Ep 247 What Travel Advisors Need to Review Every Year to Run a Real Business
Get the full intelligence
Search transcripts, export clips, track mentions, and explore all topics from “Ep 247 What Travel Advisors Need to Review Every Year to Run a Real Business” inside PodZeus.
In this episode of the Strategic Travel Entrepreneur Podcast, host Rita M. Perez dives into the essential annual maintenance tasks that travel advisors and agency owners must review to run a real, sustainable business—beyond just booking trips. She breaks down three core maintenance areas: foundational (legal, compliance, financials, admin, and business continuity), operational (systems, SOPs, team support, suppliers, and client experience), and marketing (digital presence, analytics, lead generation, and positioning). Rita emphasizes that while these tasks may seem mundane or 'boring,' they're critical for distinguishing between being an employee-style travel advisor and a true business owner. She provides actionable checklists and real-world examples, such as renewing seller of travel licenses, updating insurance policies, auditing CRMs, reviewing client feedback, and refining business positioning. The episode concludes with a reminder to stay connected through her upcoming retreats and future content from the TMP on the River event.
Review legal and compliance items annually, including seller of travel licenses, business structure renewals, and updated terms of use.
Audit your tech stack and SOPs yearly to ensure relevance, accuracy, and efficiency in operations.
Conduct an annual client experience review, including feedback, touchpoints, and appreciation events.
Update your digital presence: website copy, SEO, mobile performance, and content to reflect current positioning.
Revisit your business positioning and client avatars to ensure alignment with your evolving goals and niche.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Welcome & Episode Preview
Rita welcomes listeners to the podcast, shares her recent experience at TMP on the River, and previews the episode’s focus on annual business maintenance for travel advisors.
Foundational Maintenance: Legal & Compliance
“You have to be on top of all the different things... when it comes to like government regulation, the marketing of your business, making sure that sales are coming in, that your finances are in order.”
Foundational Maintenance: Financials & Admin
Rita discusses financial reviews, sales goal setting, tax preparation, emergency savings, inbox cleanup, and digital archiving as part of foundational maintenance.
Foundational Maintenance: Business Continuity
“If you're not planning for retirement, you're not planning for business continuity. And if you're not planning for business continuity, you're not running a real business.”
Operational Maintenance: Systems & SOPs
“Having SOPs makes your business more valuable. And then also like if again, God forbid you were to pass away and things weren't wrapped up in your business, this is also going to help whoever you've designated to be in charge.”
“If you're not planning for retirement, you're not planning for business continuity. And if you're not planning for business continuity, you're not running a real business.”
“Having SOPs makes your business more valuable. And then also like if again, God forbid you were to pass away and things weren't wrapped up in your business, this is also going to help whoever you've designated to be in charge.”
“What makes you different in those realms? Like there is a very unique viewpoint that you have or a very unique type of person that you can help that... Maybe there's other people that can also help, but there's something unique about how you see things.”
Host
Rita M. Perez
person
TMP on the River
other
SEO
other
Florida
place
CRM
product
California
place
Mary Beth Lynn
person
Travel Marketplace Report
other
W-2
other
Tom Carpenter
person
Get the full intelligence
Search transcripts, export clips, track mentions, and explore all topics from “Ep 247 What Travel Advisors Need to Review Every Year to Run a Real Business” inside PodZeus.
Start discovering podcast insights today
Start with a 7-day trial and explore a growing catalog of popular podcasts. No credit card required.
No credit card required • 7-day trial • Cancel anytime