First Blog Post – Who are You?

I am not a writer.  Repeat, I am not a writer.  Or a blogger.  Furthermore, I am not a good writer.  I am the queen of using a lot of words, too much detail, and awkward sentences.  So, please bear with me as I begin this new journey into blogging.

Who are you?

My name is Semmes Humphreys, and I am a luxury travel advisor.  A new travel advisor.  Like, 2 months into learning.  I live in Memphis, TN.  I went to Rhodes College for undergraduate school and graduate school at the University of Memphis for my Master’s in Psychology. Although I do not have any educational experience in the travel industry, I am currently learning all the ins and outs of the industry.  And, I am loving every minute of it!  I do have extensive experience in owning and operating a business.  Also, I  am known for my extensive planning detailed itineraries in travel.

Well, what do you do?

As of right now, my travel agency is my side business.  I actually own a retail store, The Pink Door, a Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store.  I managed the store for 5 years, and in 2012 I bought half of the business and officially became co-owner of the store!  My business partner, Mimi, is amazing — she is also my mother 🙂  Running and operating The Pink Door is my full-time job.  Scratch that.  As a small business owner, I am on the clock 24/7.  Ahh, the life of an entrepreneur.

Why did you want to become a travel advisor?

But, I really wanted to try a Mediterranean cruise.  In my mind, I viewed it more like a floating hotel rather than “a cruise.”  I joked with my mom that she should come with me.  I knew she would say no.  She has never been on a cruise, hasn’t been to Europe in 30 years, and usually does not go anywhere without my step-dad.  Shockingly, she said, “I’ll do it!”  Crap, I now had to find a cruise line that she and I would both enjoy (okay — mainly I wanted to make sure my momma had a great first-time cruise and trip experience since she surprisingly said that she would come with me).  I did a lot of research, looked at a lot of itineraries, and talked to a lot of people.  Eventually, I stumbled upon Windstar Cruises.  Less than 300 people on board.  Luxury.  Small cruise ship.  I think I found a winner!

While I will write another post about that Mediterranean cruise and my European vacation, needless to say, my mom and I LOVED Windstar Cruises.  My mom loved it so much, she came home from our cruise and immediately booked another Windstar cruise with my step-dad for the Caribbean.  My step-dad is luxury traveler — first class, 5-star, personalized experience traveler.  AKA he has high standards for travel.  And, he LOVED Windstar too!  My mom and step-dad told my Aunt and Uncle how much they loved Windstar, my Aunt and Uncle then booked a Windstar cruise to Scotland and Ireland.   We found a gem with Windstar.

I was visiting my friend’s parents in Washington, DC.  His parents love to travel.  So, while we were talking about our travels, I told them about my amazing experience with Windstar.  They said they have been on a Windstar cruise years ago, they loved it too, and they should go on another one.  A couple of months later, they booked a Windstar cruise.  Furthermore, they booked another Windstar cruise for my friend’s step-brother and his new wife for their honeymoon as a wedding present.

I joked to my friends and family, “In 6 months time, I ‘sold’ 5 Windstar Cruises!  I should get paid!”  I then started to really think about it…  I love to travel.  I LOVE to plan.  I am known for my planning and detailed itineraries for trips.  I love to figure out logistics for travels.  In my spare time, I plan my future trips (complete with detailed itineraries).  I have a strong background in sales, customer service, planning, etc.  Why shouldn’t I get paid for what I love doing?  And, that is my story of why I wanted to become a travel advisor.

How did you become a travel advisor?

I own a retail store, The Pink Door, a Lilly Pulitzer signature store.  I just signed a 5-year lease and created another 5-year business plan.  For the next 5 years, I am first and foremost running The Pink Door.  I knew that if I was actually going to become a travel advisor, I would 1. need for it to be on the side/part-time, 2. have very flexible hours, 3. work from home, 4. be able to grow my business slowly, and 5. need training in the travel industry.  I concluded that I needed to become an Independent Consultant (IC)/home-based travel agent.  In other words, I would set up my own business, have my own clients, work on my own schedule while running everything through an established travel agency with the tools and resources at my disposal.

I researched travel agencies with an IC program at length.  Also, in my travels, I learned about Virtuoso.  What is Virtuoso?

“Virtuoso is a network of the best luxury travel agencies, with more than 15,200 advisors worldwide. We represent the best of the best in travel, with a portfolio of nearly 1,700 preferred partners – top hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and more. Our advisors use their global connections to plan the most memorable experiences for their clients, from weekend getaways to dream vacations”. — Virtuoso.com

Thus, I wanted a travel agency affiliated with Virtuoso.  Since there are not many travel agencies that are Virtuoso agencies, I narrowed my search for the right match.  Meanwhile, Ginger Wolfe, a travel agent/owner of Air Sea International Travel, came into my store to drop off something for my mom (my mom was working with Ginger to plan an Alaskan cruise — that will be another post) and shop.  I was talking to Ginger about my plans to become an IC, and she told me that her travel agency has an IC program.  Umm — I didn’t even think about local travel agencies.  Duh!

Well, a few weeks later, I went to Air Sea International Travel to meet with Ginger, Mark (the IC lesion), and the other owners.  After meeting and interviewing with them, they extended an invitation to join the IC program and I immediately said, “Yes, let’s do this!”  I am so grateful that I have a LOCAL agency (as a small business owner, I am all about LOCAL) that fit all my criteria — I run my business through their agency, I have my own clients, they know that I can only do this part-time/on the side for now, and they are a Virtuoso agency.  Furthermore, I can get actual training in person; have a place to go to learn, train, and get help; and since vendors stop at their agency, I have the opportunity to actually met vendors face-to-face.  And, that is how I became a travel advisor!

I will write more about training, learning, and my bookings as well as my experiences from traveling the world later!  I will mention this — appropriately, I booked my two first two clients on Windstar Cruises!

Travel around the world with Semmes!

xx,

Semmes

Note: (I have seen bloggers do this) I was not paid by Windstar Cruises for my glowing recommendation 🙂