A Day in the Life of a Travel Consultant

LT Globetrotter

July 20, 2015
Travel agent

I spent the day at of our Liberty Travel stores (thanks again, guys!) to see what do travel agents do. Is it really all glamour and jet-setting? Read on to find out!

How Do Travel Agents Spend Their Day

7:30am - 8:00am

Travel agents start to trickle in around 7:30, settling into their desks and drinking giant cups of coffee. An undying love for Starbucks appears to be part of a day in the life of a travel agent, which I can definitely get behind.

8:00am - 9:30am

Doors open at 8:00am, so everyone's checking their email and working on trips they're booking for different clients. They're asking each other questions and advice, and it's like watching a real life episode of Jeopardy where every question is about travel. A brief list of places they're booking trips includes: Rome. Bermuda. Miami. Mexico.

9:30am - 11:00am

A man walks in and sits down with one of the travel agents – he's booking a trip to Tel Aviv by way of Paris, and he wants to book a hotel near the city's best shopping for his wife (afterwards, he went to pick up his "Best Husband Ever" award from the trophy store). They talk about the Champs-Élysées and macaroons, and other things that are impossibly glamorous for 10:00 in the morning.

11:00am - 12:30pm

There's a woman sitting with down with a folded copy of our newspaper ad from Sunday who wants to go to either Miami or the Caribbean in August. (Fun fact! We've had an ad on the back page of the Sunday New York Times travel section for literally decades.) In the meantime, a cute-looking couple comes in looking to book two tickets to Ireland.

12:30pm - 1:30pm

One of the consultants ducks out for lunch and tucks a Global Journeys brochure into her purse. She's trying to help customers figure out where go on vacation and can't decide between Rio and Patagonia.

1:30pm - 3:00pm

One women who comes in is looking for a trip “somewhere warm,” which prompts a whole litany of follow up questions. How far do you want to go? Are you looking to stay at an all-inclusive? Do you mind if there are kids there? One thing these travel agents are great at is being able to narrow down one big idea (“somewhere warm!”) into one specific resort in one specific place.

3:00pm - 4:00pm

There's a couple who want to stay at an all-inclusive resort but doesn't want to go to Mexico or Jamaica. Their travel agent is trying to figure out what exactly they're looking for in a resort. Is it great food? Unlimited drinks? Is there a reason they don't want Mexico or Jamaica? It's like watching a detective show – I kind of want to grab some popcorn and settle into the couch to see how this ends.

4:00pm

The lunch rush has calmed down by the time I leave, and there's normally a second rush on the way around 5:00pm as people get out of work. Since things are finally a bit quieter, travel agents are doing things like booking flights and comparing notes on different trips they're planning (“Which did you like more, Helsinki or St. Petersburg?”).

"And here is a list of the 40 countries that I've been to..."

What Do Travel Agents Do

And that was my day! So what did I learn? The life of a travel agent is like being a walking Swiss army knife of travel industry knowledge. Having someone like that tell you exactly where to stay (and why) makes the whole "figuring out where to stay" process about a thousand times easier.

If you've ever wondered about a day in the life of a travel agent, it's clear that their days are a dynamic blend of problem-solving, customer service, and a genuine passion for helping people explore the world. From booking exotic getaways to crafting dream vacations, their expertise ensures that every journey is not just a trip but an unforgettable experience.

LT Globetrotter

As fellow travelers, our people are always on the move discovering new destinations. On the occasions they take a break from exploring, they love to write up a few stories about their adventures before they leave for the next one, so you can enjoy expert tips, news, and recommendations to use for your own travels.