Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Jackson
Hi Jamie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2014 I used a local travel advisor to plan my family vacation. I was blown away by how easy the travel advisor made my family vacation and the additional value she brought to the trip. After travel, we started speaking more often and I eventually joined her team. I began learning quickly fell in love with the industry. I took initiative and started attending travel conferences to network and build my knowledge. I eventually found that I enjoyed and was good at connecting advisors and suppliers.
In Charleston, we had a handful of travel advisors that helped each other and got together on occasion. Once I learned about a national organization called Millennials in Travel, I formed the Charleston chapter to allow advisors and suppliers of the Millennial age group to network on a quarterly basis.
Towards the end of covid, Tara D’Agostino, the Owner and Managing Director of WanderLuxe Destinations, a representation company, was looking to build her business in a new way. She wanted to have team members strategically located around North America. When she reached out to me to be her Sales Manager for the Southern region, I took on the role part-time and quickly knew this was the team and part of the travel industry I was meant to be in. I quickly meshed with the team and within a short time worked my way to Director of Sales. We now have a team of 11 and a fantastic portfolio of hotels, DMCs and travel services around the world as our clients.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, but I would not take back any part of my journey. I truly believe you learn and grow from the obstacles you face along the way. I also believe that the travel industry is one where travel advisors and suppliers are not competition to each other and that we must educate and lift up each other to become a stronger industry as a whole.
As you know, we’re big fans of WanderLuxe Destinations. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
WanderLuxe Destinations is luxury travel representation reimagined. At WanderLuxe Destinations, hospitality is more than a job, it’s our lifestyle! We proudly represent the most exceptional properties and partners all over the world. With over 30 years of experience in the North American market, our team intuitively understands the need to be fluid and ever-changing in the fast-paced travel industry and have strategically appointed sales managers located throughout the United States and Canada to efficiently connect and assist both our robust and deeply rooted network of travel advisors as well as our clients.
In short, we are the connection between our clients (luxury hotels, DMCs and travel services) around the world, with travel advisors. We educate, inform and connect travel advisors with our partners so that they have the tools and contacts to offer these suppliers to their travelers for their vacations.
To us, it’s all about relationships. We want travel advisors to meet and get to know the offerings of our clients, as they will find when they send their travelers to these hotels and destinations, the travelers will get true, authentic, luxury travel experiences. We strive to show people travel that is true to a destination, to get a real understanding and appreciation for the place they are visiting.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
For those that want to enter the travel industry as a travel advisor is to start off with a mentor and as an assistant to someone who has been in the industry for a while. You can only learn in this industry by doing, and you must constantly adapt to the changing travel landscape. By having a mentor, you can at least learn how to put processes in place to eventually build out a business model that works best for you.
It should also be understood that working in travel is not a 9 to 5 job. It’s 24/7 due to different time zones and client schedules. You have to be flexible, quick thinking and able to work from anywhere in the world and at any time of day/night.
Pricing:
- NA
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wanderluxedestinations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiejaxwanderlust/
