Monday Minute: Rachel Lambert of Lambear Travel

The Monday Minute is a weekly feature in PAX that highlights the movers, shakers, leaders and rule breakers in Canada's travel advisor community. Wanna be profiled? Wanna nominate someone? Email newsroom@paxglobalmedia.com!

Name: Rachel Lambert

Business: Lambear Travel. (My last name is always mispronounced, so it is a play on that).

Where do you live? Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan

How long have you been a travel advisor? Since 2007, so 16 years.

What is your specialty? 

I sell a bit of everything. The majority of my clients are high-end luxury travel. However, I can still tell you the best resort in the Mayan for your family of five, set up all your park reservations at Disneyland, or help you decide on which experiences are most worthwhile in each European city you will visit. I started my career at Trek Holidays and then the Adventure Travel Company, so I will always have a love of the adventure sector.

What is your current state of mind? 

Excited about the future! We are coming out of recovery mode and have some time and space to plan for the future. I am excited to get out there and have new experiences and to share those with my clients.

What inspired you to become a travel advisor? 

My parents had a landscaping company when I was growing up, so they had winters off. They would pack up myself and my four younger brothers and we would road trip across North America. We have driven and camped our way across Canada, the United States, Mexico, and even as far as Costa Rica. One of my favourite memories is of my Dad haggling with a gentleman selling hammocks in Merida, Mexico. He did not have a hammock as big as what my Dad wanted, so we were invited back to his home for supper with his family! They fed us and taught us how to weave a hammock. Meeting people from all over the world, seeing different homes and communities, makes not only your mind but your heart bigger as well. Seeing how we are all different, yet the same, is the most important step to creating understanding and compassion. I love that my career helps people have these experiences.

What’s the first trip you ever took? 

The very first trip my parents took us on was a drive along the Alaska Highway when I was eight years old. I still have never been to a nicer hot spring then Liard Hot Springs in Northern B.C. When I was nine, we drove from Alberta to Quebec, then to Disney World, then back to Alberta. When I was 11, it was the first time we made it to Mexico, and then when I was 16, it was the big journey all the way to Costa Rica. My first trip without my family was a Contiki tour of Europe as part of my practicum when I attended Grant MacEwan University.

What travel trends are you seeing these days? 

It is the era of the upgrade. Premium seats, the swim-out room, the concierge cabin. Clients want that little extra touch that is personalized, private, and specific to them. There is a weird contradiction of spontaneous (last minute) and advance planning. Clients are doing both: booking big bucket list trips a few months out and locking in that dream vacation over a year in advance.

After being told we cannot be together, multi-generational groups have been huge over the last year, as well as milestone birthday groups and weddings.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way you do business? 

Don't overlook our own backyard. For a while, it was the only place we could promote and sell. Knowing our inbound local hotels and realizing they are part of the same industry we are. Working with them to help clients experience our own home was very rewarding and changed my perspective on domestic travel.

Taking the time to make sure clients fully understand and grasp terms and conditions and how to protect themselves. Insurance has always been very important in our office, even pre-pandemic, but it is even more important now. Coaching clients so they know what to do when plans go awry. Who to call, who can support, how to get help because you never know what is going to change. Manage expectations and be prepared for last-minute changes in plans.

Of all the bookings you’ve made, which itinerary are you most proud of? 

I have a client flying to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to do the Silk Road with Intrepid, then continuing on to Japan to hike the Kumano Kodo trail with Exodus. I love that just when you think you have booked everything you can book, a client will come in and ask you for something interesting and different. I had clients who are 88 and 91 years old visit Antarctica. It was the last continent they needed to have seen them all. I love listening to clients’ bucket lists and it feels special to be part of checking it off.

What’s the most memorable trip you ever took? 

I did a 21-day overland camping safari from Victoria Falls to Cape Town. Gliding through the Okavango Delta in a Mokoro canoe and looking over to see a bull elephant shaking his ears at you is terrifying and exhilarating. Environments like the Namib Desert make you realize how small and insignificant you are and how quickly that environment could end you. I have never seen a night sky as incredible as the night sky in the Namib Desert. I stumbled across a National Geographic article shortly after getting home from that trip that talked about the extinction of true night. It had a map of the dark sky areas left in the world and one of the biggest was where I had just been in Namibia. Sky diving, great white shark cage diving, and wine tasting. It was the trip of a lifetime. The African people I met were kind, fun, and warm. I love the enthusiasm and passion people show when they get to share their home.

Where do you see your business one year from now? 

I purchased my agency from the old owner in 2018. I had one year to somewhat get a grasp on my new role and then COVID hit. For the last few years, I have been fixated on surviving. First the pandemic, then the wave of demand once the restrictions lifted. Just in the last few months, it feels like booking patterns, client behavior, and demand are settling back into regular rhythms. Now that I have a moment to breathe, I can think about the future.

Much of my team retired during the pandemic, so I want to find people who share my passion so I can grow my team. I have three children and I love exploring the world with them. I want to create out-of-the-box, custom experiences for families so kids can grow with experiences like I had growing up.

What’s one thing you would change about the travel industry? 

Commission recalls. We have done our job, we sold the product, we serviced the client, and when supplier cancellations happen, we are doing the work all over again. I think we are one of the only industries in the world that gets ‘unpaid.’

What’s the secret to being successful in this business? 

Listening. Listening to your clients so you can get to know and understand them. Then you can offer the best products to create the experiences they are looking for. Be as invested in their travel goals and plans as you are in your own! Listen to supplier partners, do their trainings and accept the help they offer for you to learn their product. Our job as an advisor is to facilitate that relationship between the client and the supplier, so listening and maintaining good relationships on both sides is integral.

What is your motto? 

“If you can dream it, we can do it.” – Walt Disney

What is your number one piece of advice to other travel advisors? 

Travel! We do it because we love it. It is easier to talk about a place or product you have experienced. And network! One of the best parts of the travel industry is it attracts the best types of people.

Where are you travelling next? 

In April I took my three kids to London and Paris! It was a great trip. This summer, with the kids, we are off to Wisconsin to visit family. We plan to visit Wisconsin Dells (waterpark capital of America!), eat burgers from Culvers, go on a duck boat ride, and try some cheese. Then in August, I’m off to Portugal, starting in Porto and making my way south to Lisbon. My fall/winter is still up in the air. Sometimes it is hard to decide!

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