Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Schroeder.
Hi Emma, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am the Founder and Luxury Travel Consultant at Major Traveler, an affiliate of Epperly Travel. I founded Major Traveler out of a passion for travel and a desire to inspire, equip and empower clients to travel. I graduated college with a degree in Marketing and quickly jumped into the agency world. I loved the fast-paced nature of the industry but slowly realized a desk job was not fulfilling my soul. My mom is a flight attendant with Delta and growing up. We would travel the world together.
As I got older, I began to take advantage and the roles reversed – I was now begging her to travel with me! I started to plan big trips for us to Italy, Prague, Vienna, London, and beyond. I knew I had a passion for travel, but I also uncovered expertise in planning travel. When I first began to consider a career as a Travel Advisor, I found that there were all of these preset itineraries on Pinterest and Google that created confusion around what was truly the best in travel. How are honeymooners supposed to choose between the “Top 50 Best Honeymoon Resorts” when every single list is different? And where did they get these lists anyways? The more I developed an ideal travel consultancy in my head, the more I knew that this is what I was meant to do with my life. And that’s where Major Traveler was born! My clients value bespoke travel, where every single detail was crafted custom to them. I work with each of my clients to formulate the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure, outlining the cadence of activity that beats to a rhythm customized specifically for them, harmonizing pace, spontaneity and the right amount of luxury to make an unforgettable vacation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been the smoothest of roads, especially this year! When the pandemic hit this time last year, my world essentially started to unravel. It felt like I had worked incredibly hard over the last few years just to set fire to what I built. I came to understand that while my client’s travel plans were disrupted, their trust in me and my business was solid. This is what my business is built on, after all! This year has been a hard one to survive in the travel industry as we are at the mercy of government shutdowns, border restrictions and ever-changing testing requirements. However, I have not once thought about leaving the travel industry and abandoning my business. I will withstand the struggles!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Our motto is to Inspire, Equip and Empower clients to travel. There are a lot of young Travel Advisors in the industry, but what sets Major Traveler apart is our client-centric nature. Everything we do is centered around advocating for our clients. We never hard-sell travel rather we approach it from the standpoint of education. You can’t go until you know where you can go! From there, we equip our clients to travel by planning each and every detail of their itinerary. We work with many different types of travelers to help make their travel hopes and desires become a reality. Our favorite trips are honeymoons and those big bucket list vacations like Africa, Bora Bora, Asia and Europe. Our clients will tell you that they love the ways we take planning out of their hands in a total stress-free process.
In January 2020, I was featured on The Skimm, a popular online news publication. The Skimm produced a video showcasing my career switch from a marketing manager to a Travel Advisor, the finances behind the move, and the wild world of the travel industry. I was able to discuss both the profession and role of a Travel Advisor and how the job has shifted in recent years to be less transactional and more relational. On Instagram, The Skimm video received over 150,000 views. It also generated a number of new client trip requests and expanded my clients demographics from local to all across the nation.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I believe that the future of travel is big! After this year, people are ready to explore. The demand is already increasing with the promise of a vaccine! Not only are people going a little stir crazy, but from a bigger point of view, I think this year made many realize the value of moments spent in new places. Personally, I see travel differently. I take every trip with much more gratitude after having experienced what it is like to have my passion stripped away temporarily. Aside from the post-pandemic travel landscape, I think we are going to see unique shifts in travel in the next 8-10 years. The latest trend in travel has been “Instagrammable Moments,” or travelers seeking out specific destinations based on what they see on social media or what they believe to be the most “Instagrammable spots.”
In the next 5-10 years, I believe we are going to swing to the other side of the pendulum where travelers are seeking out travel to get away from social media and create breathing room. This will result in deeper moments and experiences rather than quick visits “for the gram” or for picture purposes. I also think that this trend will be moved forward by the long-term effects of the pandemic and people desiring to cherish time with their loved ones more. Right now, we have been going through a trend where Americans take short getaways. The amount of unused vacation time across the American workforce is crazy! I truly think we will see a shift in the coming years with this where Americans take 7-14 day vacations as they seek deeper travel experiences.
Pricing:
- $150 planning fee (a few exceptions apply)
Contact Info:
- Email: emma@majortraveler.com
- Website: www.majortraveler.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/majortraveler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/majortraveler
