Aggie Batista. (Source: Aggie Batista.)
Success Stories focus on veteran travel advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look Aggie Batista, a Dream Vacations franchise owner in Rockaway Park, N.Y.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
In 2011, I declared that I was an entrepreneur and knew it was time to take action and start a business. Then I assessed industries to choose from. I made a list of everything I loved, that inspired me, but more importantly, that matched my personality and what truly moved me when I worked with others.
I remembered when I was a young girl and would visit local travel agencies. I helped translate for my parents every time we would plan a vacation to go visit my mother’s country, Colombia, or my father’s country, Dominican Republic. It was fascinating to see the brochures, pictures and itineraries. I relived the moment of excitement approaching our trip and how I loved to take over the list to make sure everything was perfect before we left.
At that moment I knew I had found my industry – the travel industry!
I then started educating myself on the different business models and knew that owning a franchise was perfect for me. I loved working with a team and it made perfect sense to partner with a brand that was already known in the industry. I picked up Entrepreneur magazine’s 2011 Best of the Best Franchises List and chose the top three companies that fit my criteria and schedule phone appointments with all of them. I chose the perfect one in CruiseOne – now Dream Vacations – and I never looked back!
How did your business/niche over the years?
The best decision I made when I first started was to build a relationship with my local newspaper, “Rockaway Times.” I promoted my travel events there and that helped create a buzz in the community, which led to great articles written about me. I even had clients write about their family vacations and their experiences with me in the newspaper.
That opened the door to building my niche. The majority of clients who called me were inquiring about cruises. I educated myself about all the cruise lines, ships and more. It was wonderful to start with that focus. After that, a new second group of clients expressed their desire for land vacations.
Today, I am the owner of a full-service agency that combines cruising with pre- and post-itineraries and customized land travel around the globe.
What characteristics make you a successful advisor?
I love what I do, I always operate with patience and a positive attitude and I pay attention to small details – which has saved me many times.
What have your greatest challenges been?
During COVID I worked hard to ensure my clients that their funds were protected. They trusted me so much during this whole process. I couldn’t let them down. I never stopped working until every single reservation was successfully refunded.
After travel began opening up, a large volume of people wanted to see the world again – all at once. The biggest challenge was ensuring all my clients received the special attention they were used to from me. This led to creative ideas and growing my team to ensure we had the support we needed to take care of our clients.
Lastly, any last-minute itinerary changes before clients' departures can be a huge challenge, but I’ve found that when I exercise patience with a positive attitude doors open to many great solutions.
What are your greatest accomplishments?
I’ve had so many accomplishments, but the best is when I hear my clients say, ‘I had the best time of my life.’ To be a part of that designing those journeys means the world to me.
What tips can you provide advisors new to the industry?
Build relationships with many suppliers in the industry, create a marketing plan and always follow up with clients in a timely manner.
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