Travel with Rachael

A little overdue, this blog post!

The children have gone back to school, I’ve had a big holiday booking to organise, and suddenly the days have disappeared. Busy, busy, busy!

So I thought it was probably about time I shared a little bit more about what my life actually looks like as a travel agent.

Because when people hear “travel agent”, I think there’s sometimes an image of me sitting at home looking at holidays all day, drinking coffee and dreaming about where I could go next.

And whilst there is definitely coffee involved … it’s not quite like that!

Why I became a travel agent

I became a travel agent after having my second child.

I knew I wanted a career, but I also knew that being a mum was incredibly important to me. I didn’t want to miss the school runs, Christmas performances, sports days or all those little moments that you don’t get back.

At the same time, I wanted to contribute financially to our family and have something that was mine.

I needed a career that could work around my children, rather than my children having to work around my career.

Becoming a travel agent gave me that flexibility.

It doesn’t mean I don’t work hard — I absolutely do! But I have much more control over when and how I work, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

So, what does a normal day look like?

Well, there isn’t really a completely “normal” day, but this is what a fairly typical school day might look like for me.

The morning

My day starts with the children.

Once everyone is up, dressed, fed and (hopefully!) ready for school, I’ll usually put up a post on Facebook and Instagram. All of my social media content is prepared and planned in advance, which means I can get it posted quickly, and without having to spend my mornings frantically trying to think of something to say.

Then it’s the school run.

Once I’m home, I’ll usually get a few bits of housework done before properly starting work.

I might look at quotes I’m currently working on, research different holidays and destinations, or make any changes clients have asked for.

I’ll also arrange any meetings I need with clients — perhaps to add transfers to their booking or take final payment, or actually book their holiday and take the deposit.

And then there are the little things that happen behind the scenes.

As a holiday gets closer, I’ll be emailing clients with any additional information they might need and checking that they have everything ready for their trip.

I don’t just want to find someone a holiday and then disappear until they come home. I like to stay involved and make sure they feel looked after throughout the process.

Research, research and more research

One of my favourite parts of the job is researching destinations.

If I have clients travelling somewhere I haven’t personally visited, I’ll spend time looking into the destination so I can give them ideas of things they might enjoy.

Where could they go for dinner?

What are the must-see sights?

Are there any lovely walks?

Would they enjoy an excursion or boat trip?

Is there somewhere that’s particularly good for families?

I can then send them suggestions and ideas to help them make the most of their holiday.

And yes, this is one of the parts of the job where I can happily spend far too long looking at holidays!

There is also, of course, a very important part of my working day…

Coffee.

And before anyone who knows me starts questioning everything — yes, it is decaf. 😂

I always stop mid-morning for a coffee and something to eat.

I think it’s really important when you work for yourself to actually take a break. It can be very easy to think, “I’ll just finish this quote first” or “I’ll just send this email” and suddenly you’ve worked through the whole morning.

So I make myself stop.

Coffee. Food. Five minutes to breathe.

Then back to work.

Training and keeping up to date

Being a travel agent isn’t just about booking holidays.

There is always something to learn.

I might have training planned with a supplier, be learning about a new destination, finding out about a new hotel or keeping up with changes within the travel industry.

One of the things I really enjoy is being able to build my knowledge so that I can give my clients better advice.

The more I know, the more useful I can be.

And then… it’s school pick-up

At some point, my working day has to pause because it’s time for the school run again.

And this is exactly why I wanted this career in the first place.

Once the children are home, I’m mum again.

There might be homework to help with, school admin to sort out, lunch boxes to make, dinner to cook and the usual chaos that comes with family life.

There is playing, chatting about their day, bath time and bedtime.

And sometimes, if I’m honest, there is just trying to get everyone through to bedtime!

My social media content is another example of how I make the business work around family life.

A lot of my Facebook, Instagram and blog content is planned and written in the evenings — usually while I’m sitting in one of my children’s bedrooms waiting for them to fall asleep!

It might not be the most glamorous office, but it’s actually a great time for me to get things planned. Once the children are settled, I’ll often sit with my phone and make notes, write captions or plan future blog posts.

Then, when I’m busy during the day, I already have content ready to go rather than having to stop everything and think, “What on earth am I going to post today?”
It’s one of those little behind-the-scenes parts of running a business that probably doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it all adds up.

What about evenings after bedtime?

This is something I’ve been quite intentional about.

I genuinely like to keep my evenings free for me and my husband.

He works very long hours, so our evenings are our time together.

Of course, there are occasions when a client can only speak in the evening, and I’m more than happy to accommodate that when needed.

But I don’t want my business to take over every part of my family life.

The same goes for weekends.

I try to keep weekends as free as possible because that’s our family time.

And I think that’s one of the biggest things I love about being self-employed — I can make my business fit into our life.

And yes… I plan our holidays too!

Probably unsurprisingly, as a travel agent, I also plan our own holidays!

Travel has always been a huge part of our family life, and I love researching where we’re going next, finding things to do and putting the plans together.

Although being a travel agent does mean that when we go away, I sometimes find myself thinking about how I would recommend the destination to my clients too! I never really stop working.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop being fascinated by travel.

So, is being a travel agent easy?

No.

It’s flexible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t necessarily see. Researching holidays, putting quotes together, dealing with suppliers, keeping up with training, answering questions, organising bookings and looking after clients before, during and after their holidays.

There is also a huge amount of responsibility, being entrusted with creating amazing memories that people are spending a lot of hard earned money on.

But for me, the flexibility makes it completely worth it.

I get to have a career that I love without having to give up the parts of being a mum that are important to me.

I can do the school run.

I can be at the Christmas performance.

I can make dinner.

I can help with homework.

I can have a coffee mid-morning!

And I can still build a business that I’m proud of.

That’s really what I wanted when I started.

A career that fitted into my life, rather than a life that had to fit around my career.

Thinking about your next holiday?

If you’re someone who loves the idea of having someone take the stress out of researching and organising your holiday, I’d love to help.

Whether you know exactly where you want to go or haven’t got a clue yet, I can help you narrow down the options, find something that suits your family, budget and requirements, and be there to help throughout the booking process.

Because for me, being a travel agent isn’t just about booking the holiday.

It’s about helping you get excited about it too.

“Helping families spend less time worrying and more time making memories”

Thank you for getting to know a little bit more about me and what life is really like as a travel agent.

I hope you’ve enjoyed having a little peek behind the scenes!

Until next time,

Rachael x