The booking may be secured, but your work as a Travel with Awestruck advisor is far from finished. We distinguish ourselves by bringing high-touch service back to the travel industry, and as a travel advisor, it is your job to make sure we uphold this promise to our clients.
The phase between deposit and departure is how you set yourself apart. This differentiates advisors building lasting relationships from agents chasing bookings. It is your moment to reinforce trust, ensure no detail is missed, plan surprise Awestruck Moments, and maintain the level of service that keeps clients coming back (and referring their friends).
Read on for our guide to managing your bookings, from deposit to departure.
The phase between deposit and departure is how you set yourself apart. This differentiates advisors building lasting relationships from agents chasing bookings. It is your moment to reinforce trust, ensure no detail is missed, plan surprise Awestruck Moments, and maintain the level of service that keeps clients coming back (and referring their friends).
Read on for our guide to managing your bookings, from deposit to departure.
Managing the booking
Communicate any changes to clients
From the moment your clients book until the time they depart, things change, and it is your responsibility to keep your clients up-to-date. Some of these changes may include:
- Airline schedule changes. Make sure you are checking your inbox, and read below for more information on how to handle schedule changes
- Country entry and exit requirements. It is not uncommon for a country to require a new form that must be completed before your clients travel. This often changes between when your clients book their trip and when they travel, so be sure to double check often
- Visa and passport requirements. You might think that these cannot possibly change very often, but you would be surprised. We see these changes frequently - from the new Europe visa that will be required in 2026 to the ETA required already for the UK to extended passport validity requirements for the Dominican Republic. Stay up-to-date on requirements, and use TSA.gov for up-to-date requirements on the country to which your clients are traveling
- Medical requirements. Especially in a post-COVID world, country vaccination requirements are changing constantly. Be sure to stay up to date on the latest changes to ensure your clients are prepared to travel
Add key reminders in VCRM
VCRM reminders are an important way to stay on top of deadlines while servicing the client's trip, ensuring that you never drop the ball (and leaving your clients wondering how you manage to do it all). You can set custom reminders for anything in the planning process (e.g., reminders to book reservations at an exclusive beach club the day bookings open for your client's dates).
When you set a reminder, it appears in your VCRM operational dashboard, so you will see reminders coming due every time you sign in. Some reminders we recommend include:
When you set a reminder, it appears in your VCRM operational dashboard, so you will see reminders coming due every time you sign in. Some reminders we recommend include:
- Adding transfers
- Visa deadlines
- Dining reservation windows
- Excursion booking follow-ups
- Completing Signature client detail and amenities forms for Signature Preferred Hotels / cruises
- Special requests for amenities
- Travel document delivery
To add a reminder, navigate to the trip profile, and use the "Reminders" section to add and edit custom reminders.
Apply VCRM email reminders
Travel with Awestruck has created email reminder series ("email groups") in VCRM to automatically send your clients emails at relevant moments in the pre-departure process. These email groups vary by trip type and destination. All you need to do is go into VCRM, select the trip, click apply email group, and then select the relevant option for your clients to receive custom emails regarding their destinations directly from you. You can also create custom email series if you wish to better suit the needs of your specific clients.
Confirm insurance status
If your client hasn’t purchased insurance — or initially declined it — now is a good time to revisit the conversation.
- Remind them of coverage benefits (cancellations, delays, medical emergencies). There are insurance policies for as low as $40 per person that do not offer cancellation protection but offer in-destination medical coverage
- Note the deadline for purchasing insurance
- Offer a quote if using Travel Insured
Monitor flight schedules and supplier notifications
In travel, the unexpected is to be expected, and part of your value add as a travel advisor is ensuring that you are on top of any changes to your clients' itineraries, so they do not have to think about them.
Watch out for any flight or schedule change emails from suppliers. Forward any information you receive about flight changes to the clients immediately upon receipt, and be sure to offer alternatives and modifications if needed. For vacation packages, there is a small window during which you can accept the schedule change or select an alternative option.
If you have a Travefy subscription and have added flights in Travefy, you will receive email notifications of any changes.
Watch out for any flight or schedule change emails from suppliers. Forward any information you receive about flight changes to the clients immediately upon receipt, and be sure to offer alternatives and modifications if needed. For vacation packages, there is a small window during which you can accept the schedule change or select an alternative option.
If you have a Travefy subscription and have added flights in Travefy, you will receive email notifications of any changes.
Manage final payments
If set up correctly, VCRM reminders will do most of the work for you, but it is still your responsibility to ensure that your clients' final balances are paid on time to avoid cancellation or loss of reservation.
If your clients have not replied to the VCRM automatic payment reminder, be sure to follow up 3-5 days in advance of final payment becoming due as a courtesy.
If your clients have not replied to the VCRM automatic payment reminder, be sure to follow up 3-5 days in advance of final payment becoming due as a courtesy.
Add value and keep in touch
Normal "agents" turn off contact between the time their clients make a deposit and the time they send over travel documents. As a Travel with Awestruck advisor, your job is to add value during that "in between" time to demonstrate your worth and ensure your clients have an exceptional experience. We elevate the journey before it even begins.
You should be keeping in touch with your clients every so often to remind them that you are thinking of their trip and constantly looking for ways to give them the best possible journey. This could look like:
You should be keeping in touch with your clients every so often to remind them that you are thinking of their trip and constantly looking for ways to give them the best possible journey. This could look like:
- Sharing a local dining guide for your clients' destinations
- Sending "Awestruck exclusive" tips, like hidden cultural experiences, packing guides, and local etiquette cheat sheets. Some of our supplier partners offer fabulous content off-the-shelf to help with this (See Italy is an excellent example)
- Creating surprise and delight moments. Send your clients a small gift, a playlist for their destination, or some travel supplies (e.g., towel clips) to get them into the travel mindset
What you send is less important than making sure you stay in touch. Just ensure that what you send is useful and authentic instead of salesy. You've closed the sale -- now build the relationship.
Curate Awestruck Moments
Your clients have selected their trip, but you should always be thinking about how you can go above and beyond to wow them in-destination.
At minimum, you should be emailing the resort prior to your clients' arrival with any client requests and requested amenities. If the property is Signature Preferred, you should note that you are with Signature Travel Network in your email and fill in the client detail form in Signet. This will help to confirm that any consortia or VIP benefits are applied. For clients traveling for a special occasion, you can usually also request a welcome amenity and a note from you to be delivered to their room upon arrival.
For your true VIPs or clients taking high dollar value trips, you may want to provide your clients with a surprise gift in-destination. If you do decide to send your clients a gift, ensure it does not interfere with the rest of the trip they have already signed off on, and is generally flexible. Some options may include:
At minimum, you should be emailing the resort prior to your clients' arrival with any client requests and requested amenities. If the property is Signature Preferred, you should note that you are with Signature Travel Network in your email and fill in the client detail form in Signet. This will help to confirm that any consortia or VIP benefits are applied. For clients traveling for a special occasion, you can usually also request a welcome amenity and a note from you to be delivered to their room upon arrival.
For your true VIPs or clients taking high dollar value trips, you may want to provide your clients with a surprise gift in-destination. If you do decide to send your clients a gift, ensure it does not interfere with the rest of the trip they have already signed off on, and is generally flexible. Some options may include:
- Gifting them a spa credit
- Paying for one of their excursions
- Covering a fine dining or wine experience
- Purchasing a cabana on their behalf for a day by the pool
Send travel documents
Ensure that your clients receive their travel documents in a clear, organized format at least 2-3 weeks before their trip. Travefy is the ideal delivery methods for most clients, as it is adaptable and can be accessed from their phone during travel.
Please visit the travel documents module of the agent support portal for more details on how to craft and deliver exceptional documents.
Please visit the travel documents module of the agent support portal for more details on how to craft and deliver exceptional documents.
