Carol Rowland (Source: Carol Rowland)
Travel Advisor Success Stories focus on veteran advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Carol Rowland, CTC, principal and director of tour operations at Recess 4 Grownups Travel.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
I actually traveled very little as a kid, and as an adult, it was mostly for work. I planned some celebration-type cruises for our 20th and 25th anniversaries and a detailed itinerary in New York for my mom’s 75th birthday, and my cousin said, ‘You really should do this as a business.’
I really didn’t think it was a viable, as I was doing very well in the corporate world. But I saw so many colleagues working excessive hours or getting ill, and I didn’t want to end up like many of them.
I did enjoy researching destinations and traveling, and decided to dabble in it on the side in 2010. As I got into the training and learning of what goes on behind the scenes, I totally loved it and got more serious about it.
While I had a full-time job as a manager at IBM, I planned a few individual trips, but I really could not focus on that as a path of growth because of my limited availability. Because my husband went to the Naval Academy, I was aware that Navy and Notre Dame were going to play their college football season opener in Dublin in 2012. I thought, ‘Well, maybe I can put together a little group for the Ireland game,’ and then I thought, ‘I might as well do a big group.’
This really speaks to the blessing of being new and not knowing enough about what you’re doing to be afraid of it – because I ended up having 200 people travel to Ireland for the tours I put together around that football game.
How did you build your business over the years?
I became a specialist in groups and Ireland and developed the niche of American college football in Ireland. I also worked with friends and referrals on individual trips. I worked my travel business part time, and then in 2014, I laid myself off from IBM and have been full-time ever since then.
The college football games in Ireland were a nice opportunity, as they were scheduled every two years for a while. In 2014, Penn State played the University of Central Florida in Dublin, and then in 2016, it was Georgia Tech and Boston College. I went to Tech, and I live in Atlanta. I was thinking that I was going to have a really huge opportunity, but that was not really the case. Tech doesn’t have a great traveling fanbase.
However, in planning for that trip, I discovered that the pastor of our church and another priest were planning a Catholic pilgrimage trip to Ireland at the same time as the game because they had a number of Tech fans.
I knew these priests had worked with a national pilgrimage company for the last nine years, and I had previously planned a small pilgrimage for a unique event in Italy, so I met with the pastor, and as expected, he was going to stay with the same company.
But because I had all of the connections and expertise in Ireland and already had hotel space and a contract for game tickets, ultimately, the two priests did come back to me to talk about what I might be able to do for their trip since it was around the game timeframe.
That created an opportunity for me to focus more on Catholic pilgrimages, which is an area in which I’ve grown considerably. I create custom-designed itineraries that mix spiritual sites with top sightseeing locations, and travelers feel they get to experience so much more than they could see on their own.
The pilgrimages have been fulfilling to me personally as I research various religious sites and patron saints related to the destination, and it’s been a key focus for my groups business as the priests tend to plan a pilgrimage every one-to-two years.
Besides the pilgrimages, I created a variety of additional group trips based on my own interests, like going to Antarctica on an expedition, or from suggestions from friends and clients, like a trip for women to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
The group trips have expanded my list of clients in an organic manner, as people would travel with my groups, and then would come back to me for their individual trips like a river cruise or FIT Europe vacations. My presence traveling with my groups creates a closer relationship that leads to those follow-on trip requests and referrals.
What characteristics make you a successful advisor?
I tend to think in processes, and I love to think through the experience the client will have in the destination – not just the sights, but the ease of travel. I’m very detail-oriented, so I look for the elements to ensure the trip has a comfortable, feel-good flow filled with the top sights, unique experiences based on their personal interests and hobbies, and with a mix of the little-known local immersions.
What have been your greatest challenges?
I would say that my biggest challenge has been just keeping up with the volume of work and not getting too caught in the weeds. Because I am so detail-oriented, that can slow things down. I’m working on tricks and techniques to simplify and introduce efficiencies, and use more systems and automation within my business without losing the personal connection.”
What are your greatest accomplishments?
I think my greatest accomplishments have been to consistently be recognized as a top performer in my host agency, Nexion, through their Circle of Excellence program and invitations to the President’s Circle trips. I’ve been invited to speak at Cruise World a number of times as a session speaker on groups and in a general session. Invitations to join the Travel ALLIES Society and to the 1000 Club have all been accomplishments that I’m very proud of.
What tips can you provide advisors new to the industry?
I think the biggest thing is to really take the time to create a well-planned system to organize all of the information and data that comes your way. You feel like you’re going to remember that fabulous café, that top-notch guide, the location of that great boutique hotel, but with the volume of information coming at you continuously, you don’t.
I think part of keeping up with information is developing a really good habit of constantly adding information to your system – every single day. When you are traveling, or you’re on a fam, and you go to a great restaurant, or you have a wonderful tour, or you meet a hotel manager, how are you going to track that data and those connections, not just now, but five years from now? How are you going to be able to find that information?
Relationships and connections are key in this industry. You have to have a very reliable way to keep up with all that information, recommendations and experiences that you want to incorporate into the trip planning you do for your clients.
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