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Monthly Archives

April 2020

April 16, 2020
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Travel Specialist Makes Custom Face Masks During COVID-19 Pandemic

By | Article, Blogs, Business, Fashion, Industry, Tips & Tricks, Vacations

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want. – Zig Ziglar

That is exactly what one of our travel specialist did. She helped enough people get what they want. Actually, it was more of what they needed and less of what they wanted.

Covid-19 – It blindsided us and flipped our world upside down. Those of us in the travel industry have seen a halt on everything. For the last month and a half travel agents have mostly been putting out fires, canceling trips, and rescheduling trips for later dates.

Staying proactive in this time is key for getting through to the other side. You can’t put your travel business on hold and wait for this to pass. You have to continue training yourself and thinking of clever ways to provide your service.

One of our Travel Specialist found a way to supply a need in her community and promote her travel business.

Roberta Jarrett holds no title. She is a “Jack of all Trades” or Jill. She sells travel like crazy, she has completely renovated houses by herself, and now she’s sewing custom face masks.

Since March 14th she has made and mailed over 700 masks. (as I’m writing this, I’m sure that number has greatly increased) Roberta is located in Michigan, but has shipped masks as far as Arizona and California. She has donated well over 150 masks to her local medical facilities, nurses, and group homes.

“I’ve literally been making masks 12 to 16 hours a day at my dining table.”

She has now expanded her product line and she’s getting requests for scrub caps.

I know what you’re thinking. She has abandoned her travel business to become a seamstress. That’s not the case and that is definitely not the Roberta way. Every order and every donation that she fulfills gets her business card. (her travel business card)

Think about it. Who is she sending these masks to?

She’s sending masks to the people on the front lines. The people who have dedicated hours of their days to help the sick. To the people who are putting their own health at risk. And these fine folks are going to need a vacation when this is all over.

Thanks to Covid-19, we know that online booking sites can’t be trusted. Naturally, this is going to have people looking for a real person (travel agent) to handle their vacation needs. Who do you think these people are going to turn to when they’re ready to plan a vacation?

You guessed it, Roberta!

Roberta didn’t let a negative situation stop her travel business. She adapted and turned it into a positive. Who knows, maybe she gained more potential clients from making masks than she would have if Covid-19 never even happened.

Contact Roberta for masks or just to give her kudos: Via Facebook or Text/Call: 313-926-3840

April 9, 2020
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The Coffee Routine of a Superstar Travel Agent

By | Article, Blogs, Food, Tips & Tricks

The Coffee Routine of a Superstar Travel Agent

If tea is your thing, this might not be for you. If you’re into trying new things, this will be for you.

Coffee, it can be enjoyed in many different ways. There’s drip coffee, stove top, pour over, aeropress, french press, cold brew, campfire percolated, moka pot, and the list goes on.

In order to appreciate this article you have to understand the three types of coffee drinkers.

Type 1. This person has a hectic life. Their preferred method of caffeine injection is stopping by a coffee shop to have someone else make it for them.

Type 2. This person has a little bit more control of their life. They press a button on the trusty coffee maker and voilà. Hot, ready coffee.

Type 3. This person doesn’t drink coffee for the caffeine. They drink coffee for the experience – for the process. Type 3’s usually grind fresh, organic, fair-trade beans right before adding it to either a french press, aeropress, or pour over. They’re okay with waiting for the water to boil and waiting for the coffee to steep or drip through. It’s all done for the love of the process.

I am type 3. The method I’ll be explaining will yield the best result if you follow each step. However, know that this can be done for type 1 or type 2 folk. This tried and tested caffeine elixir that I’ll be sharing has been my go-to morning drink for well over 6 years. It has provided mental clarity, energy, and over all great feelings. If you’re going to be in COVID Quarantine, you might as well be drinking an amazing cup of coffee. (after all, you now have the time on your hands to do so).

The Coffee Routine of a Superstar Travel Agent

This recipe is for a 16oz cup. The brew method will be French press. (purchase one here: https://amzn.to/39S51Tn)

Step 1. Boil the water. Either on stove top, or an electric kettle. Loss of volume to steam may occur. Make sure to boil a little more than 16 oz.

Step 2. In a manual or automatic burr grinder, grind 5-6 tbsp of fresh coffee beans. Add the grinds to the press. A medium roast is preferred, medium-dark is fine, and a dark roast will work if you enjoy things bitter. (Make sure the grind is coarse.)

Step 3. Bloom the grinds. With the press lid off, pour just enough water to cover the ground beans. Gently swirl the water around for 15 seconds. After swirling, let it sit for another 15 seconds.

Step 4. Slowly add the remaining water to the press. Let it steep for 3 minutes 30 seconds.

Step 5. While the coffee is steeping – in a blender add 1 tbsp of unsalted grass-fed butter and 1 tbsp of mct oil. (these two brands are preferred: Brain Octane or MCT OIL)

Step 6. After steeping, put the lid on and slowly press down on the plunger – pushing the grounds to the bottom of the press. Add coffee to the blender.

Step 7. Blend the coffee, butter, and mct oil mixture for about 30 seconds.

Step 8. Pour a delicious, frothy, creamy beverage into your favorite mug and enjoy.

 

Are you guys still with me? Are you totally freaked out by the fact that I told you to put butter and oil into your coffee? Ready for some Science?

Why Butter & Oil?

The caffeine crash. We all know it. Some contributing factors are us adding way too much sugar to our coffee, either in its natural state or hidden in creamers and milks.

The reason we add butter and oil to our coffee is most simply explained like this. The caffeine binds to the fats of the butter and oil and helps elongate the rise and fall of our caffeine high. If you pictured it on a graph, you’d see a smooth curve rather than a sharp spike, followed by a sharp downward fall. (a.k.a the crash)

Remember we’re talking about a high quality grass-fed butter like Kerrygold, not a tub of Country Crock soybean oil. And MCT oil or medium-chain triglycerides which are derived from coconuts. Medium-chain triglycerides are easy to digest and absorb into your bloodstream quickly which then turns into energy.

Like I mentioned above, this drink can be created in many ways. Brew the coffee however you like. The key is adding the quality butter and mct oil to your coffee and blending it.

I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try this coffee drink. What’s the worst that can happen, you might enjoy it? And you will definitely get a new surge of energy which will help power your travel business!

April 3, 2020
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Now Accepting Costco Travel Clients

By | Article, Blogs, Business, Industry, Vacations

Now Accepting Costco Travel Clients

“You can do 99 things for someone and all they’ll remember is the one thing you didn’t do.”

We can all agree that Costco does more than 99 things for their customers. Are there many other stores where you can buy reading glasses, an 85 inch tv, flowers, a years worth of gum, steak, garage storage, a pillow, kitchen appliances, 12 pounds of Cheez-its, books, running shorts, olive oil, bean bag chair, outdoor grill, 1000 paper plates, a gallon of vodka, new tires, and a vacation?

Costco does a lot. More than fathomable in this short read. However, due to COVID-19, Costco didn’t do that one thing and we all forgot about the 99 other things they do great.

That one thing has to do with their vacations division, Costco Travel. Because a true Costco customer just can’t get enough of Costco, it seems reasonable to believe that they would trust Costco with their vacation.

When COVID-19 hit us like a ton of bricks, the travel industry (along with others) came to – basically – a halt. With the new suggestions of not traveling internationally or even domestically, people started to cancel their much needed vacations.

All of the major brands like Costco Travel, BookIt, Expedia, Orbitz (you know who I’m talking about) started getting flooded with calls to cancel vacations. And who was placing these calls? Not travel agents. Customers. Everyday people were now acting as their own travel agent. They didn’t have anyone in their corner to sit on hold for hours and get the situation straightened out.

Now, I don’t have every single detail from every major brand, but I know that most were unreachable and some were not issuing any type of refund. Naturally, this has made many everyday travelers upset. I would be willing to bet that a lot of these people will now be Googling Travel Agent when it comes time to book their next vacation.

There are two things that will spike when COVID-19 has subsided.

1. People will definitely be purchasing travel insurance (commissionable).

2. People will be more likely to use a trusted Travel Agent for all their travel needs.

This is very good news that should be inspiring you to learn all you can now, so you can be ready when the flood gates open back up.

Attention! “We are now accepting Costco Travel clients!”