Marketing Can Make Any Trip Look Good
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Ever wonder why all the advertising you receive by mail or emails about a trip always looks so good?
Travel Companies pay big bucks to get their message across to you but it isn’t always correct.
So, let’s explore together and learn about why you need an advocate in today’s travel scene—not slick ads but reliable info--you won’t be disappointed!
Ads—Is there Truth in Advertising?
Good marketing can make even the poorest trip seem great. Why?—they always accentuate the positive, never mention the negative. To me, it is amazing how easily people can be fooled. Even smart, discriminating folks, can be fooled by fancy brochures and glossy pictures.
Most of us want to believe the best and trips are so emotional, and emotions often defy logic. The other real problem is how can you really differentiate between various vendors or offers? Only highly skilled and professionals know the subtle differences.
So, contrary to many pundits, a travel agent or advisor might help you evaluate and make better choices. We are not a dying breed, as some have written.
If anything drives this point home more about the value of a good travel advisor, the last two years of COVID restrictions, and defaults of suppliers, has turned the travel industry on its head.
In a environment of uncertainty, clear facts and guidance is more important than ever.
Aren’t Travel Agents or Advisors Basically All the Same?
Just like any professional services, some are a lot better than others. Again, that poses a problem—how do you know how to get the right advisor or agent?
Maybe we should now examine the differences between an agent and a true travel advisor.
What does a Travel Advisor do that is different than a travel agent?
To me a travel agent is an order taker—think online agencies or high-volume sales operations. Time is money to these folks, and they want a trip booking as fast as possible. Some agencies even limit the time they can spend with you before they move on to the next potential booking.
To say the least, this is not in your best interests.
A Travel Advisor has a different role. They add value to your trip by:
Having resources, connections, and the expertise to enhance your desired trip and take it from good to great.
They work with you in partnerships to provide experiences tailored to your desires, unique wishes, and within budget (if possible).
They are not afraid to advise you of the downfalls or potential problems of a trip or vendor—not forcing you to change but advising you if something might be better and why it is better.
They always have your best interests at heart.
They often have specialties that can even enhance their value to you
We were runner-up winners at the 2018 TravelAge West Gala awards for the Best Targeted Marketing Idea
Maybe the best way I can address this difference is to use a good way to evaluate us as travel advisors instead of travel agents. Most folks ask themselves 3 questions during the trip planning process about the person helping them, so let’s examine these questions from our point of view
3 Questions Most Folks Ask Themselves When Presented a Travel Offer
We are all overwhelmed with ads and offers daily. We also meet many folks who are selling to us. I’ll bet that most of us are thinking about 3 questions when they met a salesperson and are listening to their pitch.
They are: 1) Can I trust this person? 2) Do they know what they are talking about? 3) Do they care about me and what I need?
So, we want to enter the conversation you already having with yourself about these 3 questions—isn’t the mind a wonderful thing?. These 3 topics deserve a more detailed approach so you can decide if we should be your travel professionals.
Can I trust this Person?
Trust and integrity are valuable traits and, in my judgement, in short supply in our country. Too many make promises they can’t or won’t keep.
My whole life has been devoted to service after graduating from West Point—20 years as a US Army Officer, 20 years as a coach and teacher and 25+ years helping others travel to the right location.
My graduation from West Point 9 June 1971—wasn’t real sure I’d ever make it to that day!
Anne is equally dedicated to trust and integrity—she always thinks about what is best for our clients, every single time. She will always go the extra mile to exhaust all possibilities.
It would be impossible to tell all the good she does for our clients in this blog without veering off too far, but she does deserve more attention, so to learn more about her incredible achievements, here is a blog I wrote in 2019 about how really great a travel advisor she is—very appropriate and well deserved in the Women’s Month Recognition Celebration going on at present.
We think trust is the cornerstone of our relationship with you. We try to under promise and over deliver a great travel experience for you. We strive to make your travel experience better by helping you make wise choices, eliminate hassles, and help you get the best value for your money.
In short, while working with us, we want to provide a trip that will exceed your expectations.
Do they know what they are talking about?
With over 25+ years of experience selling travel to many satisfied clients, we know both what you need to make your travel experience better and the knowledge of what is available to match you with just the right vacation.
We have extensive first-hand knowledge and do comprehensive research on trips. We have planned hundreds of successful trips to delighted clients and we are eager to plan yours.
Like a little proof? Ask for one of our 50 Europe City travel guides by selecting them on our Europe Travel Web pages at www.dreamdestinations.com , or click on one of our many PowerPoint presentations on our website or visit our Resources Section of our website to get travel tips (www.dreamdestinations.com).
or visit our Pinterest page—over 5,000 pictures (www.pinterest.com/visitdd) .
Maybe one of our 51 European river cruise port guides—you can order them from our website on the river cruise section of our website (there is a limit if you haven’t booked with us yet to 2 free resources—booked clients have access to unlimited guides).
There is one common thread here—almost 98% is our own pictures or written by us—in truth, it would be hard to find many travel professionals who have been to so many of the places we sell.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know we know our stuff. As I used to say as a coach, when evaluating good football players, “he is the real deal!”
Well folks, we are the real deal!
Do they care about me and what I need?
We treat each of our clients as friends, because we don’t sell travel to clients—we sell travel to friends. There is a big difference—how your trip goes makes a world of difference to us. We like to say we are small enough to deliver personalize service but big and experience enough to get you just the right trip.
Christmas on the Rhine on an AmaWaterways cruise in our kilts for the Captain’s Dinner with our travel chums Denise and Mark.
Jeff (my West Point Classmate) and Hank on a Danube Cruise in the summer of 2018
We try to match you to just the right experience and make it logical, realistic, and affordable in your price range. Don’t get us wrong—we do not sell on price—we sell on value. You will never have a trip we plan without us asking why you are going and what you expect from going. Travel agents only care about the booking not the experience or quality of the trip.
Maybe you would like to know the differences between river cruise vendors. Since it is one of our specialties, why not read our European River Cruise Comparisons?—it is always on page one of Google.
We try to demonstrate how valuable you are to us in many ways but how many other travel professionals have a Traveler Hall of Fame?
We are proud we could help you and want to share with others your joy and satisfaction. Again, they are on our website—www.dreamdestinations.com and you will find it on the menu bar. Here are just a few—enjoy:
Mike and Barb on a Windstar cruise in 2021 at a candlelight dinner in Ephesus, Turkey
Boin Family 2015 Chichen Itza
Mary and Jack 2016 at Angor Watt
AmaWaterways Cruise 2017
What we do not do
Our goal is to provide you with information but not bombard you with offers you do not want. We really try to get to know you and match your desires to opportunities when they arise.
We are low-key and strive to provide the right info in a relaxed, no pressure situation. In my opinion, there is a big difference about being eager to be your travel professional and being an obnoxious salesperson.
We are eager to help but know the boundaries—the truth is we want to form a partnership with you—not sell you something.
It is as simple as this—we inform, you decide. We also realize you are busy, and we respect your time by trying to contact you in the form (phone, email or written) that works the best for you at the time that is the best for you. In short, we respect you!
Our Final Thoughts
We hope these words inspire you to become or continue our travel relationship.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
