Traveling Tribes

Chapter 3 Preview – What is a Travel Tribe Leader

Nobody proclaims to fellow first graders that they’re going to enter the promising career field of group travel. In fact, taking this a step further, I’d venture to say that the majority of the public doesn’t know what a Travel Tribe leader is or does. That’s okay, we’re here to change that!

If you’ve not traveled much in pre-formed groups, you may be wondering what is a Travel Tribe leader? In short, he or she is the inspirational and organizational leader of a flock of travelers. Often these groups travel with a common purpose – be it fun & games, spiritual, educational or enriching. In trusting a tribe leader, travelers don’t have to futz with the myriad of details that often suck the joy out of the travel experience.

Travel Tribe leaders orchestrate trips for their community or affinity group. They’re the ringleader who decides where the group is going to go and puts the pieces in place to make it happen.

What Are the Responsibilities?

Perhaps the most important responsibility is to cultivate travelers; without them this doesn’t go anywhere. You might not have 50 names in your back pocket waiting to travel with you tomorrow, but that’s okay. Tribes can start with as few as six people.

Some Travel Tribe leaders take responsibility for every aspect of sales, marketing, operations and financial accounting of their group trips. They recruit new travelers, take reservations, make deposits, secure bookings and travel with the group.

Other Travel Tribe leaders choose to work with professional tour operators who handle many of the logistical details of trip operations, while the Travel Tribe leader focuses their attention on recruiting travelers.

Characteristics of a Good Travel Tribe Leader

Here are four predominant personality traits that I’ve seen in successful Travel Tribe leaders.

1) Entrepreneurial – Must be willing to get up out of bed and make something out of nothing. To be able to see the forest through the trees. To be willing to pick up the phone when no one else will, to send that email at 6:02 a.m. or 6:02 p.m.

2) Salesperson – We’re not talking the used-car variety, but your success in this field is tantamount to convince people to spend time with you. You need to sell folks on your idea, your brand, your trip and why it’s better/unique/different. You need the fortitude to be able to stand up in front of an entire group – some of them friends, others strangers, when something goes wrong and assure them that things will get better.

3) Adventurous – You’re not the type of person who goes to the same cabin at the lake, the same week of every August for the last 30 years, satisfied kicking your feet up. Your best vacation is your next one and you check cities, states and countries off your bucket list like a gunslinger at the OK Corral.

4) Organized – What a hassle travel can be! From picking the perfect hotel at the best rate to juggling airline schedules, ground transportation delays and plotting out travel days so you’re experiencing a destination but not falling over from exhaustion.

Now, multiply that by 10-20-40 and you get the sense of what is needed to lead a successful travel tribe.