Jonathan Alder. (Source: Jonathan Alder)
Success Stories focus on veteran travel advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Jonathan Alder, CEO of Jonathan’s Travels.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
In 1994 my family moved from Los Angeles to Arizona after the Northridge earthquake. We discovered it was not a place we cared for, so we began traveling more. As a teenager, I started reading every travel book possible – both consumer and industry – to learn as much as I could. I was definitely not a normal kid, but I found travel (and the business of travel) absolutely mesmerizing, especially when I discovered a love of flights and aircraft seats.
This was just around the time when the first flatbed product was coming to market. I happened to be getting in just at a time that revolutionized premium air travel. Skip forward many years later to 2010 – I had been working with my mom in her medical business when she passed away. I didn’t want to stay in that field and realized that my greatest knowledge was probably in travel. I contacted my old travel agent, Robbie Hanna, who helped bring me into TravelStore. They just happened to be starting a travel school at that time, and I jumped at the opportunity.
While this was all going on, I was also competing at fencing. A parent mentioned that their elite world level fencer had to travel around the world all the time with no support from the organization. They were unsure about the logistics to make this happen on a nearly weekly basis. For the next six months, we pursued getting a contract with the sport to become their official travel supplier for the athletes on a regular basis. From here, we grew to where we are today with a focus on luxury, entertainment and corporate travel.
How did you build your business over the years?
Fencing was definitely my way in the door. From there, it was a lot of referrals. We did not have any social media or advertising for the first 10 years. Spending countless years learning the craft, and especially the technology, is what kept the referrals flowing in. This is definitely not an easy job, but if you take the time to truly learn the industry, people will be thrilled to share you with their friends.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, we had to adjust. This was the biggest change to our business at any time. With suddenly a lot of free time, we started our social media channels, which have now grown to be quite large. This allowed a whole new group of people to discover what we do – some of whom have now become amazing clients and very good friends.
My husband joined the team and took over our social media. We want people to see the true side of luxury travel, so all the footage is our own and none of it is edited. Our goal for our Instagram is that if a traveler is going to the same destination we’re featuring the next week it will look just like what they saw on our page. We don’t just want to show the good sides of the world but also want to show what it’s really like there for a traveler.
What characteristic make you a successful advisor?
Being able to both teach and listen to our clients is a key characteristic. People are working with us to gain our expertise, so when I have people that are coming with a particular destination in mind that I don’t think will meet those desires and needs, it’s my job to show them all the better alternatives. I am never out of office no matter how much we travel. We are there for our clients 24/7 and do all we can to provide the best customer service possible. Fast response times are also critical; we don’t believe our client should have to wait for anything.
What have been your greatest challenges been?
One was definitely the pandemic and how to get our clients back out and traveling. To prove it could be done safely, we did it ourselves by traveling to five continents in 2020. Our clients started traveling around the middle of 2020 for leisure, and even earlier for business. This kept us from ever having a bad month. To do this, it took us being the ones out there and showing that it could be done safely. You can’t tell others to go and travel if you won’t do it yourself.
What have your greatest accomplishments been?
Our greatest accomplishments are being recognized by some of the top publishing sources in the travel world. As of 2023, we are recognized as a top agent for “Condé Nast Traveler,” “Travel + Leisure” and “Robb Report.” Another top accomplishment is being able to say that we’ve had many of the same clients since day one.
What tips can you provide advisors new to the industry?
Study and learn everything, especially the GDS. Focus your understanding on the way things are done. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of time, but truly learning the ins and outs are critical and are what makes someone a true travel agent.
Also, you can’t become a master without learning the basics first – booking flights, hotels and rental cars. From there, learning the destinations by traveling yourself. If you are focusing on luxury, that means going out there and creating custom itineraries for yourself. If it’s cruising, that means going on as a guest and experiencing the product the way a client would. Travel the same way you’re booking so that you know exactly what your client will be experiencing. Make a goal of covering as much as you can and learning as many different things as you can. You’re paid for your knowledge, so make sure you have it.
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