I am a travel agent specializing in cruises and my work has changed in the summer of chaos

• Jason Poole in Nashville, Tenn. is a travel agency based in, which specializes in cruises and European tours.
• I do not charge my client to work with me. I am 100% free. I make my money from resorts, cruise lines and hotels paying me commissions for bringing in clients.
• This is Jason Poole’s story, as told to writer Jamie Killeen.

That being said, the essay was created with Jason Poole, a Nashville, Tenn.-based travel agent specializing in cruises and European travel. Edited for length and clarity.

I have a passion for travel. I joke that I vacation in Nashville, Tenn., but my real home is at an airport, on a cruise ship, or in a city in Europe.

I always find it helpful to use a travel agent, especially when I’m in a different profession and too busy to book my own trips. My travel agent always thought I was cool and after turning her down many times, I joined her team. We now co-own the Cruise Planners franchise and I have been an agent for seven years.

I love helping people experience things for the first time.

Cycling is my personal passion. I have found a niche with very successful travel agents – so my areas of expertise are international resorts, cruises and European land tours.

I love helping people experience things for the first time. I tell my clients, I can be as hands on or off as you want. Some of my clients are veterans who don’t need my help booking flights or hotels.

However, I also have a family of three who just returned from their first trip to Europe and need help with everything. I loved creating their itineraries from flights to transfers to tours and excursions to help them have the perfect vacation that fit their budget.

I do not charge my client fees. I am 100% free. I make my money from resorts, cruise lines and hotels that pay me commissions for bringing in clients. I was also able to find customer rates that were lower than those on resort or cruise websites and also more amenities.

I get so many offers for dating trips, I always have to turn them down

Because I belong to the Cruise Planner Millionaire Club – which means I make over a million dollars in sales per year – resorts and cruise lines always want me to do introductory cruises. I have so many offers I always have to turn them down. I pay for private trips out of pocket, and those make me more of an expert on cruise lines and resorts.

Most of my business comes from word of mouth and referrals. Booking is easy, however, I don’t want to book – I want clients who work with me because they want boutique service. You can call me, you can email me, you can write me a Facebook message, you can send me an Instagram message – my phone is attached to my hip. You can email sites like Expedia but you get a response within weeks – hours with me.

It’s important now because travel is in a state we’ve never seen before. Some people call it a revenge trip, but I hate that phrase because it sounds so negative. What we are seeing is people traveling more and people spending more; The person who used to fly economy is now flying business or first class.

Now people are looking for great travel agents – especially authoritative ones

When I started I had to convince people many times of the benefits of using a travel agent. I tell people at cocktail parties that I’m a travel agent, and I always get the same response: ‘Do they still exist?’ The Internet has completely revolutionized travel. People thought that since they could book things on the Internet, they didn’t need a travel agent.

But now people are looking for good travel agents – especially those with authority on resorts, cruises and cities they want to see.

I think the pandemic has taught us that life is short. It has helped people see the value of travel agents and want to travel more. Even in my own travels, I find myself focusing more on new destinations and new experiences.

Travel Tips:

• Download the airline’s app to your smartphone when you fly. It’s the fastest way to get notified about changes from the airline.
• Buy travel insurance. People don’t realize that it covers not only trip cancellation, but emergency medical transportation to get you back to the US, which can cost hundreds of thousands.
• Allow a little extra time at the airport, especially for international travel, to go through customs, grab your luggage, check in again, and go through TSA again.