Are you interested in improving your consulting game and levelling up as a Travel Agent? Want to learn from some of the best in the biz, and make a ton of more commission as a result?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
It’s Agent Insights time here at KarryOn, and the whole purpose of this series is to help YOU, the hardworking, ever resourceful – and dare we say, great looking Travel Agent – be the best you can be.
This week we hear from David Goldman from Goldman Travel.
He’s been in travel – in some form or another – pretty much his entire life, and knew from an early age he would join his family business.
So you just know he has pearls of wisdom up his sleeve!
Indeed, when he’s not being the Managing Director of Goldman Travel, he is consulting in Bondi Junction, or taking care of business as the editor/founder of Hotels Make Us Happy.
Welcome David Goldman, it’s a pleasure to have you here!
So, what exactly do you do and how long have you done it?
I feel like I have been in ‘travel’ my whole life.
From a very young age (around 9, I’d say) I’d developed a bit of an awareness of hospitality, how it worked, what was good in one place, not so great in another.
At the time I was probably focused on the quality of the pink lemonade, the selections available at the dessert bar, or the way the rollaway I was on was prepared. The result? I am now an adult with an (some say ‘unhealthy’) obsession with hotels which I share unashamedly at www.hotelsmakeushappy.com and on Instagram (@hotelsmakeushappy).
Not only do I find myself as the go-to guy for hotel recommendations, I’m also joint Managing Director of Goldman Travel where I oversee business development and our Corporate Sales Team.
Pretend I’m a potential client for a moment. What do you do that separates you from the pack?
Totally tailored service. And, as you might imagine from my previous answer, we have absolutely the best relationships with our hotel partners so our clients stay with every amenity imaginable. Sugar on top? Sure, why not.
We also pride ourselves on our industry respect, the accolades and awards we have earned over the years. Being a family business of three generations, these are particularly special to us and a good reflection of the effort we put into every part of the business.
We are genuinely big enough to compete, small enough to care.
David Goldman is the impeccably dressed man on the left
OK, let’s get right to the juicy stuff. Tell me about your worst customer – EVER.
If by worst you mean most demanding then, without doubt, I am my own worst customer. I expect very high standards of myself. Across the table, however, no customer is too difficult. Without them we wouldn’t have a thriving business. Beyond that, my lips are sealed!
Let’s travel back in time. What do you wish you knew back when you started working as a travel agent? And what do you think some of the common mistakes travel agents make when starting off?
One: There is nothing more important than face-to-face contact for developing relationships with suppliers. Don’t simply rely on email to build or maintain a relationship. Get out there. Network. Meet people. Get to really know them. It will help your business and you’ll make contacts that will follow and grow with you right through your career.
Two: Travel agents need to travel. Take advantage of industry deals, get on famils, explore the world on your holidays, develop your destination and product knowledge. And not just the hotel, its room categories, number of spa treatment rooms, dining options and Club floor benefits. Explore the neighbourhood, take a seat at the cafe around the corner, and grab a croissant from the local boulangerie so your recommendations are rich, unique and personal.
Three: Ask for business. Don’t be shy. If you’re talking to a potential client, let them know you’d love the opportunity to share your expertise and look after their travel requirements. There’s no downside, just plenty of up.
Have you ever managed to turn a customer complaint into something positive? If so, how did you do it?
Things do very occasionally go wrong. We’re usually on top of things and have identified (and resolved) any friction points well before they happen. But inevitably it does happen, and the resolution is almost always found through a personal relationship we have with a supplier. We recently had a hotel room allocation go pear-shaped due to an unexpectedly late guest arrival and check-in. A simple call to our personal contact on the property had it sorted in a jiffy.
Happy client? Check.
Goldman Travel regularly take out industry awards, so you know THEY know what they’re talking about…
What are your biggest challenges at the moment?
The biggest challenge for our business bottom-line is hotels, airlines and other suppliers discounting deeply directly to the public. Technology has made this a reality with instant rate and inclusion changes through channel managers and the like. We totally get it. At the end of the day we’re all competing for the same business. But it is something that we rarely had to deal with in the past.
Personal challenge? Finding the time to explore more hotels, new ones, and the latest offerings of my old faves.
What are you doing to turn that around?
The tech challenge has also benefited us. We use it to be more nimble than ever, to adapt and improve our offerings continuously. We are great at doing the things a hotel can’t do, for example. We can combine this with that, add a pinch of this, a sprinkle of that. Put simply, we cook up better bundled product offerings and serve them piping hot and fresh. Just the way you like it.
Okay, last but not least: how do you see the industry evolving in 2016?
A continued focus on personalised, customer experience.
Our clients are all different. They have different requirements, tastes and preferences. I’m not going to serve you Veuve when I know you like a Martini. Those that drill deeper, mine their data, and know their clients like they know themselves will thrive. More than ever before, personalised service and product will be front and centre. That’s the new playground.
Where can people find you if they’d like to make contact?
People can find me at Goldman Travel in Bondi Junction and as follows:
Email: david@goldmantravel.com.au
Web: www.goldmantravel.com.au and www.hotelsmakeushappy.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goldmantravelcorporation
Barring that, take a look at the Hotels Make Us Happy Instagram feed and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be hard at work somewhere there.
Would you like to be featured on KarryOn’s Agent Insight series?
Drop me an email at shaun@karryon.com.au – I’d be happy to interview you, no matter whether you’re new to the industry or an old hat!
Before you leave, make sure you read some of our other interviews with other Agents, such as Peter Fiske from Clayfield Travel, Lorie Raymundo from Travel Counsellors, Ez Yiap from Student Flights and Sean Baldwin from STA Travel.
