One of the great things about being a travel advisor is the flexible nature of the job. And, after giving birth to her third child, Caitlin Fogel shared that flexibility, paired with her enthusiasm for travel, is what solidified her decision to make the move from 10 years of social work to becoming a new member of the travel industry in 2021.
Quite the pivot, Fogel explained that she fell into the new role somewhat organically after her travel agent reached out looking for extra help around the office. Fogel rose to the occasion, and, after spending some time working at the agency part-time, began building a clientele of her own and picturing a dedicated career as a travel advisor — a dream she’s since fulfilled after officially going full-time in 2023.
In addition to the appeal of the freedom that came with becoming an independent contractor, Fogel said she felt inspired to take the professional leap after noting travel would allow her to continue to foster one of her favorite skillsets associated with being a social worker: the ability to help others. “(I’ve) always enjoyed helping others,” said Fogel. “I definitely have a lot of joy in helping people with picking the right destination and curating the perfect trip for them. And sharing that passion for travel.”
Now, with several years of experience under her belt, Fogel continues to play a supporting role, both for her clients and fellow advisors. “Coming into the industry, I felt like there were a lot of people that weren’t willing to help new people,” she said. “Maybe because they’re too busy or they have a book of business, so they’re not answering your silly questions. I, as someone who wants to help people, often have new advisors ask me the silly questions, and I take the time to explain them because everyone has to start somewhere, and there are enough clients to go around.”
Instead of falling victim to the scarcity mindset that can be so tempting to buy into, Fogel explained she thinks the industry is strongest when it works together — and that means letting newbies in on all the juicy trade secrets. “I think paying it forward and helping new people in the industry is worth the time and effort to keep our industry strong,” she said. “And I would say, when I came into the industry, it was hard to develop those relationships with people who are busy. So, my advice for the community is to work together and have more conversations about struggles or how we can improve things as an industry as a whole versus staying quiet, working independently and not sharing resources.”
For Fogel, building that sense of community with her peers and coming together to share resources has been paramount to her success. “Sometimes you feel like you’re kind of on a lonely island, especially when you’re an independent,” she said. “You’re not living in a big city where a lot of these vendors are coming, so going to shows is important, creating the relationships, taking down people’s information from webinars, all of that.” Fogel went on to share that she recently connected with two people from her small town of Greenville, South Carolina, while at a conference in the Dominican Republic. “Since then, we’ve texted, we’ve tried to get together, we’re definitely from three different businesses, but we’re like, ‘oh, tell me how you do this,’ ‘do you have a contact for this?’ Just working together and helping each other I think is such a bright light.”
Further reflecting on these budding friendships, Fogel shared there’s so much we can learn from others, even when people have varying levels of experience. “One girl’s been in the industry for six months; the other lady has been in the industry for 15 years,” she said. “It’s fun to be like, OK, we have a senior person; we have me as a middle person, and we have a newbie and just kind of talk about how different business models and how everything works.”
“I think as a travel advisor, we don’t know everything,” said Fogel. “So, tapping into your resources and your contacts is the best way to educate yourself. … Sometimes I feel like I’m still floundering because there’s different ways to book hotels; there’s so many different suppliers; it can be overwhelming. But just take it a little bit at a time and organize yourself. Set yourself up for success … all of those things will pay off in the long run.”
Originally appeared in the WInter 2025 issue of The Compass magazine
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