Kate on a boat in Iceland
Where were you born? In Edmonton.
What was your 1st job? Working in a
kitchen at a summer camp in Normandale, Ont.
How long have you been in the business? 6 years.
Before that I worked in guest services at the Soho Metropolitan Hotel.
Tell me about your 1st airplane ride. I
was 6 and went to Vancouver with my dad. I ate 2 chicken dinners and proceeded
to throw up for the rest of the flight.
How has the business changed since you got into it?
People are now looking for something different.
Do you have a specialty? Southeast Asia and coach
tours.
If you could have any job in the business what would it
be?
Good question! Hotel inspector.
What was your best FAM? Iceland. Or a Windstar cruise
to the Black Sea.
What drives you crazy? When you send clients a long
detailed e-mail and they reply with one-word answers.
What was your biggest individual sale? Either a
Bali-Thailand wedding/honeymoon or a month-long China/Australia combo. Each
about $30,000.
What’s the 1st thing you do when you get into
a hotel room?
Put the runner/shawl/bedspread thing on the floor. They don’t
wash those things!
Do you have a magic sentence to close the sale? “So
are we getting this booked?”
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked? “Can
you find a hotel in Paris where I can stay with my cat?” And I found one.
Do you have any time management strategies? Do the
little things as soon as you can. Get it done in 10 seconds and move on.
What do you do to keep your clients loyal? I’ll check
in with them if I see a deal. I recently ran a contest for my clients to guess
where my next trip will be. I’ll buy the winner fridge magnets along the way
when I’m away.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received? Be
nice to people and work hard.
If you had to spend 6 months in a destination, which one
would you pick?
Laos, because there’s enough amenities that it’s not
super unfamiliar, but also charming and undiscovered which is really hard to
find these days.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Working
in a fabulous hotel somewhere!
If you or someone you know who is a front line travel
agent in Canada would like to be featured in Up Front, please e-mail
martha@gk.openjaw.xyz
