Nick Pena. (Source: Nick Pena)
Success Stories focus on veteran travel advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Nick Pena, owner of a Cruise Planners’ franchise in Florida.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
It was nine years ago this July. I googled “How to become a travel advisor” and that’s how I learned about the host agency model. I purchased a Cruise Planners franchise and never looked back!
How did you build your business over the years?
When I first became an agent I was brand new to the industry. I wanted to be all things to all people. The growth was steady but slow. I shifted my marketing, mindset and presence on social media to present myself as a luxury agent. This is when the growth went from steady but slow to steady and fast!
What characteristic makes you a successful advisor?
Being my authentic self both with the suppliers and my customers, which has built a bridge to relationships. My clients love me, the suppliers know me and want to work with me. This business is all about relationships. My clients know the relationships I have with our travel suppliers. This has been insurmountable in securing group space when there was none, getting an exception made for a client, securing a dinner at a hotel restaurant that was sold out, etc. My clients know that there is not much I can’t do for them.
What have your greatest challenges been?
Aside from dealing with COVID my biggest challenge has been scaling the business. I started this as a fun part-time job thinking I’d make a little extra money and maybe get some travel discounts along the way. Fast forward to nine years later and I have built a multi-million-dollar business. This has created growing pains, and it has been and still is a challenge to scale it. This is a good challenge to have, but nonetheless a challenge for sure.
What have your greatest accomplishments been?
There are so many but a few stand out. One of them is being selected to serve on the advisory board for Global Marketplace Travel. I sit with the best of the best agents in the country, and it has been an incredible honor to serve alongside my distinguished peers.
The second is being in the Cruise Planners coveted “Millionaires Club,” which is very difficult to qualify for, but once you make it the perks and awards recognition trip make is so worth the effort.
The third and the most impactful is being able to give back – holding backpack drives, giving away turkeys at Thanksgiving, etc. A percentage of every dollar my agency makes goes back to the local community that I serve, which is all funded by my agency and my efforts. This has been my greatest reward! Serving others in any capacity is always a blessing.
What tips can you provide advisors new to the industry?
My number one tip is to believe in yourself and have full confidence that you can and will make it.
The second is to have a goal – I can’t tell you how many people ask me to mentor them. The first question I ask a mentee is about their goal. Most don’t have one. This is shocking to me, as I have a quarterly goal and an annual goal. Big or small, you must have a goal that you are working towards.
The third would be to get out there and travel and tell your story on social media. Don’t be shy, be yourself, be authentic and share your story of travel with the world. My growth came from social media, and yours can too. I don’t have a consultant; I don’t have anyone help with the content. There is not a single week that goes by that I don’t wake up to a trip request from a stranger on social media. It happened to me, and it can happen to you. Consistency, determination, and the conviction that you can and will do it is key!
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