The following is a guest post from Emily Stewart, an Evolve Travel Advisor. 

As a veteran member of the Travel Advisor Team, I have had the good fortune to develop wonderful relationships with many of our travelers. Thanks to each interaction, I’ve come to learn that a key to a successful, meaningful and efficient booking process often starts right at the beginning, when a traveler first emails or calls in to inquire about a property. The more friendly and focused our first conversation is, the more fulfilling our subsequent interactions become. So, I’ve devised a little step-by-step guide to making the most of your exchanges with the Evolve Travel Advisor Team. Take a look!

Tell us your name right off the bat! 

When you call Evolve, you’re talking to a real person, who’s ready to answer any unique question you may have. It makes our jobs easier — and your experience more personal — for us to know your name and be able to work with you on a one-on-one level. On a more practical note, we also arrange our inquiries based on the first and last name of each traveler, so it’s a lot easier to start logging other trip details when we start with a name.

Have you talked to us before? 

If we’ve spoken in the past, we will already have your contact information, and we most likely have a few notes about your vacation rental preferences, as well. If you’ve been working with a specific member of our team, we would love for you to continuing working with them personally.  If they’re not available, any member of our team would be happy to assist you — we’ll simply look up your trip details in our system!

What exactly are you looking for? 

This goes beyond a “1-bedroom condo in Miami.” If you’re not sure where to start follow the basic “W’s”: Who, What, Where, When, Why. “How” you’re getting there helps too, because I can tell you how far the home is from the airport, if it has garage parking, if there’s a boat dock, etc. Most importantly, we love to know your unique reasons for traveling — it helps us pick out the ideal property for your needs. One of my most memorable interactions was helping a traveler plan a trip to meet her biological parents for the first time. I found her a place with a huge kitchen. Their first interaction was cooking a meal together. How cool is that?

If your travel plans are flexible, let us know! 

At the time of publishing, we have over 350 properties across the U.S., the Caribbean, and Europe, each with their own individual calendars. If your dates are flexible, or you are willing to explore the possibility of a different home or locale, let us know; we may have something that will work even better for you!

Let us know your booking timeframe. 

Have you searched for weeks and are just about ready to give up? Do you need to check-in within days or hours? Are you planning for a future holiday and waiting for the family to get their schedules synched? Our Travel Advisor Team can adapt to your needs, providing the proper information for a speedy booking process, or getting creative to see if we can make your future trip absolutely perfect.

Don’t forget to keep in touch.

When you book through Evolve, we are here as a resources throughout your entire travel process. If you have questions before your check-in date, feel free to give us a call — we don’t drop your account as soon as the payment is processed. If you’re waiting to get details figured out, let us know; we can tell you if there are other inquiries, if the home is no longer available, or answer the questions of the rest of the members of your party.

We love feedback! 

If you don’t book with Evolve, we would love to know why. We note if the property was too expensive, if it lacked your desired amenities, if it wasn’t in the right place, etc. The more we know about our travelers’ preferences, the more feedback we can provide to the homeowner. We’re constantly working to improve our service and to help our owners and managers improve guests’ experiences booking their properties. Any feedback is always welcomed.

How’d your trip go? 

We will send you a review request email when you return from your trip, soliciting feedback on everything from your booking process with Evolve to the home itself. These reviews are analyzed by our team, read by the owners and managers, and posted for public viewing. Not only do we adjust our practices in response to these reviews, but they provide invaluable information to future travelers. If you were particularly unhappy with any parts of your stay, give us a call. Your feedback will help us mitigate these sorts of issues in the future. After all, growing pains are part of the maturing process!

Each member of the Travel Advisor Team works at Evolve because we feel strongly for our travelers, our team, and the future of the vacation rental industry. Like every job, some days are tougher than others, but we keep plopping our nerdy head-sets back on our heads because we love hearing travelers’ voices on the other end. Helping a traveler to book the perfect trip and then reading their positive review is like watching your first bean sprout grow in second grade science class; with the right application of resources, something magical appears.

Of course, feel free to call us at any time if you have questions about this article, our company, or the Travel Advisor Team. We will be here, 7am-10pm Monday-Thursday, 7am-9pm on Friday, and 8-10pm on Saturday and Sunday. We’d love to chat!

 
- Emily Stewart, Evolve Travel Advisor.