In our business, high end ground transportation, it’s fairly common for our clients to book through a travel agent or agency. These folks are busy jetting around the world doing their business, so it’s more efficient for them to have someone take care of these details. Of course, it’s not necessary to use a travel agent to book with us, anybody can simply pick up the phone.

And sometimes new clients have approached us about using travel agents and if we have any recommendations. While we try to stay neutral in these affairs, based on your individual circumstance, sometimes we are able to make a recommendation. However, for the general public, finding a travel agent can be a hit or miss situation. Many travel agents do a good enough job at what they do, but when you’re a frequent luxury traveler, you’re going to want to use someone good; someone who can get to know you well and your preferences and help make a real difference in your travel planning.

7 Personality Traits of Great Travel Agents

So how does one go about this? It takes a lot of research, and sometimes trial and error. I also always recommend seeking out personal recommendations. But when you’re searching on your own, you’re going to want to keep a look out for certain traits that indicate that this is a quality professional. Here are a couple of our suggestions on what to look for:

1. Dependable

This trait actually encompasses several helpful human traits, such as being reliable, punctual (getting you information in a timely manner, being detail oriented) and for that matter being accurate- getting you the correct information. The bottom line is that you want an agent is competent, but that is really a mere starting point. But after you’ve worked with people who are inexperienced or just plain incompetent, you will quickly realize the value and meaning of true competence: that is really knowing your stuff and being able to reproduce those result time and time again, no matter the client.

2. Passionate

Of course to be successful in this industry you have to passion and be enthusiastic about what you do. In this business, there’s a lot of mind numbing details to follow up on, as well as plenty of repetition as well. But the end result, which ultimate is the delighting the client, but also the real world product, enjoying the splendor of the national parks, or the history-drenched cities of Europe, or the amazing cuisines that one encounters traveling the world, there is so much really to be excited about. Also I think a big part of conveying that passion to clients  is having the self-confidence in yourself and your skills and in being out-going,  as well as the professional knowledge to back up the passion. That is a winning combination that clients will pick up on, and want to be a part of.

3. Specializes

Being a travel agent is sometimes like being a jack of all trades. There is so much ground to cover ( literally the world!) that no one person or company can cover it all. Many times agents have to be good generalist, because they are bound to encounter a wide range of clients.  Yet the only realistic solution to the overwhelming abundance of possibilities is to  specialize. Every good agent should have some kind of specialty, an area or topic that they can show world class expertise in.  Some agents become so specialized that they end up serving only one particular area, like say, China, which is a big enough topic in itself. If they can support enough business that way, then there’s no need to do anything else. People who share the agent’s interest or expertise will seek those individuals out to get the most accurate and up to date information.

4. Good at building long-term relationships

I think this is a real key point for all successful travel agents. If they are going to build a successful business long term, they are going to require a large stable of clients with whom they have an in-depth relationship. Clients, who they’ve known for years, who keep coming back to their travel agent because of the good service they receive, regardless of the changing itineraries. One cannot really serve a client well if they are just a name in a folder. Travel is such a personal experience which encompasses so many different services. One really has to know a client well to be able to suggest superior itineraries and satisfying trips. Building  those relationships takes a lot of work. One has to be friendly and honest but also have a real desire to help people and to serve clients. This after all, a completely service dependent job. The agent really has to sell his or her self to the client, because they are the product. Just like choosing a real estate agent, there are thousands to choose from, so for an individual to really grow their business, they need to be able to stand out, and show the client that value that they bring the first time out.

5. Insightful to Customers’ Value

This is a really important point that good travel agents need to get. There is a big difference between the two. Good value is something that is appropriate and pleasing to a client, regardless of the actual price tag, and cost is of course, just the price. One could sell a really cheap trip, or even an expensive one to a client, but if it is not really what they want, then it isn’t a good value no matter the cost. Good agents won’t try to upsell you to something you can’t afford. There’s no point in that and it’s just a sales gimmick. A good travel agent will orient a client from the beginning to the best and most personally appropriate travel package that that client can afford. If the initial price is not in the client’s comfort zone, then there is always the possibility of scaling back.

6. Willing to Go the Extra Mile

This is a golden quality to have in a travel agent because sometimes, even the most carefully laid plans can go askew. When that happens, like terrible weather or an act of God spoils your vacation plans, you may already be in a foreign country or have invested a lot of time and money into the trip. When things go south, you really need an advocate on your side and someone who knows how to get you out of trouble and can quickly re-assemble new plans at a moment’s notice.

7. Authentic

This can be a hard to quantify quality, but it’s something that clients will pick up on intuitively and right away. An authentic travel agent is one who doesn’t just talk the talk but also walks the walk. This isn’t a person that’s just trying to push a random product on somebody because it’s available or because there’s some quota to fill. Authenticity means that the agent really does know the places they’re talking about, have been there, experienced the accommodations and services that they are recommending, from a consumer’s point of view. It also means that if the agent is selling an experience, like an eco vacation in Costa Rica or an authentic cultural experience in China like the Chinese Opera, that this person is truly enthusiastic about it and has invested personal energy into it, like maybe knowing a foreign language, or knows the ins and outs of the experience from an expert’s point of view.