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Meet Tracy and Danielle Rouviere of Protravel International in Scottsdale

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy and Danielle Rouviere.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Tracy and Danielle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there
We are a mother-daughter team so it starts with Mom paving the way. Tracy has been in the travel industry for most of her life. Growing up, she didn’t have much and had never been out of the country. But it had always been a dream of hers to travel to London, a city she had been obsessed with since she was a child. When she turned 17 she went straight to travel school and took her first opportunity to visit the city she’d been dreaming of. From there it snowballed into more cities and experiences. She started in the Leisure market, using her knowledge to plan bespoke vacations. From there she moved to government and military travel working in an office. She moved from Phoenix to Tucson and was forced to quit her office job. By this time she was married with three young children so she decided to stay home and create a travel business that she could manage from home. She became an independent travel agent and had to build her client base from the ground up. She had some leisure clients that followed her from her previous office which eventually through word of mouth (and a lot of hustle!) grew to be a very profitable business. She landed a big corporate account and decided to stick with corporate travel. Fast-forward to today, her main business is corporate travel, focusing on the aviation industry but has always had leisure clients even though they are not her main clientele. Which is how the partnership with me (Danielle!) began.

I caught the travel bug from my mom. We did a lot of family vacations growing up and I loved everything about it! I always knew travel would be a focal point of my life. After a semester abroad in college (ASU!), I decided to move overseas. Two months after graduation I hopped on a plane, to my favorite city—London (thanks mom!). From here it was countless travels, and even a stretch in Barcelona teaching English. After five years of travel and moving around I decided it was time to settle down and find a career that would fulfill me yet still afford me flexibility. It started with Instagram, she wanted me to run her page to expand her leisure clientele. From there I transitioned into her apprentice and then her business partner. She focuses on corporate and I handle the leisure travel.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Tracy: Building a business is never a smooth road there are always bumps along the way! Branching out on my own and building a client base while also being a stay home mom was a tough task. It took years to build a solid and profitable foundation for my business. And when I finally did, it was amazing; I had great clients and was at the top of my game. Then 9/11 happened. The travel industry took a huge hit. It was like travel came to a halt overnight. It got so bad that I went back to working in an office. But I still never gave up on my business. It was a bump in the road, a big one, but eventually, the travel industry recovered and so I did.

Danielle: I’m fairly new to the industry so for me it has been more about navigating my way through it. There is so much to learn! The days of travel school are no more, so a lot of it is self-directed and self-taught. It’s research, networking, and connecting with my colleagues. It’s also having to explain to younger generations, that yes travel advisors exist!

Please tell us about your business.
We are independent travel advisors of Protravel International. In this day in age you may be asking yourself, number one: Travel Advisor what is that? And how do you still exist?? Well, let’s start with what is a travel advisor. In the simplest form, we book travel. But it is so much more than that. For our leisure clients, we book bespoke vacations for the most discerning traveler. Our connections, partnerships, and insider knowledge around the world will afford our clients opportunities they simply could not arrange on their own. To be quite honest, our services are not for everyone. Our leisure clients are looking to do something off the beaten path that others would not have access to. Luxury to our clients is access; it is private tours of museums, entry into exclusive cellars, and personal dinners with world-renowned chefs. Now, how do we still exist? We exist because the internet is flawed and because time is an invaluable commodity. Can you book everything online? Absolutely, but why would you want to? With our connections and partnerships, VIP treatment, upgrades, and added amenities are guaranteed. If you book through the X-travel site, our booking status is higher, our clients will always have priority over them. But more than that, if something goes wrong, you don’t call an 800 number, you call our personal line and speak directly with us. We are your travel concierge and we pride ourselves on being available 24/7.

We specialize in luxury bespoke travel. Access to the best of the best in hotels, tours, cruises, and air. Again, it is about doing something different, that you may not know about or have been able to do on your own. Many of our clients are young families, so we know which hotels have the best kids clubs, and which tour operators cater to children.

We are most proud of what we can offer to our clients. Life is busy these days, and vacations shouldn’t stress you out or take up unnecessary time. We take the stress out of travel planning, every detail is handled by us, and should anything go wrong we are right there to fix it. As I mentioned before we pride ourselves on being available 24/7. I think most people are surprised when we actually answer their call at 3 am. This is also what sets us apart from everyone else. You don’t call an 800 number, we are there for you no matter the circumstance. What also sets us apart is our connections. We are apart of one of the most recognized agencies in the world, Protravel International. They are a top preferred partner with all major airlines worldwide, which means VIP priority upgrades, best fares, and reduced fees. At many hotel properties, our clients are offered upgraded amenities, such as spa credits, free breakfast, and guaranteed room upgrades. We are working with hotel properties and tour companies daily building strong relationships with them. This means if a property says sold out online, chances are they are saving a reserve number of rooms for people like us who have special clients needing them last minute. Again, it’s all about access.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think being genuine is most important. Travel is a personal business. We get to know you; who you are and what you like. When we can we meet clients in person we do, if not we can spend hours on the phone getting to know them. Tracy has had clients for over 20 years, so we really become more than just your travel advisor. We plan special birthdays, family vacations, and anniversary trips, it becomes more than money, we want to ensure that you make memories that will last a lifetime. Our clients are always on our minds. Once we have a trip booked, you will hear from us the whole way through. It is not a transactional service, just because we have a booking completed and everything is paid for does not mean we forget about you! We will still send you restaurant recommendations, or maybe a colleague has just visited where you are headed and found the best little boutique. We are excited to share these insights with our clients, it is why we love our job so much!

We are also not out to get you. We do charge fees but our motto is we will not become rich off of fees. Our job is to provide value to our clients. We want to save you time and energy and give you those extra perks that take your itinerary to the next level.

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