Helga Omstead of Migrations Travel in Palgrave, Ontario

What was your first job? I worked as a cashier at Power Supermarket in Toronto (I might be dating myself!).

Tell me about your first airplane ride. When I was 18 working part time in travel, I went on a FAM to Barbados. I thought 'I can't believe this exists!'

How long have you been in the business? I started this agency 15 years ago – we now have a staff of six including my husband and me.

Tell me about Palgrave. It's a small town of about 1,200 people an hour outside Toronto – Bolton is our largest nearby town. Lucky us – we get to walk to work, through a forest!

Do you have a specialty? Cruises, mainly – river and some luxury cruising too. Also a lot of escorted group travel. We just got back from a two week cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean with 75 clients.  Our groups are like a big family. 

What drives you crazy? Voice mail!  (Laughs) Getting stuck in that whole awful maze.

If you could have a secret weapon what would it be? Maybe a crystal ball so I could predict the next day's prices!

What was your biggest individual sale? I booked a couple to French Polynesia, business class - about $40,000.

How do you keep up on industry affairs? I belong to Vacation.com and do a lot of webinars with them. We network a lot. And I read – a lot!

Do you have a magic sentence to close the sale? I think I'm pretty up front and I give them really good options and get them excited. I work with their comfort level and don't like to pressure people. I'm a pretty good closer, so think it works for me.

Do you have any time management strategies? I always have a to-do list that's prioritized.  And I get in early, by 7:30 if I can – and like everyone else I multi-task.

What do you do to keep your clients loyal? We contact them a lot, and have cocktail evenings and a Christmas open house.  We do a lot to keep in touch with them.

How would your clients describe you? Hopefully, hardworking and compassionate.   (We hug and kiss a lot.)

If you had to spend six months in a destination, which one would you pick? Either Italy or Costa Rica – I love them both so much.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received? 'Follow your gut instinct and your passion, and your life will be rewarding.'

You may also like
Carnival Corp “Outperforms on Every Measure” with Record Wave Season
Carnival Corp, which owns Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn, reported record Q1 revenues of $5.4 billion ...
World-Class Culture, Fine Wine and Mating Rhinos; South Africa Comes to Town
South Africa’s Justin Barnette, the highly entertaining head of Marketing and Communications, said the tourism team wanted to come to Toronto ...
Plane in Flight
CAPA ANALYSIS: With Lynx Gone, Canada’s Big Airlines Are Playing it Smart
A Senior Analyst, Americas, at Sydney-based CAPA - Centre for Aviation, penned a story this week that looks at how Canadian ...
JTB Invites GTA Advisors to Attend ‘Evening with Jamaica’ Event 16-17APR
The Jamaica Tourist Board is hosting two events in Toronto for GTA advisors to experience an Evening with Jamaica on 16APR ...
Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Opening Hailed as a First
The 18th resort in its portfolio, Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines held its ribbon cutting ceremony on 28MAR. For travel ...

Talk Back! Post a comment: