My Life as a Travel Agent; 10 Years Later

Contributed by Cortney Pope, H&K Luxury Travel Advisor.

Well, I can’t believe it, but here we are. 10 years doing what I now consider to be my dream job. And here are 10 things I have learned over the past 10 years and in no particular order.

1. I am going to make mistakes. I am human. But I have learned to not panic and just work at getting them fixed.

2. It's ok to ask for help. A travel agent cannot know all there is to know about every destination. But I have a network of professionals to turn to for assistance.

3. Family and friends are not always going to become clients, and that is ok.

4. There is always something new to learn in this business. Training is critical to success.

5. Travel planning is not a 9-5 job and I have learned to still carve out time for family and faith.

6. I am not always the cheapest. Not every traveler values the service I provide and some will just want the cheapest price and that is ok because there will always be someone willing to be the cheapest.

7. I am not a booking engine (i.e. Expedia). I am a professional travel planner.

8. Many people do not read what you send them.

9. Learning my clients "likes" and dislikes" is incredibly important. That is something a booking engine cannot do.

10. I actually truly LOVE my job.

Thank you to all my clients for your continued support. I look forward to many more years of helping people plan the most amazing vacations possible.