"We are a full service travel agency, servicing the travel planning needs of current and former pro athletes and their families, in season and out of season. This is a completely free service to those in the pro athlete community."
- Tim May, Pro Athlete Travel
One night in 2016, Tim May awoke with an idea for a specialty travel niche that kept him awake until the morning hours.
Before I share that story, however, it’s important that you know more about Tim May. Tim’s background in travel began working with Allianz before being recruited for business development with the Travel Leader’s Network; after which he created a travel agency brokerage firm called Total Solutions Travel. During these two ventures Tim learned much about the mechanics of travel agencies. Up until this time, however, Tim never actually owned a travel agency.
While brokering travel agencies, Tim worked with five or six smaller agencies, all of which had a good book of corporate travel. He desired to expand his business by acquiring these agencies, incorporating them under the Total Solutions Travel brand. It was during this time in early 2016 that Tim became hosted by Your Travel Center/Montecito Village Travel.
Tim knew that specializing in corporate travel had definite advantages as well as certain drawbacks. Like every good businessman, Tim looked to diversify his business mix and decided to look for ways to mine his corporate business for leisure travel. It was then when an inspiration came to him like a thunderbolt at 2:34 in the morning. A voice woke Tim from a deep sleep telling hm that he would be known for servicing professional athletes.
So strong was this message that Tim was unable to sleep wondering what this message could possibly mean. Upon rising, he did two things that solidified his thoughts and forced his hand. Knowing that having a business name that clearly identified his business would be critically important, Tim searched the internet for Pro Athlete Travel and found that the URL was available. And when he found that the handle was also available on Instagram, he knew what he needed to do.
Like most successful people, Tim did his homework. He visited with two people he knew who had played professionally for information relevant to the needs of professional athlete. He then joined several professional athlete associations, including an association for the mothers of professional athletes and looked for opportunities to provide value. He quickly gained a positive reputation and trust within these communities. Though these endeavors, Tim learned that it was the moms and wives of the players who generally made the travel decisions, many times at the last minute. Getting to this demographic was vitally important to building his brand and Tim used several methods to do so.
Using social media, Tim initially followed the players, but later focused on the player’s spouses. One key element that gained traction for his brand was that he would go back to older social media posts with fewer likes and would like or make relevant comments. These comments, in turn, would generate a notification to the account holder. By reacting to older posts, he garnered more attention and recognition than would have been gained by commenting on more recent photos. Tim’s search included travel posts, family pics and family pets.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Tim monitors his followers and removes anyone that is not a professional athlete, former professional athlete or their families. In Tim’s case, it’s not about the quantity, but about creating a smaller highly focused group of followers with a common interest and a sense of community.
Tim also began to focus on hotel properties and destinations that would resonate with the professional athlete… namely, properties that could provide the privacy and the anonymity these athletes crave. Tim visited many of the properties personally and created a regular feature called “Take You There Tuesday” on his social media. In addition to his own travels, Tim also relies on Montecito Village Travel’s National Sales Directors to help create a personal message for his clients. Tim reaches out to the National Sales Directors of the properties and explains his niche. He then asks for an introduction to someone on property to assist him. By being introduced by the National Sales Director and then engaging with staff members on property, explaining his niche and his need for content, a staff member of the property then records an informal private tour of the property using a cell phone. Tim generally receives about ten full minutes of imagry and commentary. From this footage, Tim edits it and breaks it down to :30 segments for his “Take You There Tuesday” segment. Followers have access to the full footage if they provide an email address which will be used later for a newsletter with information relevant to professional athletes and Pro Athlete Travel. It’s a win/win/win marketing strategy.
As with most advisors, Tim understands the importance of the client/advisor relationship. To show his appreciation, Tim has created what he calls his “President’s Club.” President’s Club participants are hand selected and treated to a weekend retreat with Tim as a show of appreciation.
Each Team Ambassadors represents one professional team and will contract for one year. Team Ambassadors are responsible for posting content to that team’s professional team’s social media accounts, thereby expanding Pro Athlete Travel’s reach through known and trusted sources. These ambassadors will primarily consist of family members of professional athletes and former clients.
Is it working? The short answer is yes. Tim’s business is growing in the best way, word of mouth, supported by excellent marketing. His close ration is about 90%, meaning fewer research projects that go unsold. His profit margins have allowed him to divest himself of his corporate travel business and its demands.
What’s next? Phase II of Pro Athlete Travel is currently underway. Although details are under wraps, Tim promises it will be the next game changer for his business, all through human connection and relevancy.
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