Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Matthews.
Hi Mike , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Amy and I both have always had a passion for travel. We love going new places and learning the history and culture of each place. Even places where we have been many times, we still seem to learn something different every time we visit. In 2007 we learned that we could turn that passion into a business, by sharing those experiences with other people and using our knowledge to help them plan their vacations. We had no real idea at the time of how the travel industry worked, or the value that a travel adviser could bring. We learned that the industry runs on commissions and advisors are paid by the products they sell and not by the consumer. We learned that the more we knew about each destination, the easier it was to sell that destination, and not only sell it, but provide knowledge and insight into the destination and culture. All of that is very important when clients contact us so that we can make informed decisions about how to help them get the value and vacation they are looking for. We have always just looked at this as a customer service business that happens to sell travel. We want our clients to be answered in a timely manner and we want them to be our advocates in the community. Every time someone is in a conversation about why someone should use a travel advisor, we want our name to come up. Our business just continues to grow, and we are blessed to be one of the top franchises with the largest home based travel network in the country.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well 2020 was a struggle. No one could travel, cruise ships were not sailing, entire countries were closed. All we could do in that situation was just keep selling, and get up and go to work everyday. What could we sell? Well I think we sold cruises for 2021, that later also got canceled, so we sold them for 2022. We sold individual hotel nights here and there, that made us almost no money but kept us engaged with our clients. Mexico opened some resorts before anyone else was really open, so we pushed that out to a group of clients who were all desperate to go somewhere after being locked down for a year. We just basically did whatever it took. But then again, that’s basically the way we have done it for 18 years. There is always a challenge in some part of the business, as there is with any business. Our job is to meet those challenges head on and push through so that our clients are always getting our best.
As you know, we’re big fans of Cruise Planners Fernandina Beach . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a home based full service travel agency. I think what we want people to know, that in todays digital world with all the resources available at our fingertips, that when it comes to travel the number of opportunities and their value can still get confusing. Not that people can’t point and click and find what they want, because clearly they can. However, what the consumer doesn’t realize is that our suppliers are constantly pushing incentives to us to sell their brands. There are so many incentives that people miss just because they don’t call, text or email. We can navigate all of that and it doesn’t cost them anything. Then there is the whole issue of knowledge. No one has been everywhere, but we have been a lot of places, and have a lot of clients who have been even more. Again this is free first hand knowledge that we can provide. There is also an advocacy that people don’t think about. We work with these suppliers all the time and have dedicated sales reps that can help us work through issues with the client and supplier if they come up. Basically I just want to stress the value of using an advisor.
I would say about 75% of our bookings are cruise vacations, because of the value they provide. We understand that everyone is not a “cruise person” and we also do quite a bit of land. Everything from guided tours, to just building itineraries based on where clients want to go.
I believe what sets us a part is that we take each booking personally and treat it like it’s our own. We want to give people the service we would want to receive. We have a great web site and people can book from there, but we crave that interaction with our clients. We want them to contact us. The more we know about them the better we can serve them.
Our brand is one of the largest and most powerful in the entire travel industry. That gives us access to rates and travel deals that others can’t match. But it’s never just about “the deal”. it’s always about the best overall value and we think we provide that like no one else
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mmcruisetravel.com/
- Instagram: @cruiseplannersfernandina
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CruisePlanners.FernandinaBeach
