Life & Work with Kristi Odell of Blue Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi Odell.

Hi Kristi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

I have loved to travel all my life. Walt Disney World was always a favorite destination of mine, and after taking my children at the ages of 4 and 2 in 2019, I fell in love in a whole new way! We started visiting the Disney parks regularly, and I had the best time preparing for our trips. Being very detail-oriented and always a planner, I decided to apply to be a travel agent specializing in Disney destinations. I was in education at the time and was looking for something to do in the evenings after the kids went to bed, that brought me joy. After doing both jobs for about a year, my husband and I decided it was time that I leave education and focus my time on the kids and traveling more to grow this hobby that was becoming a real passion for me.

Two years later, I am working full-time as a travel agent specializing in Disney destinations. I have become one of the agency’s top producers, being recognized with awards and reward trips I never dreamed would be possible just two years in. I plan vacations to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Universal Studios, Sandals, Beaches Resorts, and all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. I have decided to keep my niche small because I pride myself on excellence and the expertise I bring to the planning process. I only want to book something for my clients that I know very well from personal experience, training, and site visits. I have experience planning extensive, multi-generational family trips, small family trips, couples getaways, and adults-only vacations. I love this career and work very hard always to continue to refine my processes and documents, better my practices, and often travel so that I can help my clients have the most magical vacation for their families.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Being an independent travel agent is less glamorous than we make it seem on social media. My agency shares leads among agents, but most of my clients have come from my personal life, referrals, networking, and social media. I started out with planning trips for friends and family who know and trust me. Referrals started to come in from those and others, and soon I started getting second and third-hand referrals. I work very hard to keep my social media active and exciting, showcasing my personal experiences, expertise, and uniqueness as a travel agent. I have also gained clients from being featured when they search Facebook for a travel agent. Building a clientele and a business from the ground up takes work.

Because I am an independent contractor under an LLC, I am responsible for creating my own processes, marketing strategies, documents, itineraries, policies, and practices. This took a lot of trial and error, and I spent more time than I would like to admit doing and re-doing work. Over the last two years, I have worked hard alongside my Pixie Pal Michelle, and we have collaborated to create documents, auto-email groups, social media marketing material, and more. Lastly, because I love my job, work from home, and am very responsive, I sometimes struggle with setting work/life boundaries. Due to the flexibility of my job, I work all hours of the day. Because of this, it is very easy to get into the routine of being “on-call” 24/7, even for non-emergent requests and questions. I have been doing a good job lately of asking for an email with the request and responding that I will get to it first thing during the next business day.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
Something that sets me apart from other agents is that I can truly be an expert in everything I book because I keep my list of destinations that I book small. I travel to the destinations I book often because I always want to have up-to-date, first-hand experiences to help my clients plan the perfect vacation. It is so important that clients research the agents and agencies that they want to work with, so they can find someone who truly knows what they are talking about and has the product knowledge to help them create the vacation of their dreams. I have passion, drive, and a work ethic that gives me confidence in planning vacations to these destinations. I am proud of my client referral and return rate and that my customer service, knowledge, and planning sells itself.

I start all of my new clients with a consultation phone call. This allows me to get to know them, their hopes and dreams for travel, past travel experiences, styles, budgets, wishes, interests, and more! There are many resorts to stay at, places to eat, things to do, attractions to prioritize, characters to meet, etc. I make sure to find out what my clients want their vacation to look like so that we prioritize everything that is important to them. We also add things to their itineraries that they didn’t know about, but I was able to suggest because I have gotten to know them and their family or traveling party.

When my clients travel, I create a customized itinerary for every single trip. I include the resort information, confirmation numbers, contact numbers, and other pertinent information. Following an overview cover page, I create a customized daily itinerary. Here, I share what time they should leave their room in the morning to utilize early entry and how they get to their starting park for the day. I remind them of reservations, make snack and drink suggestions, and include other things such as parades and fireworks shows they will want to attend, even specifying where they should sit for the best view. This is something I take great pride in. I also provide information and educational resources about the destination my clients are traveling to. This helps them experience the most efficient, magical days while they are on vacation!

We love surprises, fun facts, and incredible stories. Can you share something that might surprise us?
Before I started my job as a travel agent, I was in education for 14 years. I taught primary grades and was an Instructional Coach at an elementary school for 8 years. I have my masters in Reading and my Education Specialist in Language and Literacy. I spent much time learning and growing my practice and expertise in these areas alongside other amazing educators. I gained experience working with colleagues and parents from the school. I gained experience presenting information, writing documents and emails, creating and using spreadsheets, troubleshooting, and designing systems and processes to make things run smoothly at our building and in my classroom. I learned how to work with different types of people who have different communication styles. I found a passion, and I followed a dream. So much of what I learned and did in education has transferred to my job as a travel agent. The two professions may seem extremely unrelated, and on the surface, they are. However, I obtained skills and learned about myself as a professional and life-long learner, and all of that experience helped shape the kind of travel agent I am today.

Pricing:

• When my clients book cruises, resorts, or theme park packages (on-site stays of 3-or-more nights with 3-or-more park days), I provide my full planning services complimentary.
• If my clients want to stay off-site, book their tickets with me, and receive my full planning services, my planning fee is $75/day of the vacation.
• If my clients book independently within 30 days of contacting me, they can transfer their vacation to me and receive my full planning services complementary.
• If my clients booked independently more than 30 days ago, I provide my full planning services for $75/vacation day.

• If clients want to stay off-site and book their tickets with me but not pay my planning fee, I provide my already-prepared documents and instructions on how to link their tickets to their account, setting them up for a great start as they navigate their vacation plans!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepixieplannerstravelco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristithepixieplanner/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristiThePixiePlanner