How I Work, As A Modern Day Travel Advisor

Paris At Night

Hello! If we haven't been introduced already - my name is Alicia Mitchell, and I am the owner/operator of Evening Star Travel - it's great to meet you! 

I thought I would write this to give you a bit of insight into how I work and show what to expect when you book an amazing vacation through me.   

This is my chosen career, and my full time job. I love what I do, I'm passionate about it, and I love learning every day.   

Evening Star Travel is my business, founded in January 2016. I am the sole proprietor, and I am backed by a fantastic organization called Nexion Travel Group Canada. Nexion is my host agency. They are who I get my tools through, and support me and my business through various apps, access, and support.

I work 9am - 5pm on work days.   

I can make myself available on the weekend or on the evening by appointment. I also enjoy family time with my family on long weekends, and there are times that I take vacations. When we start working together, I will let you know when my upcoming vacations are, and I will always send out reminder emails to my newsletter mailing list about a week prior to my vacation.  

I am on call 24/7 while you are travelling.   

I will provide you with my personal cell phone number, so you can reach out at any point in time.   

When I first get a request for a new trip, I always like to meet with you.  

I do these meetings either in person, over the phone, or via Zoom. This allows me to go through all the things you are looking for in a trip, your likes, your dislikes, what your goals are, and you hobbies. This way I can match you with the best trip that works for you and to make sure that we are a good match for each other.  

For most trips, it takes between two business days to two weeks to send quotes.

Sometimes it can be quicker, sometimes it takes longer. The more complex a trip, and the more changes and details involved, will increase the time it takes to put together. In many instances (depending on the type of trip), we are working with trusted suppliers (who only work with travel agents), and we work together to create a quote, so sometimes we need to wait for them to get back to us on certain items.  I only work with reliable suppliers, and I am not tied down to "preferred suppliers."  Just a note though, I don't work with the vast majority of home sharing services (like AirBNB, or VRBO).

As soon as possible, I will need an image of your passport (for all guests), your street address, your contact phone number and your email.   

These things can take a significant amount of time to enter into my database. If we can get them entered in before you make a decision of what trip you want to take, it will streamline this process much better. I will also need your credit card details.

I do not book anything until I've received a signed authorization form.

Once you have advised me on what trip you want to book, I will create an authorization form that outlines all of the details of your trip exactly as we discussed. It will include the terms and conditions of the suppliers, and other information that I legally need to include. This will be send via email through Docusign. I will not book anything until I receive that signature authorizing the booking. This ensures that all details are exactly as we discussed, and protects you and me.   

Hold times with some suppliers have been hours, and hours, and hours, and hours long lately.   

As your travel advisor, I can find out a lot of information without being on hold with the supplier, or if I do need to call up the supplier - I'm the one on hold waiting - not you.   

I am here for you for any questions, inquiries or changes regarding your trip.   

Feel free to reach out at any point in time.   As mentioned, around two weeks prior to your trip I will confirm all your travel details with the supplier and service providers to ensure that everything is good to go.   I will meet with you to go over all the details, including all of the requirements to go and come back so that you are fully prepared for your trip. I will also give you lots of tips and tricks to help make your trip be as smooth as possible.   

I am on call 24/7 (even if I am on vacation), when you are travelling.   

Sometimes it's easier to handle any issues with the people who are working on the ground where you are, at other times, it's much easier to reach out to your friendly neighborhood travel advisor. Especially with these changing times, being able to have a travel advisor is like having a lucky pass in your back pocket.  

I love booking trips and helping clients plan the vacation of their dreams.   

You aren't a caller in the queue, and I'm not working in a call center. I care about my clients and love working with you to make your dreams come true.

I hope that this has helped you find out how I work for you to plan and book amazing trips. As always, if you have any questions - don't hesitate to reach out to me. I can't wait to start planning your next amazing trip.