Status Travel

08/15/2022

What a fun night re-connecting with industry friends and colleagues. , , Global Travel Collection, Tzell Travel Group. .

08/10/2021

Thank you Delta Air Lines for a fun night! In a time where the new norm is to expect the unexpected-it was great to reconnect with our industry friends and colleagues.

06/22/2021

When you book travel, your service shouldn't end before your trip begins. Send me a message today and experience the benefits of booking your dream vacation with a real human.

03/24/2021

I am advocating to change the perception of the travel advisor. The travel advisor community has weathered many industry changes over the years; one was the start of charging fees. Many advisors were afraid to, for fear of losing business or for not thinking that their time and expertise had any VALUE. This mindset has led us to where we are today, which is why I am encouraging travel advisors and business owners to REALIZE their WORTH as well as the VALUE they provide to their clients by acknowledging that we in the travel industry are professionals. In March 2020, STATUS spent countless hours getting our travelers home before borders closed; secured refunds and got penalties waived.; all free of charge. Dedicating all of those countless hours helped me realize my VALUE and that there is a difference between “helping” and “free work”. As an industry, we simply cannot continue to give away the RESULTS of our labors for free. Professional service fees are a reflection of VALUE and it is time travel advisors realized their WORTH and the VALUE they provide. Charging a fee for service has been frowned upon far too long. The long travel pause has shed light for many advisors and 2021 can offer that ‘reset” to the perception of a professional travel advisor.

Lori Zuckerman, Executive Corporate & Luxury Travel Advisor, Tzell Travel Group of Global Travel Collection, shares her thoughts on charging fees.

03/15/2021

How a corporate travel advisor come emerges from one of the hardest years


As travel slowly starts to resume, after a year plus pause, we asked ourselves, how does STATUS come back from the hardest year ever? And our answer is, to stay the course, despite never before experienced challenges and show all of our travelers, that “we got this, we are still here” and maybe the best is yet to come. STATUS has persevered; stayed committed and had time to reflect on what we do and the positive impact it has for our travelers.

STATUS has always helped companies lower their travel spend and booked trips in a timely manner; allowing the traveler to focus on what they do best and be productive in their job. Now, more than ever in an almost post pandemic world, STATUS still continues to take the stress out of booking travel. We are up to date on travel restrictions/policies from our airline and hotel partners and are here to help navigate all of the new rules and safety measures. Saving and !!!

Technology, while still necessary, cannot replace the bond of a relationship that is built on trust. On line travel sites are filled with tons of data and information that can be confusing for many travelers. The technology designed to make booking travel easier, actually makes it more difficult. There can be many options available, each one returning a different result. An employee can spend hours trying to book a trip. With ingenuity and know-how, STATUS, gets the trips booked in a timely manner.

travel, for years, has been missing customer service. Plain and simple. It has become impersonal and when you are making travel plans on the internet or through a large call center half way around the world, it may be difficult to talk to someone who knows what is going on. And then when that person leaves for the day, you get the opportunity to tell your story an 2nd or 3rd time. That just does not work in today’s world.

In the beginning of the pandemic, did you wait on hold? Spending endless hours on the phone trying to reach someone in a faceless call center, or a big box store, or an airline to assist you with changing or canceling your travel plans? While waiting for someone to answer, did you think that it would have been a lot easier to just email or call your travel advisor and know that it would be taken care of? If you or your company answered yes to those questions, then NOW is the perfect time to make the switch to STATUS. We are here and open for business.

It is not a secret that the travel industry has been catastrophically hit by this pandemic and faces a longer recovery window than many other industries. As we continue into 2021, and uncertainty remains, the travel advisor that got you home and secured your refunds, deserves to be recognized and supported, now more than ever.

STATUS is a private ,women owned independent affiliate of Tzell Travel Group. We are owners and customer focused hands-on travel advisors with years of experience in the trenches. Our corporate travelers are not treated as “things”, but rather individual travelers and they receive more of a personal service experience. When a traveler reaches out to us (day/night/weekend), we reply. At STATUS, our travelers are treated and given the VIP STATUS that they do not have to earn!!

If you need assistance with booking corporate travel, and want to learn more about STATUS, call me at (212) 944-3952 or email me at [email protected]

10/13/2020

With each day that passes, we are one step closer to reaching the other side of this travel pause. Focusing on a safe return to travel, we have our own Health and Safety Travel Desk. This internal resource provides the most up to date guidance on a variety of health and safety issues, along with risk mitigation advice. It includes questions related to border closures, flight suspensions, mandatory quarantines or Covid-19 testing requirements.

Travel most likely will change after the pandemic and travel advisors (like STATUS) will become essential due to our invaluable knowledge and industry connections. 2020 has shown and taught us that the expertise and financial protection of booking through a travel advisor often outweighs the fees associated with booking.

Planning travel will become joyful again and this difficult pause in our lives hopefully has reminded us that travel is important and can be considered an essential human activity. For many, planning a trip and looking forward to upcoming travel can increase happiness!! Be inspired, take action and plan a future trip.

Ask yourself, what does travel mean to you? Let us know!

Our new Social Impact Campaign builds on the wanderlust of WTTC's first 'Together in Travel' campaign and presents the deeper benefit & positive impact that ...

08/05/2020

I received an email late on a Friday night from a loyal corporate client, needing a ticket for travel within the next 10 days. I emailed him back immediately with the flights and a fare quote. Knowing that I most likely would not hear from him until the next week, (and that the fare will expire) I saved the flights over the weekend and had my plan ready to go for Monday. Sure enough, I received his email approval on Monday afternoon. I already had my waiver from the airline to ticket him at the fare I quoted and saved him $1500.00. It felt really good to be able to do that for a client and to be “back at it” for a brief moment. Having that personal relationship will never go out of style.
His loyalty to STATUS is sincerely appreciated and that is just one of many things we do without question for our clients.

As many of you know, the travel industry has been hit especially hard this year and has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, with almost all clients taking a pause from travel. The ongoing pandemic continues to impact our industry and the reality is that travel is not expected to return for quite some time. Travel agents have lost their pay for up to a year or more. Without question, we have negotiated refunds and cancelations on behalf of our clients, with almost no new bookings. We are all feeling anxious to get back out there when the time is right. And, at STATUS, we know that TRAVEL STILL MATTERS and we will play a key role in helping our industry rebuild. Now more than ever, clients are looking for us to help guide them and by STATUS knowing their travel preferences and having a relationship built on trust and partnership….we will be set up for a successful recovery. We have always been available for our travelers from the beginning of their journey to the end; guiding them and having that focus will rebuild the confidence in travel. So, when you do decide to travel again, please use a trusted travel advisor (like STATUS) and not an online agency. We gladly do things when we can for our clients (such as the above example), due to the personal relationship we have; and that is something that the online agencies do not.
Your business matters so much to our industry. Please do not click the “book” button on a website. You will be helping a travel advisor PLUS be getting an even better travel experience and receiving help with any unforeseen problems along the way.

06/04/2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! I don’t typically use social media to say much about politics or our country, as I have felt it was not the appropriate platform, nor a good business practice and politics can divide us. I tend to keep my thoughts to myself. However, this last week, has been an emotional roller coaster of emotions. I am following my heart and speaking out, as being silent is not an option. Sometimes, doing what is right, as simple as it is, can be difficult. Racism, discrimination, police brutality and injustice cannot be ignored.
To all of our black friends, colleagues, clients, travelers….. we hear you, we see you and we will stand in solidarity with all of those who peacefully seek to inspire change. BLACK LIVES MATTER!! Today and every day!!!

05/12/2020

We have been through a lot the last few months and all of us are trying to adjust to this “new normal” every day. STATUS has built personal relationships with our travelers over many years and when we don’t have our daily routine in place – talking, planning and laughing – it can feel like a part of us is missing and life feels out of whack. The bond we have with our clients has always been strong and we believe will be even stronger after this time dealing with the pandemic. We have always appreciated the relationships we have with our clients and believe they have appreciated the work we do for them. We firmly believe the appreciation will be stronger in the days and months to come – you don’t know what you will miss…until you miss it!

While many things have changed and will continue to change, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to our travelers. STATUS has and will continue to be there for you like we always have.

Looking forward to brighter days ahead and wishing you all the best!