Travel advisors are useful for good times… and in bad.
I always tell clients, “you hire me to make sure things go smoothly, but you also hire me in case they don’t.”
Yesterday was an *eventful* day at the Cancun airport and I had clients that were directly affected.
Initial reports were of a possible shooting in the airport, which naturally caused a lot of panic and closed down a terminal for about an hour. Luckily the false reports stemmed from a loud bang that caused jumpy travelers to react and created a chain reaction of delays and stranded passengers.
I was proud of the job I did yesterday and here’s where my clients benefitted from my knowledge.
As soon as I saw a 2-hour delay on their flight, I contacted them to stay at the resort longer and enjoy the pool. (Unfortunately, they had already left for the airport.)
Because of the many professional groups that I’m in, I was able to get real-time reports and official statements from on-the-ground suppliers and agents. And while not all of this news was 100% accurate, I was able to inform my clients of what we knew at the time. They arrived at a very chaotic airport with a lot more information than people who were trying to figure it out without all the sources I have. We were in constant communication.
Eventually, their flight was canceled and rescheduled until this morning. I saw the update on my phone immediately because I am copied on their flight changes and schedules. In a mass cancellation, time is of the essence, so being on top of this for my clients is crucial.
I advised them to skip the 3-4 hour line to try and get a hotel room and booked one of the few remaining hotels by the airport while they left to find the airport shuttle.
My clients left the airport in under 20 minutes, boarded the hotel shuttle, and were checked into their room before the hundreds of people showed up in the lobby to try and get a room or stand in YET another super long line. Many were stranded and had to sleep at the airport, after a 16-hour delay.
Today my clients messaged me to say their airport experience was super easy, they were grateful to be out of that mess and they had a relaxing evening at their hotel instead of ruining a great trip with 6-8 hours of fighting with airport and airline bureaucracy.
In a climate where travel is not always easy, and delays and travel changes are almost always something to count on, I can’t guarantee that things won’t happen.
But I can promise to offer the best service to help deal with these travel hiccups…. and ultimately this is what leads to happy clients and less stressful travel adventures!
