement structure and tools that support my schedule and broader life goals.
What have your greatest accomplishments been?
In 2024, I was named a “Rising Star” by Travel + Leisure and the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) and had the opportunity to attend ILTM Cannes, where I was recognized for the achievement.
At the conference, I also had the chance to meet with some of the best and brightest minds in the industry. I shared my thoughts on industry trends, best practices and business insights in front of some of the industry’s top GMs, sales directors and heads of brands, while also gaining incredible advice from them.
The travel industry is built on the foundation of trust and partnerships, so being recognized and forming personal connections with individuals at that high level is invaluable and will undoubtedly be beneficial for myself, my business and my clients moving forward.
What tips can you provide advisors new to the industry?
Find what systems work for you and establish them early on, before you get overwhelmingly busy. I consider myself somewhat lucky with my timing since I officially launched my business coming out of COVID, so I was essentially forced to start slow. This allowed me time to really focus on implementing systems and processes that made sense for my business and helped me work efficiently.
We juggle a lot as advisors, so having clear platforms, standard operating procedures and helpful systems in place that make our day-to-day work easier to manage and more efficient which is key to operating successfully. Though I continue to evolve my best-practices, operations and systems as my business grows and my needs change, I’ve realized that it is worth investing the time, money and effort on this early on.
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