We recently connected with Jill Albino and have shared our conversation below.

Jill, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I was never in travel, I came from the event/design world. I have always been a creator and I love small details, perfect timing and interesting concepts. Looking back this is what would help me build a career in travel. In 2018 I decided I was ready for a new venture. I had been home for 8 years with my children after working corporate for a luxury brand for 13. I started hosting events to connect, support and educate women on various topics like wills, trusts and estates or finances before/during/after a divorce. Then the pandemic hit and that was it for that. I was upset but also trying to figure out how I was going to really make a future out of holding those events.
It was February 2021 and my friend who was in wellness told me about FORA Travel. Except she wasn’t telling me for the purpose of finding a new career, she was telling me to take a look at their site for trip ideas. I took a look and instead applied to become a travel planner. I had no experience in planning travel other than traveling myself and planning out events and traveling exhibitions. I signed on and I never looked back. There was a lot of hard work in building my business in the beginning. You have to go out and find people to trust in you. The people you expect to be there aren’t always the ones that show up. Creating a brand an identity, learning every destination, figuring how it all works, what hotels are good and which ones are not. How to book each and ultimately how to keep your clients happy.
I truly love what I do and I am passionate about creating magical moments for my clients. I don’t have any regrets about when I started this because I know it is a business I will grow with. I also learned and grew over the years. This might have felt different for me if I started earlier in life. Unlike my other careers those had some type of expiration. Travel planning is a business that will get better and better the longer you are in it. Your clients become more defined and less finicky. They know you know what they like and how to build a perfect vacation for them. You gain loyal clients who will use you for all of their trips from a weekend to a full summer and spread the word to their friends. As clients get older travel becomes more important and people are willing to spend more on these once in a life time experiences.

Jill, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I worked in events for many years on the designing, planning and execution of them. I went to FIT and have degrees in Display and Exhibit Design as well as Marketing & Merchandising. I really think these are three key pieces to a successful design business but it also taught me to focus on details. This is where my strengths are when I am choosing hotels and planning my clients itineraries. There is a certain level of design vision that helps me when I am deciding on hotels for each client. Knowing what their preferences are and the hotels and destinations that match that. I am also a problem solver by nature and I am very passionate about making sure my clients are having the best experiences while traveling. For example I had a client who loved wine. They collected bottles of wine from hundreds of years ago and it was important for them to have a very individualized experience when they were in Italy. I was able to have them meet with one of the most recognized enologist and even have dinner with them. These are experiences that you can’t get with just anyone.
My most proud moment recently is that I am one of the top independent earners through my host agency Fora. Fora created FORA X which is a separate support team for a small group of agents. I am new to the industry about 1 1/1 years and I was able to reach this goal so that feels good.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I want to start with I don’t think social media is the answer. I think a lot of people want to be out there and feel like they need to be on social all the time. Maybe it works for some businesses but not for mine. I have social so my current clients can get inspired and see where I am going or my other clients are going but I don’t think it brings in new quality business. There is still a level of uncertainty when people find you on Instagram. They worry I may be too expensive to work with or maybe they are there just to get ideas. For me the majority of my business is word of mouth. If you have a client and you make them happy they are going to share that with their friends. I do have clients who don’t want to share me which is kind of funny. I leave special notes and gifts in my clients rooms and those small little dots of appreciation go a long way. I am also a people person and I love learning about people and what their likes and dislikes are. These are important details to have and clients come back because they know I listen to them. I make it easy for them to just relax and enjoy their vacation.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Being in travel is a sales business . I am not pushy and I don’t like to sell anything I personally don’t love. So it is usually a chat with someone I meet about traveling. The more they speak to me the more they understand my personality and that I do this mainly because I want to see others happy and exploring. I love meeting new people wherever I go so just being outgoing and talking to people. Networking has always worked best for me. I have never used any other platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.foratravel.com/advisor/jill-marie
• Instagram: @mamalikesveggies
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillalbino/