Every year, thousands of people consider becoming travel advisors. Most never start. Of those who do, many give up within the first year. But a surprising number — especially those with the right support system — build real businesses that replace their corporate income in 12-18 months.
We asked three GoSmart advisors who crossed six figures in their first 18 months to share what they did differently. Their backgrounds are wildly different — a former teacher, a military spouse, and a corporate accountant — but their strategies overlap in ways that aren't accidental.
Month 1-3: Build Your Foundation
Tell Everyone
Every advisor we spoke to said the same thing: their first bookings came from people they already knew. Not strangers on Instagram. Not cold leads from a website. Friends, family, coworkers, and their broader social network.
"I posted on Facebook that I'd become a travel advisor, and within a week I had four people reach out about trips they'd been meaning to plan," says one advisor. "Your personal network is your first pipeline — and it's bigger than you think."
Get Trained, Fast
The travel industry has supplier-specific certifications that are free and take 2-6 hours each. These aren't optional extras — they're how you learn the product, earn higher commission tiers, and gain credibility with clients who Google you.
Start with the suppliers you're most likely to sell first. If you love Disney, get Disney College of Knowledge certified. If you're drawn to cruises, complete the CLIA certification and your top three cruise line academies. GoSmart provides a training roadmap for new advisors that prioritizes the certifications with the highest ROI.
Set Up Your Systems
You don't need a fancy website on day one. You need a CRM (GoSmart provides one), a professional email address, a booking workflow that doesn't lose details, and a follow-up system so leads don't go cold. Get these in place before you start marketing.
Month 4-8: Build Momentum
Specialize Early
The biggest mistake new advisors make is trying to book everything for everyone. The advisors who grow fastest pick a niche and own it. Destination weddings. Luxury cruises. Adventure travel. Disney. All-inclusive family resorts.
Why? Because specialization makes you referable. "My friend is a travel advisor" gets you some business. "My friend is the best Disney vacation planner I've ever met" gets you a lot more.
Create Content That Books Trips
You don't need to become an influencer. You need to create content that demonstrates expertise and makes people think of you when they're ready to travel.
- Trip recaps with specific details (not just "had a great time!" but "here's why we chose this resort over the other three I considered")
- Comparison posts ("All-inclusive vs. cruise for a family of four — here's the real cost breakdown")
- Destination guides for the places you specialize in
- Client testimonials and trip photos (with permission)
Ask for Referrals — Directly
After every successful trip, send a thank-you message and ask: "If you know anyone planning a trip, I'd love the introduction." It feels awkward the first time. By the twentieth time, it's automatic — and it's responsible for more new business than any social media strategy.
Month 9-18: Scale to Six Figures
Group Bookings Are the Accelerator
One-off vacation bookings are great for building skills and relationships, but group bookings are how you scale income without scaling hours. A single group cruise booking for 20 cabins can earn what 20 individual bookings would — with a fraction of the administrative work.
GoSmart's group trip platform makes it easy to create landing pages, collect deposits, and manage rooming lists without spreadsheet chaos.
Repeat Clients Are the Foundation
Your best clients will travel 2-4 times per year. A family that books a spring break trip, a summer cruise, a fall long weekend, and a holiday getaway represents $20,000-$50,000 in annual bookings from a single household. Nurture these relationships.
Build a Team (When You're Ready)
Several of GoSmart's top producers have built small teams of advisors under their mentorship, earning override commissions on their team's bookings. This isn't for everyone, but it's the path from six figures to multiple six figures.
The advisors who succeed aren't the ones with the most followers. They're the ones who follow up the most.
Is It Right for You?
Travel advising isn't passive income. It's a relationship business that rewards people who are organized, genuinely curious about travel, and willing to put in the work — especially in year one.
But the upside is real: flexible hours, the ability to work from anywhere, travel perks and FAM trips, and a business that grows through relationships rather than algorithms.
Curious about what it looks like with GoSmart? Our host agency provides the technology, training, supplier relationships, and marketing support so you can focus on building your client base. No franchise fees, no inventory to buy — just your skills and our platform.