Travel consulting is relationship-driven, and relationships require presence. I was losing clients not because my itineraries weren't excellent, but because I was slow to respond to enquiries, inconsistent with follow-ups, and behind on social content during my busiest booking seasons. The back-office work of running the business was actively making the front-office experience worse.
I had heard about OnlineBestJobs.ph from a travel industry group on Facebook. Several independent consultants in the thread had Filipino team members handling everything from booking research to client communication and all of them spoke highly of the experience. I posted a role on a Thursday and had a strong shortlist by the weekend. Aliza, the candidate I ultimately hired, had worked with a travel agency in New Zealand for over two years and knew the major GDS and booking systems I use.
Aliza now manages our client inquiry pipeline, prepares initial itinerary research packs, sends follow-up sequences, handles supplier correspondence, and maintains our travel blog with two posts per month. Our inquiry-to-booking conversion rate has risen 34% because no lead goes cold anymore. Clients regularly comment that we are the most responsive travel company they have worked with. That responsiveness is Aliza — and she has made Blackwood Travel Co. a business I am genuinely proud of again.
