🎙️ Episode 29 – Antigua Adventures, Travel Pet Peeves & Should Travel Agents Be Regulated?

This week on Tales of a Travel Agent, Becky returns from an unforgettable solo trip to Antigua, sharing the highs, the lows and everything in between. From luxury hotels and hidden Caribbean gems to terrifying ferry rides, unexpected shark encounters and an Airbnb disaster, it's a travel story packed with laughs, honesty and plenty of useful tips.

Jake and Becky also dive into a whole host of travel industry topics, including why checking cruise ship schedules can make a huge difference to your clients' holidays, the latest travel pet peeves, the debate around WhatsApp groups and webinar chats, and whether it's finally time for the UK travel industry to introduce mandatory regulation and qualifications for travel agents.

Plus, they compare their "David Attenborough scores", answer a listener question about travel training certificates and, as always, share practical advice that every travel professional can take away.

Whether you're a travel agent, work in the industry or simply love hearing real travel stories, this episode has something for everyone.

🎧 Listen now and don't forget to follow, rate and share the podcast!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Tales of a Travel Agent, Jake and Becky are recording from an unusual location before taking on one of their biggest charity challenges yet... a night hanging off the side of a Welsh cliff.

They also chat about:

• Jake's honest review of Disneyland Paris after taking the kids for the first time, including the rides, food, hotels and whether the expensive FastPass is really worth it.

• The latest series of Race Across the World and why it's still one of the best travel shows on TV.

• Becky's hilarious airline nanny horror story that had everyone on board questioning what was going on.

• Why travel agents should never let their own opinions stop them selling a destination or holiday.

• Cruise conference highlights, surprising ship visits and why the wrong celebrity speakers keep ending up on stage.

As always, expect plenty of laughs, travel industry insights and a few unexpected rants along the way.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

📧 Got a funny travel story? We'd love to feature it. Email us at talesofatravelagent@gmail.com

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Becky is back from Thailand... just about. From acting as an unpaid tour guide for the entire family to surviving tropical storms, questionable boat trips and a mountain climb that sounded far more suspicious than it should have, there's plenty to catch up on.

Meanwhile, Jake is counting down to cliff camping and desperately trying to convince you to donate before he's hanging hundreds of feet in the air.

This week, they also debate whether mystery holidays should make a comeback, discuss the problem with online reviews, and share why sometimes the best holidays are the ones where someone else makes all the decisions.

• Jake prepares (or panics) for his upcoming cliff camping challenge

• Should mystery holidays and allocation on arrival make a comeback?

• Why online reviews can ruin a perfectly good holiday

• Becky's Thailand highlights, including boat trips, temples and family chaos

• The surprisingly brilliant ladyboy show that exceeded every expectation

• Night markets, tattoos and tropical storms

• Are some "eco-friendly" travel initiatives just greenwashing?

• A handy roundup of trade-only tour operators and suppliers for travel agents

📧 Got a funny travel story or industry tale? We'd love to hear it.

Email: talesofatravelagent@gmail.com

⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, don't forget to follow, leave a review and share it with your fellow travel agents.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Tales of a Travel Agent...

This episode starts with a chat about finding your niche in travel, why not every enquiry needs to convert, and why playing the long game can pay off in a big way.

Then Becky shares the highs (and many lows) of organising her first ever multi-generational family holiday to Thailand... and why she won't be volunteering to do it again anytime soon!

In this episode:

• Why targeting a tiny niche can outperform mass marketing

• The reality of leading from the front in the travel industry

• Social media trolls, awkward comments and dealing with negativity

• Becky’s Thailand adventures, from ethical elephant encounters to terrifying giant pigs

• The best quad biking experience ever... and the family member who struggled the most

• Why local experiences made this trip unforgettable

Plus plenty of laughs, travel industry chat and the usual chaos along the way.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to follow, rate and share Tales of a Travel Agent!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🌍 This week on Tales of a Travel Agent...

Disneyland Paris divides opinion as Jake prepares to take the kids for the first time, while Becky explains why she'd rather visit without children. The duo also tackle the thorny topic of overtourism, debate whether cruise ships are part of the problem, and discuss whether travel agents can really influence how people travel.

Plus, there's frustration over a travel incentive that mysteriously disappeared, a rant about the latest advertising regulations causing headaches for agents, and a lively discussion around fam trips, entitlement, and whether the industry needs a complete rethink.

And finally... Becky finds herself in a very awkward situation involving a hotel room, a bathroom door, and a complete lack of clothing.

✈️ In this episode:

• Disneyland Paris: magical experience or overrated queues?

• Overtourism, Airbnbs and cruise ship crowds

• The incentive that vanished after it was promised

• New advertising rules causing confusion across the industry

• Fam trips, reward trips and who really deserves a place

• The importance of actually experiencing a destination

• One very nearly public naked moment

🎧 Listen now and don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and send your travel stories to talesofatravelagent@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🌍 Tales of a Travel Agent – This Time It’s Personal

This week, things get a little more personal as Jake and Becky swap travel talk for industry frustrations, social media trolls, and the realities of putting yourself out there online.

✈️ In this episode:

• The infamous Versace shirt makes yet another appearance

• Award nominations and why industry recognition still matters

• A listener email sparks an unexpected mocktail debate

• Becky shares the bizarre backlash from her Antarctica marketing campaign

• Why one negative comment can outweigh hundreds of positive ones

• The highs and lows of travel industry events and networking nights

• A passionate discussion about overtourism and whether travel agents can help solve it

• The great debate: are travel agents actually influencers?

Plus plenty of tangents, questionable opinions, and the usual chaos you'd expect from Jake and Becky.

🎧 Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎙️ This week on Tales of a Travel Agent...

Jake and Becky are back with stories from recent fam trips, surprising destination discoveries, and a debate that gets them far more worked up than expected.

In this episode:

• Becky reveals the destination that completely changed her opinion after years of avoiding it

• Jake shares highlights from a training retreat in Cyprus and an unexpected night out

• The pair compare travel habits from their younger years and question what gives away a millennial on holiday

• A discussion about suppliers undercutting travel agents sparks plenty of frustration

• Plus, there’s the usual mix of travel industry chat, questionable decisions, and stories that go off on tangents nobody saw coming

🎧 Whether you're a travel agent or just love a good travel story, settle in for another episode full of laughs, opinions, and a healthy dose of chaos. ✈️🌍

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.