9:00 am: Arrive in office dreaming of holidays. The posters on the walls and holiday branding all over the office don’t help – I need a holiday!!!!! Catch up on emails and pick up and respond to faxes.
10:00 am: My first customers arrive. It’s an elderly couple looking for a medical tourism vacation somewhere not too far from Dubai. A big part of my job entails advising clients on locations and destinations and luckily I have advised on medical tourism holidays in the past. I show some pictures and we look at prices and availabilities of different alternatives. They take some literature home and make a tentative booking, they want to do their own research before they commit.
10:45 am: Client I sold a ticket to the day before on phone wanting to make changes to the flight. I pull out their information on the computer and we look at alternative dates; all the days he wants are full so I place him on a waiting list after much haggling with the airline company and promise to stay on top of it and inform him when it clears.
11:00 am: Another client this time booking tickets for the whole family, some to go to from Dubai to Disneyland,1 to go from Dubai to college in the UK and grandparents to go straight from Disneyland to Bombay. I need to make the Disney bookings too and we discuss the group packages we have on offer they can avail of even though it is very much peak season. Complicated getting all the details sorted – my role requires utmost patience and very sound communications, organizational and computer skills, all of which luckily I have in abundance.
11:30 am: Another client to serve but the computer system is down. Since most of or work heavily involves the computer this always sets us back a lot. I listen attentively, take down details and do what I can do over the phone with the airline. As computer is down I cannot however make hotel recommendations and reservations nor can I book their car for them ahead of time for their travel destination.
12:30 pm: Lunch at my desk while I go through emails and check phone messages of which I have plenty.
1:30 pm: I work with a couple of corporate clients as well and I have my favorite PA on the phone booking her boss’s very complicated business trip through the USA. I need to book airlines, hotels and cars for the week-long trip. Luckily cost is not an issue and its first class all the way so I don’t have to juggle different connections and airlines and overnight hotels to find the cheapest route as I often do happily for my tourism clients.
2:00 pm: Another client on the phone wanting advice on where to go for the Eid holidays for a quiet relaxed vacation somewhere with a beach. Giving holiday advice is the most enjoyable part of my job so I wax lyrical for the next20 minutes about all my favorite destinations and make recommendations based on the client’s budget. Besides advising on travel routes, hotels, recreation, special attractions and weather conditions in destination locations, part of my job also entails advising on customs regulations, visa requirements, vaccination rules and even foreign currency exchange rates.
2:30 pm: Client booking to visit Europe to look at different universities. I make the travel arrangements and also book cheap hotels in the different university towns as the budget is very tight. I have access to databases that cover the full range of accommodation from very cost-efficient motels and bed and breakfasts to presidential suites in leading global hotels. I also have after3 years in this job many relationships with many of the hotels and can get great deals usually by calling direct.
3:00 pm: Client on phone trying to refund a non-refundable ticket. I spend10 minutes explaining that there is nothing one can do with a non-refundable ticket and I know he was appropriately advised that this ticket would be non-refundable upon purchase!
3:15 pm: Another client changing his complicated European vacation booking for they tenth time and they haven’t even purchased the ticket yet! I explain yet again that once the ticket is issued there is a price for making any further changes on it.
3:30 pm: Client calls from airport. Frantic that their reservation has been canceled even though they hold the ticket in their hand. I try to sort the situation out.
3:45 pm: Another corporate client; this time I need to book the client company’s entire sales team on a sales retreat and they need me to recommend a hotel in Greece for the event as well as make all the travel and hotel reservations for14 people. They will also need a bus for2 of the days to take the team for dinners and a recreational tour of the city. They would also like me to advise which tour of the city to take as there are so many and they only have one day to spend on a recreational tour. I pull out some brochures on Greece and start refreshing my memory and immediately making calls and conducting online research. This project keeps me busy for the rest of the afternoon. I always like to give my clients a number of feasible options so they can make the most informed and effective decision and that is one of the reasons they keep coming back to me.
6:00 pm: Head home. I need a vacation!!!
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