Meet the 1000MTG travel expert - David P

We had the pleasure of interviewing David and learning all about his journey to running his own successful 1000MTG – affiliated business – Flair Travel – his goals, career highlights and everything in between.

A proud ‘fur’ parent of 3 cats, David loves to travel and counts his trip to Paris and Berlin right before Christmas in 2019 as one of his favorite travel memories. “Seeing all the shop windows and going to the Christmas markets in Berlin was a magical time of year and something I will remember for a lifetime.”

David has such a unique story as to how he became a Travel Advisor with 1000MTG and how he chose to set up his business that it is too good not to share.

What was the catalyst for leaving your day job and becoming a Travel Advisor?

I’d been working in customer service/support roles for 20+ years and realized I was looking for a change. I’ve always loved to travel and had a travel agent, but I was never overly happy with their service and thought I could do a better job myself. This was a light bulb moment for me, and I started searching ‘how to become a travel agent’. In 2017, I made the bold move and successfully applied to start my own travel business with 1000MTG. I wanted to be able to book my own trips, along with my friends and family as a hobby whilst I kept my full-time role in customer support.

I had never intended for my passion to become a full-time business but quickly realized within 6 months I could be successful as a business owner and Travel Advisor, so after two years I decided to leave my customer support role and focus solely on my travel business. And it was the best decision ever.

What has been your biggest hurdle, and how did you overcome it?

COVID made my full-time start in the travel industry a little bumpy, but the biggest challenge back in my first year was growing my client base and knowing where to find them. While you can certainly book for your family and friends, they can sometimes be your greatest challenge so it’s best not to take it personally if some or all of them don’t want to book their travel via you. Saying that, I found some people in my personal network really believed in my expertise but didn’t require my services and instead became my referral network and that’s how I started growing my client base. Finding friends who wanted to be my cheerleaders was a wonderful asset and is proof that word-of-mouth marketing still works.

Tell us about your business and niche

I have a lot of areas of travel that interest me, I sell the kind of travel I want to experience so I don’t just focus on one market. My business is broken into 4 pillars which are: all-inclusive resorts, cruises, Europe FIT (free independent traveler), Hawaii and the South Pacific. I work with some great travel wholesalers for my all-inclusive and Europe business and specialize in the honeymoon market where I work with a travel designer to develop tailored programs for Fiji and Tahiti.

I have built my business up to a small team of 3; one who has been with me since 2019 as a sub-agent specializing in Disney Travel. This year I brought her on as an Administrative Assistant to help with high-touch customer service where we handwrite thank you and welcome home cards, send bon voyage emails and all the nice personal touches of a small agency. She does so much more than I could ever thank her for.

My second team member came because of attending several conferences this year. Every conference had classes on social media where I just knew this was never going to be something I would have the time to do, but acknowledged it was important for the growth of my business. I was fortunate enough to have a large commission come in which I then reinvested into the business to hire our second team member to fulfill social media duties. I recruited the Marketing Manager I worked with in a previous life to build up an audience, content, and brand identity.

My third team member was brought on as a sub-agent who had been with two other host agencies for a year. He is very experienced and was seeking some leadership which he did not find at other host agencies to benefit his client base which is largely in the luxury travel market. He joined my team as an affiliate agency working within my business. Since being a part of the 1000MTG family he has found he is getting better support and in turn, his clients are receiving greater benefits.

I know the setup of my business is not necessarily the ‘norm’ across the 1000MTG family, but it is what works for me to develop and grow my business and shows that when you’re your own boss the skies are the limit!

What has been your biggest achievement / proudest moment so far in your journey as a Travel Advisor?

2021 was a career highlight. I was 4 years into running my own travel business and still in the middle of the pandemic, and I made my first 6 figure salary in sales in a calendar year working my own hours, with a great work/life balance. I would never have had the opportunity to earn this salary in my customer service days. I think what makes this more special is that it’s my business and that is something I am proud of.

What was the biggest surprise to you in the process so far?

I don’t think I ever imagined the uncapped earnings you could achieve with hard work and a passion for what you do. I always thought you would have to work around the clock with little time to yourself to do the things you love. This could not be further from the truth. I can work my own hours, have a great work/life balance, and earn more than I did in my previous employment.

I was also surprised that you didn’t have to have years of travel experience. You just had to have the right attitude, the willingness to learn, work and train hard to get up and running and most of all a passion and knowledge around travel. Having a background in customer service has also helped a lot to develop loyal clients.

What do you get the most value from in the 1000MTG community/model?

There are several valuable takeaways from being a part of 1000MTG; the good network of agents to support you, the connections in the industry are well known and established, and the Virtuoso network. Being in a community of people that are so well connected within the travel industry with great resources has been invaluable to the success of my business.

What would you say to someone looking at starting their own travel business?

It is important to remember this is a business and not a hobby like I initially started. Like any new business, there are investments you need to make such as new computers. Just because you don’t have inventory, or a bricks and mortar shop front doesn’t mean you don’t spend money. In my first year, my outgoings were more than my earnings. It’s also important to invest in your own learning and ensure you attend and seek out any training that is provided to you.

What is the best thing about running your own business under 1000MTG?

It is the freedom to do what I want when I want. If I have made an honest mistake and need to fix it or I would like to say thank you to a client, I don’t have to ask for approval or explain myself to a manager. I am the boss and I call the shots. I am responsible for my decisions, and I like that.

The best thing about being with 1000MTG is the buying power to get you overrides (bonus payments/kickbacks) from cruise lines and tour companies, plus commissions, and the network that I couldn’t get on my own. I tell my clients it’s not just my great customer service and knowledge you are receiving, but also my industry connections who can help take care of them.

We can fix problems and do amazing things. If it goes right, we can make it better. Being with 1000MTG and the connections within the network and industry are invaluable.

Find out more about David and the Flair Travel team here or follow them on Facebook.