Travel is a universal language, but for those with disabilities, it speaks a story of resilience and innovation. Jamie Santillo, power wheelchair user and pioneering founder of Adventures by Jamie, joins us for a journey through the world of accessible travel. From her beginnings in marketing to creating a travel agency that champions inclusivity, Jamie's tale is a testament to transforming barriers into bridges. Our discussion navigates the complexities of personalizing travel experiences for adventurers with disabilities, detailing the rigorous intake process that ensures every trip is as unique as the traveler themselves.
Embark with us as we traverse the intricacies of running a successful travel agency, where passion intersects with business acumen. Jamie's team of 73 agents is not just selling trips; they're curating experiences that defy expectations. We unpack the strategies that have propelled Adventures by Jamie to the forefront of accessible travel, from focusing on niche markets to the delicate art of saying no. This episode promises to not only illuminate the transformative power of travel for all but also serve as a masterclass in nurturing a business where the real profit is measured in the joy and freedom it brings to its clientele.
Travel is a universal language, but for those with disabilities, it speaks a story of resilience and innovation. Jamie Santillo, power wheelchair user and pioneering founder of Adventures by Jamie, joins us for a journey through the world of accessible travel. From her beginnings in marketing to creating a travel agency that champions inclusivity, Jamie's tale is a testament to transforming barriers into bridges. Our discussion navigates the complexities of personalizing travel experiences for adventurers with disabilities, detailing the rigorous intake process that ensures every trip is as unique as the traveler themselves.
Embark with us as we traverse the intricacies of running a successful travel agency, where passion intersects with business acumen. Jamie's team of 73 agents is not just selling trips; they're curating experiences that defy expectations. We unpack the strategies that have propelled Adventures by Jamie to the forefront of accessible travel, from focusing on niche markets to the delicate art of saying no. This episode promises to not only illuminate the transformative power of travel for all but also serve as a masterclass in nurturing a business where the real profit is measured in the joy and freedom it brings to its clientele.
So I make sure to have a very in-depth intake process with them to make sure I have everything on. How do they transfer in and out of bed? Again, how do they use the restroom, you know? Do they have dietary needs that I need to know about? Are they ambulatory to any extent?
Speaker 1:
or no, what medical equipment do they need rented if they're not bringing their own? And then at that point, once I have all of that information, then yes, it is taking to the hundreds of different suppliers online. Some of them are just your basic hotels that do have all hotels, resorts, all inclusive. They typically do have a handful of ADA rooms, but even that, you have to do your homework, because you could have five wheelchair users with the same diagnosis in the inner room and every single one of them have different needs and how they live their life welcome to the Travel Masters podcast.
Speaker 2:
We're here to help travel advisors and travel agency owners get what they really want from their business. I'm Morris Sims and I'm going to be your host for our podcast. I'm an ex-chemical engineer turned life insurance agent. I got to tell you selling life insurance was a lot more fun for me than being an engineer. After a few years, they asked me to teach other people how to do what I was doing. And well, long story short, we wound up in New York City for 20 years. That was quite a change for a young Alabama boy. I retired after 20 years as the vice president and chief learning officer, where my team and I trained over 12,000 agents and their managers to be independent business owners and sales professionals. Now I'm not one to stop working, so I started my own business and I was blessed to find a sweet spot with travel professionals that I was able to help. Now I've got several travel agency consulting clients and I'm the co-founder of the Travel Masters Learning Community, where we provide opportunities for travel professionals to become more effective, efficient and to get what they want from their business.
Speaker 2:
On this podcast, I'm going to be interviewing guests that I believe are going to have a message that can be of help to you our travel professionals community and I'll do some solo episodes as well with some other stuff that I really think can help you in your business. So, with all that said, hey, let's get this party started with today's episode. What do you say? Welcome to the show this afternoon? Jamie Santillo is with us today and Jamie is a travel agent. Well, I'm not going to try and tell you what Jamie does. I'm going to let her tell you because it is an amazing story. So, jamie, please share with us your work with Adventures by Jamie.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you so much for having me today. Well, thank you so much for having me today. I am the owner of Adventures by Jamie, which I started in 2019. And I know you can't really tell in the video, but I am a full time power wheelchair user. I have muscular dystrophy. I'm 45.
Speaker 1:
I've never walked, so travel for me has always looked very, very different. But I love traveling, I love going on adventures and I'm very adventurous. So I've been ziplining over alligators, I've been on an airboat, I've been indoor skydiving, I've been on a hot air balloon, I've been indoor skydiving, I've been up in a hot air balloon. So I've never taken my disability to keep me from doing what I want to do, and you know, I have a marketing background. So I was always planning events and such for organizations and that really is what got me into starting a travel agency. But once I was credentialed, I thought, wait a minute, I could really turn this into something. And so now, all these years later, adventures by Jamie has 73 agents and growing. We book everything for people with and without disabilities, but our main specialty is accessible travel, because I really wanted to help those like me or just somebody that needs a little bit of extra time, a little bit of extra help. I wanted to provide an outlet where we could make that happen for them.
Speaker 2:
Jamie, what do you find in your work? Where do people with challenges tend to travel easiest? The reason I ask the question is this my wife has a couple of replaced hips and just been through some major back surgery, so up and downstairs long walking is not her thing. That's not her jam by any stretch, and I was kind of it away from Europe and river cruises because Europe is not as ADA accessible as maybe the United States is. Do you find that to be true, and where do you direct your clients that have disabilities and have reasons to need help? Where do you direct them to?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean international travel travel. It's definitely doable, absolutely it. Just I feel like it takes a bit more research and finding companies that do have accessible options, whereas the us does make that so simple. But typically I would say what I find the most accessible the easiest is ocean cruising hands down is so simple, um, and also disney. So disney is just phenomenal with. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, I am a 45 year old disney adult. I love it so much, um, but there I have not been to disneyland. I've only been to disney world. Living here in florida, um, but out of the four parks that we have here in Florida, there's close to 20 attractions um rides, more specifically, that you can just stay right in your wheelchair or scooter um to enjoy, where you don't have to transfer out um, so that makes it so nice. And then all of their transportation, their hotels, all of that's accessible as well. So those are sort of my two first picks for somebody with mobility challenges.
Speaker 2:
When we last went to Disney, Carlo was on a scooter and I had never seen them be able to move a scooter into a bus so easily and so quickly as we were able to do it in Disney. It was really very quite. It was quite nice In all reality. It was very simple to do, very easy to do, and the scooter was delivered to our room and we just left it there when we left. So it worked out very well. It wasn't cheap, but we worked out. It worked out very, very well for us for our little bit of time that we were there. So I would have to agree with you 100% there for sure. How long have you been doing this travel advisor stuff?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, since 2019. So it's been. It's been a while now, you know, and I I just love it. I love getting emails and pictures from my clients and just hearing the excitement. But you know, I I just had a couple recently. They're an elderly couple where the husband just he's just not able to walk far distances anymore. And they were also always a very adventurous type, always loved to travel, but they thought, because of his physical condition, that their travel days were over. And they contacted me to see what I thought. And we ended up booking them a Royal caribbean cruise, rented a scooter for them, and when I tell you the photos that they sent, the email that brought me to tears of just how thankful they were to me for sort of reigniting or reaffirming to them that this was still possible. And now, you know, one of the things on his bucket list was to see Niagara Falls, and so we have a Niagara Falls trip for them now scheduled.
Speaker 1:
You know, it's just sometimes people just need a little encouragement to know that it is possible, and especially with a travel agent helping you. You know there's a whole world for you to see.
Speaker 2:
As a travel agent. How do you begin to do the research to find the right places for someone that does have challenges, a place for them to go? How do you find that out? Is it just web-based research, or is there some other way that you have to go about figuring out where to send folks that have particular, different types of disabilities and challenges?
Speaker 1:
particular, different types of disabilities and challenges. Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing that you have to do first is really have a, you know, deep conversation with them. It's very different than somebody that doesn't have a disability, because I really don't need to know how somebody that is ambulatory, how they use the restroom.
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
But that is very important to know when you have somebody that uses a wheelchair or a scooter.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Or might only be able to walk two or three steps. How does this all work? Two or three steps? How do you? How does this all work? So I make sure to have a very in-depth intake process with them to make sure I have everything on. How do they transfer in and out of bed. Again, how do they use the restroom, you know, did they have dietary needs that I need to know about? Are they ambulatory to any extent?
Speaker 1:
or no, what medical equipment do they need rented if they're not bringing their own? And then at that point, once I have all of that information, then yes, it is taking to the hundreds of different suppliers online. Some of them are just your basic hotels that do have all hotels, resorts, all inclusive. They typically do have a handful of ADA rooms, but even that you have to do your homework, because you could have five wheelchair users with the same diagnosis in a room and every single one of them have different needs of how they live their life. So we are not a one-size-fits-all community. So, especially like with transferring in and out of bed, I need to make sure, if my client uses a four-year lift, is the bed on a solid platform or is it open underneath where you could stick something under?
Speaker 2:
there, yeah, you under there.
Speaker 1:
Yep, you know, and a lot of times that isn't on the website. So, then if you find a hotel that they like that has ADA rooms. A lot of times it takes then a phone call to that property to ask them what are the beds like? You know tell me about the bathroom. Do you provide shower chairs or do they have to bring their own? There are also.
Speaker 2:
I never thought of that, just that by itself. Again, my lovely bride has had plenty of orthopedic surgery and we have two shower chairs now, I think, and three walkers and you know a couple of sets of crutches and. But I've never thought about the idea that if we traveled, while she was really, just you know, challenged with her mobility, to have to take the shower chair with us. But yeah, I can see where that would be a an important thing yeah, yeah, absolutely, wow, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
You know there are suppliers out there one in particular that is phenomenal is wheel the world and they have some pre-done for you itineraries, but then they are phenomenal to work with, that you can just call them with all of your client details, what they're looking for, and they will set up everything for you.
Speaker 1:
I had a client that lived in Orlando. His dream was to go to Switzerland, but he was a quadriplegic that was traveling by himself. He did not have a person to go with him and I thought, okay, I like to think I'm good as a travel agent, but I don't know that I'm this good because it's not my responsibility to get him. It's not my responsibility to get him a caregiver, right, you know, we're getting that gets into insurance and legal and, god forbid, something happens like no but will the world found what I would equate to say in a same facility here, but it was a hotel there, um, that had round the clock people. He had a laundry list of medical equipment that he needed a special bed, lawyer lift, special mattress, I mean shower chair, so many things. They provided all of it. It was incredible.
Speaker 2:
Wow.
Speaker 1:
So he got to have his dream of going to Switzerland.
Speaker 2:
Wow, cool, that's outstanding, Outstanding, jamie. You provide a wonderful service for folks who have a definite need for that particular service and I'm impressed and very, very thankful that you're there doing that work. Tell us about being a travel agent. What do you think in today's world, what's the key piece that's necessary for a travel agent or travel agency owner to really be able to make it in this world and attract people to them?
Speaker 1:
I mean networking, network, network, network. You have to be strong with your marketing. You know, always posting on social medias. You know people like seeing travel agents that travel, that we live, what we sell, you know. So you will often see me traveling, and then while I'm traveling I always have my phone, of course. I'm taking video, I'm taking photos, I'm going live on social media you know, doing room tours to show people.
Speaker 1:
This is what an accessible cabin looks like on the Disney Witch or the Oasis of the Seas with Royal Caribbean, you know, because, again, it's hard to find that you can find pictures and videos of non-accessible rooms all day long yeah but very difficult to find accessible room for.
Speaker 1:
So you know, being on top of your social media network, don't put all your eggs in one basket. You know, hand out those business cards. I leave business cards at dinner when I go to dinner and put it with my check. You know I reach out to tourism boards and you know I am the or a, but I was their first disability ambassador liaison for Visit Tampa Bay. I'm partnering with Visit Amelia Island, you know. So I go into these places and I talk about accessible travel and how I live in the Tampa Bay area. How is Tampa accessible? You know, why do people want to come here? So just having partnerships like that? You know, I became a travel agent and then the world shut down with COVID. So I thought that's right.
Speaker 2:
I didn't think of those two things when you mentioned when you started, but it did the minute you started.
Speaker 1:
All of a sudden, everything got locked down everything got locked down, and my boyfriend and my family, my friends everyone thought I was crazy, like why are you trying to build a travel agency and we can't even leave our house? What are you doing? You know, and it really, though, gave me the perfect time to get everything set up.
Speaker 1:
And I was confident that one day the world is gonna open back up again and we are gonna be able to travel again. And when it does, I'm going to be ready. And that is exactly what happened.
Speaker 2:
That's amazing, Absolutely amazing. Jamie, what do you think in operating a travel agency or, again, a travel agent business? What are a couple of things that you would recommend people do to be most effective and efficient in running the business?
Speaker 1:
you have to definitely be resourceful. You know you have to definitely be organized. There are so many moving parts to the travel industry. You know, partnering with a good CRM system, a really great like quote builder, like a travel buy I use that all the time, you know. But I love team building as well. So I have a very large team. I have 73 agents and counting on my team currently, and it's just so wonderful that it's not all on me. You know, I mean, obviously when I started it was just me. But you know, here we are now and it's so great because we have, you know, everybody has access to sell everything. They can sell the one they want, but so many people on my team have parts of travel that they are very adamant about that they're passionate about, so I have people
Speaker 1:
that just want to sell cruises or just want to sell international. So I have people that just want to sell cruises or just want to sell international. You know, when I very first started out, I really just sold Disney, because that's what I know, that's what I love, and now I sell everything. Sure, but you know, I think that too, when you're starting an industry, don't try to sell the world right out of the gate. Pick what you're passionate about, get comfortable with that and grow from there. You can always grow, you can always add, but it also helps with your marketing Because, again, if you're trying to sell the world, how do you market that?
Speaker 2:
yeah you know pretty hard yeah that's pretty hard, that's for sure I did. One of the things I teach my clients is you need to have a very clear strategy of how you're going to make your business successful. But we are, we don't have unlimited. Therefore, we must have limited numbers of strategies. We can't have 15 or 20, because you can't focus on that if you're a solopreneur. So you need one, maybe two strategies, and then you go down deeply on those two and focus your time and attention there.
Speaker 2:
Now, if my strategy is Disney, but somebody comes in and wants to go to the Amalfi Coast of Italy, they've come in and they've said, basically, morris, I want to buy an alligator, do you sell alligators? Do you want alligators? I'll find you an alligator and we'll sell you an alligator. Not my strategy, not my focus. But you want an alligator, jamie, I'll get you an alligator. That's kind of where I look at things and I think you're absolutely right. We can become overwhelmed with all the different products that are available and lose focus and become more like a swamp than that river that cuts deep and goes far. So it makes all the difference in the world.
Speaker 1:
You know I very much agree with you on. You know, if somebody comes to you with outside of your niche, you know there's nothing wrong with going outside. But I also tell my agents all the time it is 100% okay to say no, yeah as well. Absolutely you know, like there are thousands of people you know out there, millions of people out there that potentially can be your client. Saying no to one or two or however many is okay. Not everybody is going to be your ideal client.
Speaker 2:
That's right.
Speaker 1:
So, rather than than you know, stressing yourself out, trying to out how to make this work for somebody that is completely out of your realm of expertise, do them and you a favor, and just you know, let them go.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. It can become more time-consuming than what you'll be compensated for if you're not careful. Yeah, and that can be a great learning experience if that's a direction you want to go. But if it's a blue alligator you're looking for and there's not much of a demand for a blue alligator I'm not going to learn anything. Let me go find you somebody that can and has a stock, has an inventory of blue alligators. That'd be much better than me trying to figure out where to go find one. There's no doubt about that, that's for sure. It's hard to figure out sometimes.
Speaker 2:
But I had a class I was teaching just recently with some fairly newer travel agents and she said wow, I had no idea how much we start them out with Disney. And she said I had no idea how much and how easy Disney is. Well, jamie, you and I both know Disney is not necessarily easy until you learn it all. But what she basically said was I've learned Disney and now Disney is easy. And this other thing that she was trying to do was not. And she figured out real quickly that she needed to tell these folks you should go find someone who specializes in that area, because she knew she wasn't going to be compensated for her time and right now that's critical for her. Any case. You have to make some decisions when you're a business owner, and one of the hardest things to do is to say no.
Speaker 1:
But that's what makes you a better business owner is when you know when to say no yeah, and also, you know I tell my ics, my independent contractors, that you need to have a planning fee and a lot of people in the industry that are just starting out are nervous Like, oh, if I say I have a fee and it's going to cost something, you know then I might lose the client and you know there's apprehension about charging for your service. But your time, you know your time is worth something and if you spend I mean depending on how in-depth a quote is you can spend multiple days on a boat for somebody you know you need to be paid for that time.
Speaker 2:
Well, for that value. You're adding value to that client and they need to pay for the value they're receiving. Whether it takes you five minutes or five days, you're providing a huge value for folks and people will pay for value when they understand the value that they're receiving and, uh, and that way you get out of being in a commodity world. But you're absolutely right, I I don't disagree at all. Uh, it takes a while to get past the point of realizing that if they don't want to pay a small fee, chances are they're not going to be your client. So I can agree completely.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, we call them in the industry, you know tire kickers. You know, inevitably you have people that they're just window shopping basically. You know they are not serious about booking and travel. You know, I have two questions that I always ask to try to weed out those tire kickers, and I have my, my agent, ask the same question. One is what is your budget? And a lot of them will say, oh, it's cheap, as you can get it.
Speaker 1:
And then I usually follow that up with a sort of you know, outlandish number to them of like okay, so the cheapest I could find what you're looking for is $10,000. Is that okay? Only, I get a, exactly, I get a like what you know. And I said, well, you said it's cheap as I can get it. So clearly you have a budget, what is what you know? And I said, well, you said I could get it. So clearly you have a budget, what is it you know? And then they give me a number.
Speaker 1:
And then the second question I follow up with okay, so if I find your trip in your budget, are you ready to put money down now, down now, or is this is something that you're looking for to see round about what I can get the cost at? Because if you're not ready to book, I would rather you wait and reach back out to me when you are, because I cannot hold anything for you right more than maybe three days, depending on the supplier. I am not going to waste my time and yours because, as cliche as it sounds, prices and availability change.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes on an hourly basis, hourly.
Speaker 1:
Yes, I am not going to waste my time or yours and give you a quote and you're not ready to book.
Speaker 2:
Isn't that the truth? So?
Speaker 1:
yeah.
Speaker 2:
Makes great sense.
Speaker 1:
That's a call by the client.
Speaker 2:
Jamie, your ideas, your thoughts and what you're doing here and how you're doing it is such a wonderful thing that you're giving to our industry. Thank you very much for what you do and, most especially, Jamie, thanks for being here today and for taking this time to talk with me.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely. I so appreciate the invite. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2:
Well, hopefully we can maybe even do it again sometime.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely.
Speaker 2:
We'll work on that. Jamie, thanks again for being on our podcast today and we hope to see you soon somewhere having a wonderful adventure.
Speaker 1:
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:
Take care For everybody else out there. Y'all go out and make it a great week, have a good time, meet somebody new and always, always, always talk about your travel business. You'd be surprised who might just really get excited from hearing what you do and how you can help them. Have a great week and we'll see you again next time right here on Morris Sims.