Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Wooden.
Hi Natasha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We had just returned from our first ever family vacation to Disney World. I was enamored by the rides, the food, the atmosphere that changed from park to park that made me feel like I was in a different world! It was amazing minus the travel agent we hired.
We had hired a travel agent because we were told that is what you do, and she said she specialized in helping families with special needs… and we are a special needs family with my middle son having autism. She lied about so many things because she in truth had never even been to Disney World! She gave us outdated park maps she printed off the internet, ZERO planning info, and beyond booking our vacation and making our payments she did nothing else. We didn’t know about the transportation to the resort, to the parks, penny pressing, pin trading, dining plans, literally nothing. She didn’t even know the difference between preferred rooms and standard rooms.
Due to this agent we were so unprepared with a child with special needs. She told us so many things that were completely false, and our vacation was very strained. Halfway through the week I knew in my heart I was going to come home, quit my job as a full time web developer and become a travel agent that actually helped families travel, and especially families with special needs like mine.
I returned home and got a job with a travel agency. I was SHOCKED that none of them offered any form of in-depth training that I applied to all things travel or helping families with special needs. I was hired by one of the biggest agencies (not MLM’s) in USA and their training consisted of 3 pieces of paper. I was like a deer in headlights trying to figure out what I could do, should do, and how to navigate giving my clients the best vacation while knowing nothing. I was literally in charge of 50k vacations and had no idea what I was doing. Worse than that… I had no support. It took WEEKS to even get corporate to sign us up for suppliers and respond to calls and emails.
I knew where my heart was though, so I dug my feet in and created training packets to help me stay on track, booking forms, planners for my clients to keep them informed of everything they need to know for their vacations and beyond… and my first year as a travel agent told over 300k. I remember thinking I found my place in this world when I was awarded for hard work and high sales right at my first year as a travel agent anniversary. My second year I earned top 10 in my agency of over 1k agents. Within a few years I was selling a million dollars in travel a year on my own.
So many said you did it, you succeeded but I still wasn’t done. I knew more needed to be done for the travel industry as a whole. So I left my job as a travel agent and spent two years building a full travel agent training site with over 45 training modules from how to book all the way to “how to be an ethical agent”. All modules of training that not only teach you how to be a great travel agent, but how to take the very best care of your clients.
And yet I still wasn’t done. Then I spend a year creating planning packets for my agents to give to their clients to ensure all clients who booked under the Crazy About Vacations name was getting the same 5 star planned vacation whether their agent is a new agent or seasoned agent. Clients are informed of everything needed to travel from what to pack and beyond. This turned out not only making sure all clients had amazing vacations, but it took the work off my team to create these planners themselves which freed up their time to find new clients, and better care for their current clients. It was a win win.
We are proudly a first to fully train our agents in not just selling vacations, but TAKING CARE of their clients, and I could not be more proud of my team and the pace in which we are growing. We sell millions of dollars in travel a year, and the agents continue to build and build their clientele while I continue to build around their needs. My motto every day is “to stand still is to fall behind”. I never stop working at making my agents jobs easier, and our clients vacations better.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggle was being the first in my field to create fair contracts that did not bully agents into staying, the first to fully train agents in not only booking vacations but taking care of their clients.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am proud of taking something and working 20 hours a day for years to make it better not only for those who work in the field but for clients who booked with us.
I am proud of my 4 kids and husband who stood my by side, stepped up when not even asked, and supported my dream. They are just as much responsible for our success as I am, I could not have done it without them.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Many don’t know that I work 16+ hours a day to ensure my team is well cared for and their clients.
Pricing:
- our services are FREE
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crazyaboutvacations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazyaboutvacations/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crazyaboutvacations/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@crazyaboutvacations
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@crazy_about_vacations
