Monday Minute: Click The Mouse Travel's Sandra Pappas Halket

The 'Monday Minute' is a weekly feature at PAX dedicated to highlighting the movers, shakers, leaders and rule-breakers in Canada's travel agent community. Wanna be profiled? Wanna nominate someone? Email newsroom@paxglobalmedia.com!

Name: Sandra Pappas Halket

Company: ClickTheMouse Travel

Location: Toronto, Ontario

How long have you been a travel agent?: Full-time starting 2014, part-time since 2002.

Specialty: Disney destinations! Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani and Adventures By Disney. I also specialize in Universal Orlando and Sandals/Beaches. 

What do you love most about being a travel agent?: Dedicating myself to travel full-time has changed my life. I feel like I am living a dream! I pinch myself everyday because my passion for Disney and travel has become a career. I am currently on a Disney Cruise in the Mediterranean and feel so blessed that part of my job is to research incredible destinations such as Italy and France so that I can advise our guests (clients in Disney speak) about itinerary and port adventure options for their vacations. 

What's one travel trend you've noticed in consumers as of late?: A big trend is Millennial travellers ... especially for Disney. Millennials are the Instagram/YouTube generation and are obsessed with Disney travel and fashion. Even designer labels like Gucci, Coach and Vera Wang are partnering with Disney and ’The Mouse’ to reach this market. 

What's the most creative thing you've ever done to secure a sale?: Without revealing too many secrets, meeting guests in person and making sure I also interact with their Mouseketeers (children), is key to making potential guests feel special which helps with the sale. 

What's your proudest sales achievement to date?: So many to think of! One that stands out is, I had one multigenerational family that invited me for lunch to discuss a potential vacation. They stressed this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for their granddaughter, a cancer survivor, and they wanted the best of the best. I told them I would design a vacation based on my preferences and they trusted me to do so. They gave me a review that brought tears to my eyes when I read it. My job was to make sure this family received magic ... and they did. Another guest wrote “the best advice I can offer is to surrender yourself to Sandra’s expertise”… receiving reviews like this make my job so rewarding. 

What's your number one piece of advice for other travel agents?: Be passionate about what you sell and specialize in what you love. Potential clients can feel that you 'know your stuff' when your eyes light up talking about a destination that you have an affection for. 

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