Most travel businesses find out about a bad experience when the review goes public. Mine finds out first, by design. Every trip ends with a feedback form that scores each department separately: the trip itself, the tour leader, concierge, customer service, documentation. Plus the only question that predicts referrals: would you recommend us? Nine or ten means yes. Eight is a shrug. Below eight, they're telling someone, the only question is whether they tell you first.
“I don't want to start my week with complaints.”
The automatic rescue
- Any score under 8 triggers an email from me personally: I heard your trip may not have been the smooth ride we promised, not cool. Let's talk.
- The feedback call is 30 minutes, and it books on Fridays only. I refuse to start my week with complaints; I'll end one with them.
- Depending on what actually happened, a credit is on the table. What's always on the table: they were heard by the founder.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
Any score under 8 triggers an email from me personally
I heard your trip may not have been the smooth ride we promised — not cool. Let's talk.
- 2
The feedback call is 30 minutes
and it books on Fridays only. I refuse to start my week with complaints; I'll end one with them.
- 3
Depending on what actually happened
a credit is on the table. What's always on the table: they were heard by the founder.
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
What actually happens on those calls
Most complaints shrink on contact with a listening human. I've had a reviewer talk herself around mid-call, the trip was lovely, the roommate was the problem, and offer to take the review down herself. The call isn't damage control; it's the moment a wobbly client becomes a loyal one, because almost nobody in this industry calls.
And sometimes the call reveals the other truth: it's not fixable, because the client is the problem. When a past complainer came back to book years later, I attached their old complaint and asked, gently: are you sure we're right for you? Travel is a year-long engagement, choose clients the way you'd choose a business partner, because for twelve months, that's what they are.
Common Questions
How should travel advisors handle a bad review?
Find out before it is public. A post-trip feedback form scoring each department, plus a recommendation question, lets you trigger a personal call from the founder whenever a score falls below the threshold.
What is a good post-trip feedback process?
Score the trip, the tour leader, concierge, customer service, and documentation separately, ask the recommend question, and route anything below an eight into a scheduled thirty-minute call.
When should you decline to work with a returning client?
When their previous experience showed the fit was wrong. Travel is a year-long engagement, so choosing clients the way you would choose a business partner protects everyone.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
6× Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist, Certified AI Consultant, and founder of Travel AI University. $3.4B+ in enterprise travel software sold to Google, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD; $16M+ in luxury travel sales with Up in the Air Life.
About Claire
