Just sometimes a person, an idea, or a business service quickly captures one’s imagination and interest. Or sometimes it can be a combination of all three which makes one sit up and take notice. In this case, it is the idea of having a Personal Travel Manager.
Most of us are familiar with the old model of booking one’s travel arrangements; use your lunch breaks over a long period to find a travel agent, to grab handfuls of brochures; spending countless evenings poring over them; then returning to the travel agent’s office to discuss the nitty gritty of planning a holiday to some far-flung destination. Well, it would appear that the old model is outdated, thanks to what can either be described as ‘a disruptive business model’, or as a natural progression of an industry into very customer focused service. What made us sit up and take notice of this disruptive business model was an infectiously enthusiastic Traralgon girl Trish Clowes.
Trish works as a Personal Travel Manager. She is not bound by office walls or office hours. Trish will come to you. You can enjoy your lunch break and her company, as she helps you plan your dream holiday. If you prefer, Trish will come to your home and spend an evening discussing what sort of a holiday you yearn for and where you want to have it. And if you are just too busy to meet, Trish can accommodate you using her smart phone and laptop. The result is a tailor-made holiday that suits exactly who you are as a person and exactly what you wish to experience when travelling
While working in another area of the travel industry, a superior recommended to Trish that she back herself and use her people skills to run her own business. She instinctively knew that becoming a Personal Travel manager was a totally different way of providing travel services. After a period of self-doubt, Trish asked herself “how will I ever know if I don’t have a go” and so embarked on a journey which has her positively glowing with enthusiasm for what she now does
Trish specializes in wedding and honey-moon trips, but she can put together any sort of package, from the esoteric to the downright obscure, for individuals and groups.
“I can do anything travel”, Trish declared. “Domestic and international travel, cruises, rail tours, coach tours, golf tours, foodie tours and I can take care of details like Visas and insurance and even airport parking. The travel experience starts right from your front door.”
Trish told of how she is currently organizing, for a client, a Las Vegas wedding and honey moon. The level of planning detail covered by Trish includes the colour of flowers at the wedding venue, the music to be played, organizing a photographer and even arranging for the use of a pink Cadillac.
Trish explained that a personal Travel Manager aims to get inside the head of a client and to discover who they are as a person, what motivates them and what it is they expect from a holiday. In the process, a Personal Travel Manager becomes a part of the travel experience. Trish recounted stories of how Personal Travel Managers have helped clients who have run into difficulties while travelling abroad, with the Personal Travel Manager in Australia liaising between the client abroad and family back home.
A large part of her job involves constantly liaising with travel providers and suppliers from around the world. Trish will shortly be meeting with travel providers from Texas, in the U.S. Trish is one of three Personal Travel Managers in Gippsland with whom she collaborates and exchanges ideas on holiday and business travel options.
Trish is firmly ensconced in the local community and is a member of Latrobe Young Professionals and Latrobe Women in Business, both of which she finds motivating and inspiring. Trish plays sport locally and mixes motherhood with her role as a self-employed Personal Travel Manager whose aim it is to provide customers with the very best she can offer, with attention to detail.
It is Trish’s infectious enthusiasm for her work that immediately captures attention and it is obvious she loves what she does.
“I love sharing travel experiences with clients and I love the relationships I build with clients”, said Trish.
. Despite what can be described as a disruptive business model, what Trish and her Personal Travel Manager colleagues offer in the travel marketplace relies more than ever on old fashioned principles of rules, obligations, conscience, loyalty and a sense of what was once called ‘the commonweal’. That’s what got our attention.
