Each day we aim to inspire, educate and entertain the travel industry. Our community is spread far and wide across the country and even the world.
Here at KARRYON, we’d love to learn more about our community and the incredibly diverse lives you all lead.
Let’s meet Sally Johnson, a self-made Traveller Counsellor who balances an active home life with a busy work life in travel.
She’s focused on building a corporate frame to her business with the flexibility that working for herself affords her. Being successful in corporate travel needn’t mean working for a large corporate travel organisation, and Sally proves exactly that.
First off, could you give a little introduction as to who you are and what got you started working as a Travel Counsellor?
I had been working in travel for the previous seven years and had always struggled a little with balancing the work/life balance and being able to be at home for my two daughters who were very young at the time.
Having to try and get back to the creche before it closed or having to drop the kids off there as soon as it opened was not fun nor a happy time for anyone.
I happened to meet one of the girls who worked for Travel Counsellors back in the UK when I was on a famil in Fiji and she was talking to me about it and it really got me thinking that perhaps this was the better option for me and so I looked into it and now six years and two more children later, here I am.
Where in Australia are you based and how long have you lived there?
I am in Mt Waverley, Melbourne and have lived here for the last six years.
What is a typical (and perhaps no two days are the same) work day like for you?
It’s true, no two days are always the same and as a single mother of four… it really is a balancing act.
My day starts with organising the kids for school/kinder and then back home to start the work day. My typical work day consists of booking flights and accommodation all across the world for my corporate accounts, a Kinder dash in the middle of the day and school pick up at 3:30pm, before heading back to finish off more bookings.
In 2017 I made the decision that I needed to grow my business and that I wanted to do that by working with corporate accounts. I worked closely with my support team in head office and was able to successfully win my first corporate account.
Over the last 12 months, I have seen my business grow quite substantially into the successful corporate travel business it has become. My focus has been on winning the corporate accounts and providing them with a service that exceeds their expectations. With the help of the head office team I have also been able to negotiate amazing rates at many hotels across the world as well as amazing airline deals, discounts and upgrades which has really enable me to enhance the services that I provide for my clients.
Working for Travel Counsellors means that my clients have 24 hour support should the need arise. While I am always their first port of call, if there is ever a time that I am unavailable, my clients know they can always call the emergency number and get the same high level of service that they are used to receiving from myself.
Where is the weirdest destination anyone has ever wanted you to send them?
Truk Lagoon (now known as Chuuk Lagoon!) – it was in my first month as a travel agent and I had never heard of it so was madly googling it as they were talking to me about it…turns out it’s in Micronesia.
What’s the most unusual question a client has ever asked?
I had one client ask whether I can arrange to have the bath running when they arrive at the hotel room.
What do you love most about working in the Travel Industry?
I love that my job is fun! Working with Travel Counsellors allows me the flexibility to be able to work around my family and my clients needs.
I like to take pride in the knowledge that my clients are taken care of and don’t have to worry about the little things like dietary requirements, preferred seating or frequent flyer details.
I also enjoy being able to take care of my clients holiday needs and knowing that they can just enjoy the lead up and the trip away. I love speaking to my clients when they get back and hearing all about what they got up to while away. Nine times out of ten, I will learn something new such as a great day trip to take, a reat coffee shop or an amazing restaurant which I can then recommend to future travellers.
Of course the opportunities to go on famils is always an added bonus not to mention being incentivised with TC Exclusive famils, trips away or accommodation here and there. Product nights are always super useful and if you ask my kids, they love it when I go to a product night because they get to raid the bag when I get home.
- READ: KO COMMUNITY: One thing Advisor Samantha would change about the industry
- READ: KARRYON COMMUNITY: Meet Jake Cassar, Travel Counsellor
- READ: KARRYON COMMUNITY: Meet Caroline Cameron, Travel Counsellor