Bonjour Travel Whisperer,

It’s hard being a good travel advisor. But a lot of people who want amazing trips tend to…how should I say this…misunderstand what it is you do. Or more accurately, the experiences you help create.

No more.

What you'll learn from this week's strategy:

• The strategy: how to elevate your value and brand positioning

• The rewrite: how to rewrite your advisor profile (plus a “say this, not that” cheat sheet)

• The prompt: how to do it faster with ChatGPT while still making it humanly you

This one’s gonna have lots of examples and rewrites that you can experiment with in your own messaging.

Before we begin, I’ve been feeling homesick. Probably accentuated by the fact that I didn’t make it to LE this year. Miss you Miami (and all your madness) 🌴 

Was this email forwarded to you?

CLIENT STRATEGY: HIGH-LEVEL POSITIONING

For friends and friends of friends, maybe being the person who’s “just really good at travel” is enough.

But if you’re really trying to grow your business, you have to be the uniquely qualified expert for people who have never met you.

And as they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression.

We’ll get into the nitty gritty in a minute, but high-level brand positioning for luxury travel advisors can be boiled down to two main rules:

1) Lead with belief, not function

Leading with function turns you into a commodity. A service. Leading by belief makes you a human, driven by values.

It’s “I plan amazing trips” vs “I believe a cultural experience can change the way you approach life.”

Sharing your beliefs and what you find important makes you uniquely qualified to work with certain people. Not just anybody, but the type of traveler who agrees and identifies with your ‘why.’

2) Highlight the pain points your clients are quietly carrying

The “I plan trips that ____” format is clear enough, yes. But it’s all about you. It’s about what you know and why you’re amazing at what you do.

This overlooks what the client is actually struggling with.

When you can surface those hidden frustrations, your brand instantly becomes more compelling and relatable. Be someone’s solution to a pain.

Instead of:

It should be more like:

Our goal is something I like to call concrete elegance.

It’s about swapping clichés. Not for poetry, but for visual, sensory, or specific phrasing that mirrors how a client thinks—while gently nudging them into your world.

Let’s look at a real example to drive this home.

Breaking down a Fora Advisor’s Profile

We’re all familiar with Fora. Good people. Over 12,000 travel advisors on their team. And it’s nice that they give advisors a space to share their stories through their on-site profiles.

They give advisors two sections to say their piece: An “About” and a “Travel Style.”

Let’s look at what one anonymous advisor put as her profile. And then we’ll put our critiquing hat on to see what it does well, and where it falls short.

✅ What it does well:

• Friendly, upbeat tone – It’s approachable and conversational, which makes it feel warm and non-intimidating. Good for first impressions.

• High-energy phrasing – Words like “epic,” “unforgettable,” and “hassle-free” are attention-grabbing and emotional. Good for travel.

❌ Where it falls short:

• "Save money" undercuts perceived value — kind of goes without saying.

• “Epic trips” and “unforgettable memories” are vague — not wrong, but…forgettable.

• “Hassle-free” positions her as a task manager, not a curator or expert.

Here’s how I might rewrite it (understanding that the reader will see ‘Travel Style’ immediately after):

Nothing crazy, but enough of a quick intro to make your readers feel seen (“Hey, I’m a curious traveler…and I love food!”) with a cheeky alternative to “unforgettable” (full of flavor) that supports the ‘Culinary explorer’ persona.

Now onto Travel style.

✅ What it does well:

• Clear angle: food-focused travel, cultural immersion.

• Establishes traveler identity: “As a seasoned traveler who’s explored 18+ countries...”

• Shows inclusivity and range: “Whether budget-friendly or indulgent…”

❌ Where it falls short:

• No clear client POV — It’s all “I” focused. There’s no signal that this is about solving the client’s actual problems (time, overwhelm, indecision, etc.).

• Generic phrasing — “Thoughtful,” “personalized,” “unforgettable” are warm but overused. They blend into what every other advisor says.

• Food focus is interesting but under-leveraged — It’s treated like a side note when it could be her whole edge.

Here’s how I might rewrite it:

Now of course, a lot of this is preference. Maybe she doesn’t want to focus all on food. But the key points remain: avoid generic phrasing and make it about the traveler, not you.

Your homework: Take a look at your bio (or your about page). Be honest. Is it mostly about you? Are you clearly pointing out the hidden struggles your clients are having? Do you have something specific in your experience/interests that clients will remember?

Everything I’ve broken down here are tenets of copywriting (aka writing to persuade). If you’ve got a few minutes, here’s one of the best copywriters in the world breaking down the 3 rules he applies to every sentence he writes.

Don’t just rely on the epicness of your trips to persuade clients of your value.

Unless you are the sole advisor with access to an experience (which, in that case, just say that), your words are gonna have to do some of that heavy lifting.

Here’s something to help you along.

📋 Cheat Sheet: Say this, not that

Here’s a Google doc version for easier referencing.

When to use "common" vs. elevated:

• Use the common phrase in headlines, subject lines, or early in a sentence to orient the reader.

• Then elevate it with descriptive language that builds trust, specificity, or emotional pull.

It’s all about making it real.

What feelings do you create? What headaches do you help people avoid? Which dreams do you make a reality?

🤖 Two ChatGPT prompts to help you along

Don’t be afraid to use the technology available to you. You’ll always add your human touch to make it uniquely you.

You’ll also save a ton of time.

For Positioning + Client POV Shift

For Turning Vague into Visual

Both of these prompts are designed to give ChatGPT a clear structure and intent — which makes it far more likely to return useable, strategic drafts.

Voilà.

🌴 Places we wanna go (Miami edition)

Four Seasons Miami - Brickell

The Setai (Kyoto Room) - Miami Beach

Faena Theater – Miami Beach

Tyler’s Thoughts

I’m constantly wowed by how much information is available to us with just a little bit of searching.

I think everyone should take at least 1-2 hours a week in education. If not going through client strategies, at least just getting a pulse of what’s happening around the industry.

Some really smart people are giving away their insights, like this:

From the SVP of Virtuoso. And only 265 views. Criminal!

I don’t know, maybe it’s me.

But there’s just so much stuff out there made to help us grow our businesses and make our clients happy.

Why not use it?

Until next time,

Tyler