Relying on Referrals

It’s no secret that ‘word of mouth’ gets hailed as a marketing strategy in the travel community, with many advisors believing that a good reference is all it takes to kickstart a client base. 

Some advisors swear by referrals as their most reliable form of brand awareness, arguing that it builds consumer trust while also preserving the exclusivity of their service. 

But Nickel, who has more than 15 years’ experience in the luxury travel industry, isn’t convinced. The digital marketing specialist believes that while referrals have their place, they should never be used as an advisor’s only marketing tool. 

“What happens when the pool of people they have around them dries up?” he said. “This strategy doesn’t scale. If you don’t want to be stuck on the hamster wheel, you need to look more towards the digital world, not just the people in your neighbourhood.” 

Nickel encourages advisors to instead target potential customers beyond their immediate circle, and the easiest place to find these customers is online. 

“In 2025, you need to have a website,” he said. “Unless you live in hot spot like New York or Dubai, and have a lot of time, money and energy to be networking in person, you need a digital presence.” 

Nickel also urges advisors to let go of the myth that high-end travel cannot be sold online, citing several major five-star suppliers that have successfully utilised digital marketing in the past ten years. 

Website Neglect 

Even those advisors who do have a website, however, may not always be using it in the most strategic way for marketing themselves. 

“A lot of people, in my experience, have a good try, but it’s not enough,” Nickel said. Common pitfalls are using the website as a biography with basic contact information, rather than as a tool to promote oneself and generate more leads. 

“Marketing doesn’t even come into the equation sometimes,” he explained. “They have pretty pictures and their logo, but that’s where the reasoning stops.”

A poorly designed website isn’t harmless, says Nickel; it can actively damage an advisor’s brand image and negatively impact conversions. The risk of losing business is even higher if it’s a client’s first point of contact with the agent. 

“It just disrupts trust and it’s incongruent,” Nickel warned. “The clients will suspect this. It creates a disconnect.” He also calls on struggling agents to re-examine on their website first and foremost, before investing in more sales people. 

“Throwing more sales people at the problem isn’t going to solve the problem,” he said. “You need to consider your lead flow first, and if your lead flow isn’t consistent, more staff won’t necessarily help.” 

Instagram Misuse 

Despite Instagram’s popularity as a marketing tool for travel advisors, many still struggle to effectively grow their following on the platform. Nickel believes this difficulty is rooted in a misunderstanding of its algorithm, which has changed drastically since the site’s 2010 launch. 

“It’s a common fallacy that you just need to post regularly on Instagram to gain a following,” Nickel said. “People still think it’s possible to grow their profiles organically, but those times are over.” 

Over the past 15 years, Instagram has become increasingly commercialised. With the site now driven by advertising revenue, a user’s organic reach [visibility without paid promotion] has been capped to encourage businesses to use paid promotion to reach their target audience.

With these limitations already in place, agents need to work harder on their Instagram game to gain traction. “It’s a combination of organic and paid content,” Nickel said. “Focus on well-written captions and high-quality images, and you can also try boosting your posts.”

Copying Retailers

It can be tempting for advisors to borrow the marketing techniques of luxury retail giants like LVMH and Richemont, who are known for investing heavily in large billboards, fashion editorials and celebrity ambassadors.  

Many of these corporations also use visuals with plenty of clean, neutral space in their marketing campaigns, which creates a perception of scarcity, and thereby exclusivity. 

While this ‘sterile’ aesthetic may be effective for luxury retailers, Nickel warns it doesn’t translate well to travel. 

“That kind of marketing doesn’t work in travel, because travel advisors are often organising very human experiences,” he explained, before adding: “Often, these bookings are commemorating special occasions and bucket trips.” 

It’s therefore important for agents to emphasise their humanity in their marketing, which helps to build the trust required for clients to make a high-value booking. Research has even shown that today’s high-net-worth individuals rarely become big spenders overnight; often, they need to have an established relationship with the advisor before dropping the cash. 

Targeting everybody 

With the market already so competitive, Nickel argues that being a generalist is one of the biggest mistakes a travel agent can make.  

“The profile for your ideal client should never be ‘Everyone who breathes and has money’,” he said. “That is the worst type of targeting.” 

He proceeds to warn against vague pitches that use buzz words like ‘unique’ and ‘tailor-made’, which “all sound the same” and leave potential clients “utterly drowned.” 

Instead, agents should study their business on a granular level, taking into consideration everything from supplier knowledge to their own travel experiences. This can then inform what type of clients they should target; for example, if an advisor has booked a high percentage of luxury mini breaks in Europe, they may want to focus on high-net-worth couples with limited annual leave. 

“Take this ultra specific profile and then translate that into the right marketing choices,” Nickel said. “The right images, right ads, right wordings. It all flows from there.”