Alaska Railroad (Source: Railbookers)
TravelPulse caught up with Railbookers Group CEO and President Frank Marini to discuss how the company became fully remote five years ago, how agency owners and independent contractors can make the most of working remotely and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the travel industry.
What steps did you to take to make Railbookers fully remote – and why?
In 2020, we began the year with offices in the Boston area and Laguna Hills, Calif., in addition to international offices in London and Sydney. After March, and the start of the pandemic, we noticed a few things happening after about six months.
First, rail was an essential service, such that in each market we were in (US, UK, Australia), customers could take domestic trips. Specifically in the US, travelers could maintain social distancing in private sleeper cars with Roomette & Bedroom accommodations, while visiting National Parks, which remained open. We were so fortunate to never had a day without new business, although there was less than pre-COVID.?
Next, there were a ton of great people in our industry who lost their jobs who we began to hire, located all over the world and not where our physical offices were located.
Finally, at that point we were operating very efficiently being fully remote across the globe, so I doubled down and decided to stay 100 percent remote into the future.
Although we all wish COVID never happened, there was a silver lining for us. Our commitment to a 100 percent remote structure allowed us to scale to a level today we would not have achieved otherwise.
The Northern Explorer ascending into New Zealand’s Ruapehu region. (Source: Railbookers)
What tips can you provide independent advisors on how to make the most of working remotely?
Discipline: Working remote doesn’t mean not having strong discipline and routines. That means everything you’d normally do in an office when you ‘go to work’ – showering and getting dressed, being in your ‘office’ on time, and more.
Whether it’s customers, vendors or anyone you interact with, there is a need to overcommunicate when you are remote.
Use time to your advantage versus disadvantage. What are you doing with the good amount of time you’ve gained from not having to commute, run out for lunch or coffee, etc.? What you do with that time is what makes you more efficient and ultimately makes you more money. The one thing in life we all have the exact same amount of is time. What we do in that time – daily, weekly, monthly, yearly – is what separates the good from the great.
What tips do have for agency owners on how they can help their remote independent advisors be successful?
Echoing my points above on discipline, make sure you have the same set day and time on a weekly basis to catch up. Make sure it’s a one-on-one video meeting with a checklist of what they are working on, leads, opportunities, things to help with as well as teaching them something new.
Also, ask them about the clients they are booking – how did the booking come about, why is the customer traveling to that destination, type of product are they celebrating something, etc. – to see if there are other leads or customers who might enjoy the same product or destination or are celebrating a similar milestone.
Frank Marini (Source: Railbookers)
Communicate with them often and be there to help and support them while always asking questions on future opportunities.?
Finally, have fun. It’s good to laugh, enjoy a joke and a fun conversation with them about their family, friends, etc. People like to work with people they like – ask them about themselves and learn more to build trust and form a relationship.
How has Railbookers’ business has grown during your 12-year tenure
We had experienced double-digit growth each year of my 12-year tenure (excluding 2020 obviously), but with our remote structure and the explosive demand for rail travel globally, we have grown to more than 350 staff in six countries and 33 US States.
How are AI innovations in AI impacting the industry and travel advisors?
As a company, we are very invested in Artificial Intelligence. It began with a week-long course I took at MIT a year ago on leading an AI-driven company. For us as a company, we are working in every department and almost every function with AI.
In terms of how it is and will affect the overall industry and travel advisors, there are two main areas.
AI is the new search, so when marketing or getting your products or services out there, you’re marketing to AI to be picked up and featured versus just an individual.
Second, there are hallucinations with AI, meaning the information that comes back can be 100 percent false. So always check yourself or if the customer reaches out that they found or researched something with AI, confirm that it actually exists.
Overall, AI will change the game for the travel industry in a very positive way in terms of what is possible.
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