Travel Beyond is proud to announce that consultant Kayla Torgerson was recently named to Travel Agent magazine’s elite 2015 “30-Under-30” list!
The industry magazine acknowledged Kayla’s growing knowledge, experience and problem-solving abilities as an up-and-coming travel consultant. It’s the second year in a row that a Travel Beyond consultant has been named to the list, as Katie Blackstone received the award in 2014!
Kayla Torgerson’s “30 Under 30” Profile in Travel Agent Magazine:
Before joining Travel Beyond, a member of Signature Travel Network, Kayla Torgerson spent nine months in India as a U.S. marketing specialist for an inbound tour operator. “My experience was incredible and it deepened my love for travel,” she says. Today she specializes in selling luxury and active vacations to India, Southern Africa, Turkey, Chile and the Galapagos, and says she feels like she has won the job lottery.
However, it isn’t always “smooth sailing.” In her first few months as an agent, she had taken over a family cruise booking for eight people to Southeast Asia; four days prior to departure, the line contacted her, reporting that the maiden voyage was going to be delayed.
“I worked countless hours with two of my colleagues and my local partners in Southeast Asia in order to create a full itinerary to coincide with the river cruise they were supposed to take. The clients had a great time,” she says.
Torgerson used the mishap to educate herself on how to avoid such problems in the future: “I learned not to book a maiden voyage on any cruise line; it is not worth the risk. I also learned that the best thing to do in a crisis is to be very open with the client, be calm, provide options, and be as accommodating as possible,” she says.
Clients in her age range tend to be honeymooners in their 20s and 30s who, Torgersen says, are typically interested in lodging that offers great value for money. “When I’m planning these types of trips I will often offer a circuit of properties under the same brand name (More Hotels properties in South Africa or Explora Lodges in Chile).” By doing this, her young clients “still get a very high-end experience, but at a discounted rate.”