These Travel Advisors Give Their Clients Gifts — Here’s What They Wrap Up and Why

Though working with a travel advisor is a gift unto itself, some advisors go above and beyond their professional duties by giving their clients actual presents.

It’s a genuine display of gratitude for their business, and it’s a clever way to stay top of mind, so that when a new travel idea pops into a client’s head, the advisor does, too. Here’s how a few travel advisors curate and deliver gifts for their customers, and why they take the time to do so.

Brianna Glenn, Co-Leader of Masters in Travel

Brianna Glenn of Masters in Travel says she incorporates gifts into her client experience because she loves an opportunity to surprise and delight.

“Gifts are usually unexpected,” she said. “Clients hire us to design a great trip for them, but things we can do throughout their journey that they aren't expecting are a way for us to celebrate with them, and to elevate an already special experience.”

Clients hire us to design a great trip for them, but things we can do throughout their journey that they aren't expecting are a way for us to celebrate with them, and to elevate an already special experience.

Glenn’s clients receive a box just before their departure that has a printed itinerary and a gift, usually a small gesture such as loose-leaf tea and honey. Then, when they arrive at their first hotel, there is a personal note on branded stationary and a welcome gift — a bottle of Prosecco perhaps, or an item specific to that location. If clients are in Hawaii, they might be greeted with sand toys for the kids, a fruit platter or locally made banana bread. Glenn says it’s not really about the price of the gift, it’s about giving something that matters to the client.

“I once had a client mention, during a consultation about their trip to Egypt, that they really wanted a hotel that had a balcony with a view of the pyramids,” she said. “In their mind, the perfect trip would include them sitting out on their balcony sipping a glass of bourbon and gazing out on the pyramids. So that client didn't get a bottle of wine — we splurged for bourbon. It was important that I heard them and knew how to make that happen. An accompanying note simply said, ‘I hope this moment was everything you dreamed it would be.’”

During the holiday season, Glenn also sends custom gifts to clients, and they have been so well received that she says she’ll stay the course for a while.

“We send a personalized globe ornament with their names and the trip they took that year,” Glenn said. “It's a keepsake, and a nice reminder of the vacation that gave them such great memories.”

Angela Isherwood, Owner of Olive & Atlas Travel Design

Angela Isherwood of Olive & Atlas Travel Design says that gifting is her love language, and that curating packages for her clients brings her great joy.

“I love the idea of clients receiving something in the mail that reminds them that we are thinking of them, and that we are invested in their trip and in the privilege of helping them create lifelong memories,” she said. 

One of the core values at Olive and Atlas is “Celebrate Celebrations,” and that’s what gifting helps Isherwood do. She’s given branded Yeti water bottles, drawstring bags and luggage tags. In partnership with a local candle maker, she’s created custom candles with co-branded labels. Adventure journals for honeymoon couples and boxes of cute Band-Aids for traveling families are in the mix, too. Special items bought from a favorite store in Rome have also made great gifts.  

“The most special gift we have sourced recently is a selection of hand-painted watercolor prints of Italy,” she said. “They’re by an artist I met on Instagram who lives in the United States, but whose husband is from Italy. They were created just for our brand, and I now send them to my high-spending Italy clients.”

Many gifts are sent via snail mail before a client departs; Isherwood says that feels more personal. Sometimes floral bouquets or bottles of wine in a client’s room upon check-in are arranged, and every so often, Isherwood will work with a hotel concierge to set up a private aperitivo in a hotel garden or other venue.

If a client takes a moment to acknowledge the gift, Isherwood is doubly happy.

We are going for extra touches of kindness, so our guests know intuitively we are ‘there’ with them when they are traveling.

“Anytime a client responds to a gift — whether it be a big or small one — it means the world to us that they recognize the extra effort we are putting in,” she said. “And anytime I get a picture of them enjoying something we sent or had delivered, it revitalizes and reinforces why we do what we do. We are going for extra touches of kindness, so our guests know intuitively we are ‘there’ with them when they are traveling.”

Kim Hebert, Owner of Explorateur Travel

Kim Hebert of Explorateur Travel follows a similar pattern, often gifting her clients something pre-trip, mid-trip and over the holidays.

“The pre-travel gift is something to get them excited about their trip, but it's also that personal touch that reminds them I am human and here for them if they need me,” she said.

Branded leather Explorateur Travel luggage tags and a personalized note are top sends. For repeat clients, leather passport holders are delivered. In the past, Hebert has even had an artist hand paint luggage tags that reflect a client’s destination or reason for travel. Branded tote bags, drink koozies, golfer hats and wet bags are among other creative ideas. Lately, she feels especially excited about babymoon gifts.

The pre-travel gift is something to get them excited about their trip, but it's also that personal touch that reminds them I am human and here for them if they need me.

“Some of our hotel partners go above and beyond and work with us to leave our clients something truly special to celebrate this time in their lives,” she said. “We've done special pink or blue cakes, and even baby onesies branded with the location or destination.”

And during the holiday season, Explorateur advisors regularly send VIP clients some extra cheer. Last year, that included journals, candles, wine and travel-themed Christmas ornaments.

Erica Carr, Founder of BookItBox Travel

Gifting is fundamental to BookItBox Travel: Every client receives a pre-trip box with their itinerary and themed surprises. On the company website, for example, a box for a Hawaii-bound client might include themed sunglasses, sunscreen, a kukui nut lei, a destination-themed candle and macadamia nuts.

Then, a welcome amenity in a client’s hotel room is customary. If they’re celebrating an anniversary, Carr has worked with hotels to leave a framed photo of the couple on their wedding day in their room. Or, if clients are traveling without their kids, she might arrange to have a framed family photo there.

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Other gifts are hand-selected by BookItBox Travel advisors as they explore the world themselves, Carr says. They keep their eyes open for other thoughtful and related items, like glassware from Anthropologie, travel dish towels by Cat Studio or destination-themed candles. Books from the Assouline travel series are favored items, too.

“We also love to gift experiences to clients,” Carr said. “For example, when clients are coffee drinkers and they travel to a new country for the first time, we will often gift them a coffee-tasting experience. That allows them to try several local coffees, and to determine what to order throughout the rest of their journey in that country.”

Susie Flores, Owner of Countdown Travels

Susie Flores is a cruise expert who regularly helps first-time cruisers navigate the niche, from which ship is right for them to how to pack for their trip. To that end, she also sends her clients small voyage kits before they depart. Inside is a miniature first-aid kit, sanitizing wipes, a travel-size sunscreen and Kleenex. She’ll also send clients luggage tags and a Countdown Travels lanyard with a plastic insert for cruisers to keep their ship card safe.

“It costs me maybe $15 to send something their way, and they just love it,” she said. 

She will also sometimes order chocolate-covered strawberries to a client’s room, or gift them additional onboard credit or wine.

Baylee Draughon, Director of Operations for HC Travel Firm

“Client gifting is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for choosing us,” said Baylee Draughon of HC Travel Firm.

It helps clients remember them, and if a recipient happens to post on social media about their gift, that’s an added bonus — great press for something an advisor is going to do anyway.

Because HC Travel Firm has so many repeat clients, Draughon’s team switches up their gift items regularly. This year, they’re giving branded trucker and baseball hats and airplane bottle openers. Past gifts have included branded sweatshirts, custom candles, books for kids, coffee mugs and luggage tags.

And where they make their gifts is considered, too. Draughon is based in Tennessee, so she’ll regularly partner with local businesses for custom creations, including Select Designs for embroidered or screen-printed gifts and Surcee Designs for patched trucker hats. For assistance in sourcing and shipping, they work with Gifts By Natalie.

Personalized surprises in clients’ hotel rooms are often arranged, as well. Draughon says she loves baby gifts, in particular, from toddler shirts to baby onesies.