When Your Agency Is More than Just a Business

At the beginning of 2020, I knew that our agency was destined to do something big. It was Wave season, and the phone lines were buzzing. That January we made the most monthly sales in the history of our business. We forecasted that 2020 would be the year that our agency reached new heights.

Our family travel agency is more than just a business, it is our way of life. Our family traditions were centered around our business. I remember being 15 years old roller-skating through Washington, D.C. delivering paper tickets from one office to another. Since then, the agency has employed everyone from my parents, uncles, and aunts, to the current generation of my cousins, myself, and my wife.

It humbled me to watch my mother grow her business as a woman and a minority and I wanted to make her proud. I wanted to be the one to make her dream a reality. We continued to grow exponentially every year and in 2020, it felt like the stars were aligning.

That February during ASTA’s Legislative Day, I remember Mark Meader, ASTA's senior vice president of industry affairs and education, asking me how I felt about a new virus emerging in Asia. He was concerned about a conference he was attending in South Korea that began to cancel. Unknowingly this would be my first encounter with the topic of the coronavirus and I easily shrugged at its possible effects. By the end of the month we saw a slight dip in bookings, but nothing that concerned us. Along with many others, I believed this was something that would pass or have a brief impact on my business.

Boy was I wrong.

The World Shuts Down

I arrived in the Philippines on a Tuesday night in early March to train our staff and provide support. By Thursday morning, there was a travel warning canceling all domestic flights. I knew something was up and I got on the first flight back home.

Within a few weeks, my family company that had been open since 1989 was decimated with no signs of recovery.

Once I landed in New York, the nightmare became real. The Philippine government imposed a travel ban that prevented international tourists from entering the islands. Within a few weeks, my family company that had been open since 1989 was decimated with no signs of recovery.

I never imagined something of this magnitude would ever happen . . . that the world could literally stop in a matter of days. This lesson was something unknown and impossible, and fear began to paralyze the travel industry and threaten our family’s livelihood.

In the 30 years of our company’s existence, I had never experienced an occasion that pushed the limits of my leadership, my resilience, and my compassion.

Not only did the travel restrictions prevent business, but every passenger that our company had booked over the past year began to file for refunds. We lost commissions on every single transaction completed prior to the ban. We had no revenue and were refunding money we didn’t have.

In the 30 years of our company’s existence, I had never experienced an occasion that pushed the limits of my leadership, my resilience, and my compassion.

Unlike any other travel agency in the Philippines, I decided to keep our staff employed to help fund their livelihoods and to ensure they could pay their bills and put food on their tables.

I thought this would pass and wanted to develop our advisors to be empathetic and to learn how to guide our clients through this tough time. Our goal was to create strong leaders, even at the sacrifice of profit.

An Ultimatum

Fast forward to October 2020: the travel ban was still in place and our company had no choice but to furlough half of our advisors to ensure our family business would survive. Our employees knew, but it was still hard to tell them I could not be there for them.

We kept praying that by 2021, things would change. But 2021 arrived and still no change. We had to cut back even more. We started 2020 with eight full-time advisors but we were forced to reduce our staff down to two agents.

In February 2021, I had to set an ultimatum: if we could not generate enough sales to break even, the agency that survived three decades would finally have to close.

My family business was crumbling before my eyes. The thing that kept our family close through the years was slipping through my fingers. Even though they never said it, I could feel the frustration and disappointment. The thought of not being able to provide for my wife and three children was killing me inside. The burden was overwhelming. I was down, depressed, and felt like a failure. I felt like somehow, I could have prevented this all from happening. I felt like crying every day.

In February 2021, I had to set an ultimatum: if we could not generate enough sales to break even, the agency that survived three decades would finally have to close.

An Unexpected Lifeline

In our last attempt to help Filipinos who needed to go home, we started a Facebook Group to answer questions about travel restrictions and health guidelines. There was so much information being passed around that if we couldn’t sell tickets, we could at least help those who needed clear answers.

By mid-February, our group had started to pick up some buzz. Many people who joined began inviting others into the group. People appreciated the free information we were sharing. Not only did the group grow as members spread the word among friends and family, but something happened that hadn’t happened since Jan. 2020 . . . our phones began to ring again.

At the end of that February, we made enough money and booked enough tickets to get us through the next month, avoiding what I thought was inevitable. But something happened the next week.

Our team has found the resilience to withstand fear and anxiety and to transform those emotions into positivity and hope.

In the first week of March, the group was on fire! We doubled our membership, and the calls became more consistent. Even though the Philippines was closed to most travelers, people were grateful we were available to help them understand the restrictions. Many began reaching out to support our business and started referring us to their friends and family that needed to fly to the Philippines.

That week, we made more money than we had the last three months combined.

Lessons Learned

Money is still tight, but this was the first time I had any hope that we could make it. The support and love of my community touched me. Every person who had heard our story sent us messages filled with gratitude and love. For the first time through this pandemic, I felt that I was no longer alone.

During these times the burden of success can be overwhelming. However, learning to surround yourself with a community of people who believe in you and continually push you will determine your future.

Every day be the person who spreads love and support, and it will come back to you tenfold.

Towards the end of March, the Philippines reinstated a temporary suspension of tourists that again put a damper on our sales, but this time we were mentally prepared. Our limited staff rallied behind each other and approached the challenge as another obstacle to overcome. Although the travel restrictions are still out of our control, our team has found the resilience to withstand fear and anxiety and to transform those emotions into positivity and hope.

Even though I continue to struggle financially as a travel advisor, I am filled with hope and a new perspective on life and this industry. I learned from a young age what it took to be your own boss by watching my Mom do it every day for 20 years and she inspired me to do the same. I always believed that I was a leader, but over the last twelve months, I became the leader I needed to be.