Shifts in the Travel Industry and Where Travel Coaches Fit in

The travel industry is shifting and who knows that more than active travelers who see and experience it for themselves?

After graduating from university I had no clue what career I wanted to have, despite having a degree in hospitality and tourism.  That’s why I decided to pack a bag and travel the world.  I wanted to learn more about myself, about life, about the world, and figure out what my purpose and passions are.

I traveled on and off for over 10 years but was struggling to figure out what my ideal career was.  I knew of the types of careers that existed and I knew of the popular jobs that travelers liked such as being a travel agent or advisor, blogger, free lancer, VA, or working for a company that just “pays to travel”.  I wanted more. I wanted to do more, be more, create more, and make even more money.

I knew that my travel experiences and my story were unique to me and I had a lot of specific knowledge.  I had people reaching out to me throughout the years asking me about my traveling lifestyle and how I made it happen.  I loved sharing and writing about everything I knew and loved about travel. I just didn’t know how to turn all of my experience and knowledge into a career.

I always had an entrepreneurial spirit but had no idea on what, when, or how to get started.

After years of immersing myself in travel, I began studying as much as I could about the travel industry and how to start a business online. I came across countless amount of information about the shifts in the travel industry such as how travel brands and companies are trying to build deeper connections with travelers and new strategies to provide ultimate transformative experiences. The way people travel is changing, the way travel brands are marketing is different, the way people value travel is shifting, the travel incentives that companies are offering employees are growing, and there’s a massive boom in digital nomad and remote work. 

The majority of my travels were during the prime time of the travel industry change.  I went from a traveler who used a flip phone and paid to use computers wherever I could and carried around a paper map to a current traveler that has access to all of the travel apps, technology, and websites that are now available.

So I totally get it. I experienced and saw the travel trends, problems, voids, and desires.  I knew what travelers wanted, how people reacted to travel brands, what was popular to travelers, why people traveled, how everyone’s story was special, and so much more.  I knew that my unique travel experience, knowledge, and story fit perfectly in the shift of the travel industry. 

As a traveler, we experience transformations, we learn why we travel, we know the power that travel can have, we know what travelers want, need, and dislike, we know about the world of digital nomads and what people want from employers, we know the freedom people seek, and we know what travel brand messaging resonates best with us. 

That’s when I decided to take action and start my dream career as a Travel Coach.  I knew that as a travel coach I could use my personal transformation, story, experiences, and expertise to help others who wanted to learn how to incorporate more travel into their lifestyles.  I knew that my experience as a traveler can help others design their dream lifestyle, experience the power of travel on their own life, find out why they travel so they can have the transformative experiences they crave, empower them to be able to plan and book their travels on their own time and budget, and so much more.  Travel coaches base their expertise on their authentic travel experiences, their unique travel-related skills and knowledge, and their true passion for travel.

As the shift in the travel industry continues to head towards personalization, customization, and transformative experiences, the need for travel coaches grows.  From the wellness programs that companies integrate to the simple fact that people want to learn how to be more in control over their travel plans, travel coaching can be applied in so many aspects of the travel industry.

 

Want to learn more about coaching travel? Visit The Travel Coach Network

Why Travel Coaches Add Incredible Value to Corporate Travel and Wellness Programs

People are turning to travel, and even quitting their jobs, to learn more about themselves, find balance, have enriching experiences, and search to fill voids, find answers, and find purpose. Travel is something that almost everyone craves and wants more of. With the exponential boom in the digital nomad lifestyle and the ease that the internet and technology brings, people can work from anywhere in the world and have a lifestyle that makes them happy. This isn’t just a trend but rather the start of a massive shift in culture and lifestyle. It’s known that traveling can help people in various ways ranging from personal growth, learning new skills, gaining a well-rounded worldly view, decrease stress, promote mental wellness, and encourage relationships with people from other social, cultural, and business backgrounds. Travel can have a powerful impact on a person’s mind, body, and soul which makes it desirable and attractive to so many, especially those who have a work, mindset, and lifestyle imbalance.

The concept of health and wellness are integrated within companies of all industries. Expenditures are being made by employers to improve employee wellness in a variety of ways. Wellness and travel-related programs are being adopted by all sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry. Companies are taking action to help prevent valuable talent from burnout or turnover, including every employee in the company from the cleaning staff to corporate executives. Everyone is human and everyone wants similar things such as feeling valued and appreciated, having a healthy work-life balance, feeling fulfilled and purposeful, and feeling understood and connected on a deeper human level with others. Employees are looking for unique reasons to start and to stay and are making career decisions based around companies that offer flexible and favorable travel policies.

Every company’s wellness program or mission to improve employee productivity and workplace morale needs a travel coach. Wellness programs focus on the mind, body, spirit, and overall health of employees which makes the addition of travel seamless. Travel is placed at the top of people’s priority list and integrating travel-related incentives and guidance in your company is crucial.

Forward-thinking companies respond to the need for innovative employee wellness and travel incentives to remain competitive, decrease expenses and turnover, increase productivity, and thrive as a company of integrity and value. In 2018, there were 900,000 unfilled positions in the U.S hospitality industry, which was a sharp rise from 2017 according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics for the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Investing in your employees is key to continuing support of company success. A happy and satisfied employee is your greatest ambassador. Success and growth are redefining to include the internal staff and culture of a company, not just external results. Human capital development is a continual challenge in the hospitably and tourism industry, a region experiencing a remarkable rate of growth. Memorable experiences and excellent customer service are primary focuses in the industry but your company can’t operate at full capacity without being fully staffed with valuable employees without jeopardizing quality and experience. You must take care of your employees, they are important factors in overall experiences and can make or break a brand or a trip.

Burnout is a leading reason why people slack at their job or decide to quit, often to travel the world. What is oftentimes referred to as “millennial burnout” doesn’t encompass just millennials but rather employees of all ages. I remember sitting next to a corporate executive on an airplane and after I shared my story of how I have been traveling the world to over 80 countries in the past decade and living my dream lifestyle, he expressed his jealously of the freedom and happiness that I had created for myself. He had a family and kids along with a high-paying corporate salary, all things that make up the “ultimate” life goals for many people but, he was envious of me? This made me think. I couldn’t believe that my story of traveling the world and living a lifestyle that was authentic and fulfilling to me made a man who seemed to have the dream life on paper want what I had. This proved the power that travel has and it made me think that there must be a happy balance between the both. There is.

There is a fundamental shift in the way people view and value life, purpose, money, travel, work, and experiences. Milennials and people of all ages have an entrepreneurial mentality and a desire to work freely now more than ever before. By 2025, Millennials will comprise three quarters of the global workforce, then Gen X and Z. What people want now-a-days has shifted from the normal daily routine to seeking a work-life balance that’s more enriching, exciting, and thriving. People are placing a more fulfilling and experiential life over a lucrative income. Employees want more out a job and are finding it easier to skip climbing the corporate latter to something that suits their freedom-based lifestyle. Not offering travel incentives can be a career deal breaker whereas 39% of people saying they wouldn’t take a job that didn’t allow them to travel for business. This is a huge problem for companies on many levels and another reason why travel needs to be more of a focus in corporate, wellness, and business incentive programs.

The question of “why” has people seeing life and decision-making in a new light. Why stay in a job that makes you unhappy? Why not live the life you dream of? Why shouldn’t I find my purpose and passion in life? Why not see the world? People want to travel. Whether that’s for business or leisure, or what’s now referred to as “bleisure”, a combination of both. They just don’t always know where, when, why, or how to have the transformative experience that they desire. That, along with many more reasons, is why every company in every industry needs help from a travel coach.

There needs to be more emphasis and options on the travel side of wellness programs and travel initiatives. Implementing travel coaching in your company is an extremely effective way to invest in a young and growing community of masterminds, change the culture of your company, reevaluate and adapt, fulfill your corporate social responsibility, and strengthen your business model. Not only will the ability to travel more and get the best experience that they can, travel has so many benefits to a company’s overall success including reducing turnover, decreasing training and rehiring expenses, inspire creativity and productivity, promote a happier and healthier work environment, encourage openness and employee interaction, improve mental wellness, and develop new professional and personal skills.

A travel coach empowers people to take control over their travel desires and teaches them how to plan, book, and obtain the transformative travel experiences that they crave. Travelers want to feel involved and in charge of their travel plans but oftentimes get overwhelmed or aren’t sure how to go about the entire process. Travel coaches use their personal travel niche, experiences, knowledge, and stories to build a deeper personal connection with clients, give personal recommendations of resources and travel tools, focuses on mindset, builds confidence, and helps people understand the true reason for why they want to travel so they can have an impactful travel experience that brings the clarity, answers, and transformations that they seek. The foundation of travel coaching is authenticity and empowerment with the pursuit of enhancing one’s personal travel experience and well-being. Wellness is a journey, just like traveling, both sparked by a story. Travel coaches use storytelling and their personal travel niche to gain human connection, inspire, and motivate those who relate to their expertise most.

Everyone is given some level of vacation time each year, weekends, and time off from work but not everyone knows how to best optimize on that time. They may wish to travel and get away but don’t know where to begin and don’t want to rely on a travel agent or spend an incredible amount of money. They may not know how to make the most out of traveling alone, how to overcome any travel anxieties or concerns, how to have a great family trip, how to decide where to go, or how to have an experience that feeds their craving for adventure, culture, authenticity, and inspires stories of their own to share. A travel coach will teach employees and business travelers everything that they need to know to have the experience that they want on the time and budget that they have while focusing on mindset and overall wellness and balance. Travel coaches can be of incredible value to any sabbatical, business travel, corporate travel, wellness, or travel incentive policies and programs.

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to” — Richard Branson

Read more about Travel Coaching and Corporate Wellness Programs in my Article in Thrive Global Here

What 10 Years of Traveling Taught Me About the Holes in the Travel Industry

 

I followed my heart, paved my own path, and designed my dream lifestyle and career.  After circling the globe multiple times right out of university, I have traveled to over 80 countries by the time that I was 30 years old.  I aligned my values, beliefs, and my truth with my passion for helping others and my expertise in travel to become a travel and business coach.  I help others understand and optimize on the power of travel and tap into their personal travel story and understand their why for traveling so they too can design their dream lifestyle, have their ideal travel career, and improve their lives, mindset, and business.

Traveling the world never seemed possible for someone like me.  I grew up as an only child to a single mom in a middle class family.  My idea of traveling was cross-country family road trips every summer from Wisconsin to the south of Texas.  Taking an airplane and flying around the globe seemed like a lifestyle that only the rich and famous could have.  We could hardly keep food in our pantry, how could I ever afford to travel the world?  I also struggle with pretty bad anxiety so I wasn’t sure how’d I would be able to travel alone or make sure I stayed safe. I always had a wanderlust spirit and knew from movies and photos that there was so much out there that I wanted to explore.  It wasn’t until my third year of university that my true determination kicked in.  On the very first day of an international tourism course, as we went around the room introducing ourselves, we shared the number of countries that we had been to.  Some people responded with 10, 15, and even more.  I quietly mumbled the number three, two of which I hardly remember because I was so young and one which was to an all-inclusive resort that sheltered us from having any sort authentic cultural experience.  I felt jealous. I wanted those experiences too.  How did they do it?  How did they manage to travel alone? Were they scared? How could I afford it?  I didn’t know those answers but I made a promise to myself that I would figure them out.  So I did.

The summer after graduating from college, I packed my backpack for the very first time and off I went.  I caught the travel bug and never looked back.  Fast forward a decade, I have traveled to over 80 countries by the time that I turned 30 years old.  Never in my wildest travel dreams did I imagine that I’d travel to 80 countries across six continents all on my own and own funds.  I started documenting my journey in a blog which made me realize how much I loved sharing my story, experiences, and travel tips with others so they can incorporate more travel into their lifestyles.

In my early 30’s, I was having a quarter life crisis.  Despite having a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, I was desperately searching for my dream career.  I knew about the corporate careers and travel-related jobs that I studied about.  I also knew of the options that existed for travelers such as being a blogger, a travel agent, an influencer, a freelancer, or working for a company that allows for business travel.  None of those resonated with me. There has to be something more. I wanted more out of life and a career. I wanted to create, do, and be more.  I wanted to figure out a way to use all that I learned and experienced throughout my decade of traveling the world to really make an impact on the lives of other travelers.

I decided to find the answers that I was looking for and then create the solution that I desired.  

 Throughout my years of traveling the globe, I was doing more than finding my own answers on life and my direction.   I was doing years of hands-on market research.  I was learning, directly and indirectly, about the travel industry’s trends, voids, problems, technology, and what was popular alongside the reasons why people were traveling.  I began traveling at a prime stage in the travel industry.  When I first started my travels, all of the travel apps, websites, tools, and resources were not popular or available like they are today.  My very backpacking trip I had a small flip phone that had no cell service and didn't even want to turn on.  I had to pay for internet use wherever I could find a computer and I still communicated with my mom via email!  Over the next decade, my journey changed in regards to how I traveled and the tools that I used.  The travel industry was shifting and I was right in the middle of it.  There has been an incredible boom in travel apps and websites which bring convience and affordability to customers travel experiences.

But what is lacking the real definition of what an "experience" really means.

Traveling is shifting from just wanting to sip a strawberry daiquiri on a beach and staying within the walls of an all-inclusive resort.  People are seeking an experience of a lifetime. An ingrained memory.  A life-altering impactful story to share with others. People want a journey that will transform, heal, inspire, or reset them. Travel has the power to impact a person’s life through soul-searching, new cultural understanding, perspective shifts, expanding the mind, pushing comfort zone boundaries, spiritual awakenings, personal challenges, and personal growth.  Everyone travels for their own unique reasons.  Some to escape a stressful work schedule, some to find inner peace, or maybe to build new personal connections.  Understanding why you are choosing to travel is imperative to getting the best experience and clarity that you seek out of your travels.

Finding a deeper reason for why people are traveling, making them feel understood and connected, and putting more power into their hands will take the travel and hospitality industry from a place of adventure, luxury, and fun to a place of meaning, purpose, passion, and evolution.

Through a new sense of meaning, a realization of passions, and self-actualization, travel enriches a person’s life by helping lead to their life path and purpose.  Travelers want to be more involved in the travel planning process.  They also want to travel longer, cheaper, and more often.  The myriad of travel apps, websites, and tools are widely available but travelers are still seeking the confidence and self-fulfillment of taking control over their own journey.  Travel can be intimidating and daunting for people who have the desire and dreams but aren’t sure how to turn their travel goals into reality. 

From booking and planning logistics and setting a budget to dealing with any mindful, life, work, or personal roadblocks that may hold you back, travel coaches will provide the tools, resources, guidance, and expertise to put the power of travel into the hands of the traveler. When a travel dreamer can connect with a travel coach who has the travel experience and expertise that they best relate to, they are more likely to learn and gain the best possible experience and control over their travels that they can.

 

I then began studying everything that I could about starting an online business and even more about the travel industry. I started working with and learning from successful people that I admired in business.  I then took everything that I learned, meshed it with my travel expertise, and I started my own travel coaching business and created The Travel Coach Network™ (TCN). 

I know the power that travel and storytelling can hold in someone’s life and business.  Traveling opened my eyes and heart and helped me find myself, my passions, my purpose, and clarity on my ideal career path.  I am a big believer in taking control of your life, setting goals, staying true to yourself, following your own path, dreaming big, and living the life that you desire. You really can be the author of your own life story and the driver to your own destiny.  Every traveler has a story that can teach and help others and I want to make it easy for people to find established travelers that they relate to and build a human connection with.  Since I was traveling in a prime morphing stage for the travel industry and am part of the millennial generation, I gained clarity and a perspective on the travel industry that many others didn’t.  The market research that I had been doing, my personal travel experiences, problems, and desires, and my determination to have my dream career ignited my entrepreneurial fire inside and I took action. The realization that what I was seeking as a traveler is what so many other travelers are looking for as well gave me even more drive to create the dream travel career.  I also realized that travel and hospitality companies were not optimizing on what customers want most when it comes to travel, human connection and a story to tell.

One of the things that I learned was that when people wanted a career in the travel industry, they didn’t want to sacrifice their lifestyle freedom or fade in the background of any competition.  What they wanted instead was to use their passion for travel, tell their stories, and inspire others when it comes to traveling.  The reason that I created the TCN is because it is what I wish that I had access to when I was just a traveler in search of my life and career path.  Why I do what I do is because I was immersed in the travel world at a prime stage of the travel industry’s shift in travel trends, technology, and competition.  I am a problem-solver and someone who loves making the lives of others easier based on my personal experience and knowledge. It’s an incredible feeling to provide value that positively impacts the lives and businesses of others through my travel expertise, products, and services. The TCN educates, inspires, empowers, supports, and guides travel dreamers, travel entrepreneurs, and travel companies looking to keep up with the rapid rise in the digital nomad craze, stand out among their competition, and use travel storytelling to create the ultimate authentic transformative travel experience for their customers.

The most powerful way that I can create change in the world as a travel expert and a travel coach is to develop the largest online network of travel coaches that use the power of travel, storytelling, and understanding why people travel to take the travel industry from a war of travel technology to a place of ultimate travel transformations and experiences.

Maybe you haven’t had a quarter life crisis like I did but at some point in your travel journey you were probably feeling confused or searching for your dream career that was going to bring you the financial, spiritual, and time freedom that you craved.  You can transform and enrich your life through your travel experiences as you help others transform their lives. You don’t have to blend in with the crowd or settle for a lifestyle or a career that doesn’t make your heart sing.  You also don’t have to have all of the answers right away.  You don’t have to struggle financially doing a job that doesn’t make you happy.  You don’t have to enjoy travel experiences through the photographs and videos of friends or online.  It’s up to you to take the leap and step out of your comfort zone.  It’s up to you to follow your own heart and believe in your destiny.  It’s up to you to manifest your success (whatever your definition of success may be) and take action on your goals.  It’s up to you to firmly believe in yourself and that you’re meant for something even greater. You can design the lifestyle and the career of your dreams.  You can align your passions, interests, skills, experiences, and your story with how you help others and the impact that you make on the world. One of the best ways to accelerate towards your dreams and goals is to ask for help.  It can be hard (trust me, I have always struggled to ask for help myself) but finding someone that inspires and motivates you, does something similar to what you want to accomplish, or someone who’s message and vision resonates with the mantras of your own mind and heart, it can make a huge difference in your life. Open yourself up to achieving your highest potential. Push past any fears, anxieties, physical or mental obstacles, push you’re your sleeves, and take that first step.

Tap into your personal story, identify your travel specialty and skills and align your passion or travel and experiences with helping others.  Discover the dream career that you have been searching for just like I did.  Are you ready to be a part of revolutionizing the travel and hospitality industries in a way that resonates authenticity, storytelling, personalization, truth, and most importantly, adventure?!

With Love,

Sahara Rose

Sahara Rose De Vore is a Wellness Travel Coach, the CEO and owner of Sahara Rose Travels, LLC, and the founder of The Travel CoachNetwork™.  Her mission is to create the first and largest online network of travel coaches who change the way that the hospitality and tourism industries provide fulfilling, empowering, and transformative travel.  She empowers and educates on the power and importance that travel and storytelling can have on life, purpose, and business.  Sahara Rose has a BA in tourism and has spent a decade traveling the globe to over 84 countries by the age of 31.  She is a travel blogger turned published author of her travel and mindset guide “Hey You, Just Go!”.  Sahara Rose has studied under well renowned mentors and is pioneering the path for travel coaching.