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The Group Travel Leader Small Market Meetings Going on Faith

Checking in with Kathryn Hoyt

Chamber Membership

Hoyt and Holder had sought chamber membership ever since they started TravelKatz, so when they found the Christian Chamber of Commerce, they felt as though their prayers had been answered. They shared the chamber’s mission to keep their faith intertwined with their business.

The bulk of TravelKatz’s business comes from the chamber’s membership base. Hoyt plans both individual and group travel for the chamber, though the chamber’s group preferences took some trial and error. The chamber found a European river cruise too expensive but loved the idea of faith-based domestic trips, such as a recent trip to Kentucky.

Hoyt didn’t rule out a future international trip, since the agency has planned numerous overseas group trips to places like Australia, South Africa and Italy.

“It’s a matter of longevity,” said Hoyt. “How long have you been around and what is your customer service? When people got back from our trips, they raved about them, which led to more success once confidence in us grew.”

Hoyt chooses new destinations for the chamber based on various factors, such as travel conferences like Select Traveler. In 2015, she attended a FAM tour in Nashville, which opened her eyes to its potential.

“My family lives in Nashville, so I would visit my family there,” said Hoyt. “At the FAM tour, we went to touristy places that I don’t go when I visit with my family. I saw a different side of Nashville. Nashville is a place I would like to bring our chamber of commerce because of that FAM.”

Breaking Into Radio

One Saturday morning, Hoyt’s phone rang. Hoyt almost didn’t answer since it was her day off, but on a whim, she answered and talked with Barb Yoder, the general manager of the radio station in town. Another travel agency had backed out of providing a grand prize for the radio station’s contest, and they needed another agency to step up quickly.

“I thought, we are a young company, and I don’t know how much money we can expend on our own,” said Hoyt. “I talked with Sandra. She said, ‘Let’s do it and see what happens.’”

After offering a Norwegian cruise to the winner, the pair were given some airtime for advertising. Seeing how natural Hoyt and Holder seemed on the radio, the station offered them their own show, Vacation Nation, for a small monthly fee.

“The people at the radio station knew we had done a few radio spots and were becoming familiar with chit-chatting on the radio,” said Hoyt. “We thought, this might be kind of fun. We’ll try it for a year. The radio show has been a blast. We are into our second year now.”

After a while, the radio show led to such an increase in business that Hoyt plans to hire help to run the website and the radio show.

“Marketing travel is really a lot of fun when you think about it,” said Hoyt. “You go on all these trips, and then you come back and talk about it. This is a dream come true for me.”

Travel Tips

Get personal. Find out about your client to learn what they like, who they are and where they are vacationing.

Stay in touch. Don’t let your clients go too long without hearing from you. The same goes for your suppliers.

Give them the vacation they want within budget, and don’t give up until you do.