Senior Travel Specialist

**Job Purpose**:
As a Senior Travel Specialist for the high-end bespoke market, your primary responsibility is to design and execute luxury travel itineraries that cater to the unique preferences and desires of our discerning clients. Your expertise and attention to detail will ensure that each journey is a seamless and extraordinary experience.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- Client Consultation: Conduct in-depth consultations with high-end clients to understand their travel preferences, interests, and specific requirements.
- Customized Itinerary Design: Create highly personalized travel itineraries, including luxury accommodations, private transportation, exclusive experiences, and dining reservations, tailored to each client’s needs.
- Supplier Relationships: Develop and maintain strong relationships with our suppliers to secure exclusive deals and experiences for clients.
- Destination Knowledge: Excellent South Africa and Regional knowledge is required.
- Logistics Management: Ensure seamless logistics for each trip, including managing flight details, transfers, and other travel arrangements.
- client Communication: Excellent Communication skills with in-depth detail.
- Problem Solving: Handle unexpected issues or changes to travel plans with professionalism and efficiency, ensuring mínimal disruption to the client’s experience.
- Documentation: Prepare detailed travel itineraries, travel documents, and other relevant information for clients.

Quoting & Reservations:

- Opening of client files according to client standards
- Loading reservations on Tourplan
- Ensure confirmation of services with suppliers
- Stay in constant communication with agents with regards to status of reservations, payment requirements, deadlines, and conditions of reservations
- Arrange Meet and Greets as required
- Manage MOD phone and queries as required

Payments & Account Queries:

- Ensure that clients invoiced for all services and invoices provided to clients timeously.
- Manage payments and Account queries
- Arrange pre-payments.

Financial Reporting:

- Explanation of variances
- Margin Management (high & low)
- Reconciling of files

Administration:

- Full understanding and follow-through of all divisional procedures and policies.
- Submit timeous reports as requested and adhere to deadlines
- Maintain complete confidentiality with all company intellectual capital
- Ensure that all documentation has been filed and that files are updated

Client Relationships:

- To ensure client expectations are met and the highest delivery of service is driven through the business.
- To ensure that all correspondence, documentation, proposals, presentations are delivered accurately and timeously.

Supplier Relationships:

- Commitment to and building relationships with our clients’ preferred partners.
- Establishing best product.
- Personal development on destinations and products.

Team Work:

- To build and maintain good relationships within the team.
- Pro-actively get involved.
- Assist in areas of expertise.
- Learning & Development:

- Continuously develop product knowledge, attend industry events/seminars/conferences, and participate in supplier workshops, educationals and trade shows.

Qualifications & Expertise:

- Matric / Grade 12
- Travel & Tourism qualification would be preferable
- ** Minimum 5 years Inbound Tourism industry **experience in a senior role dealing with the high-end, luxury Markets
- Experience in tailor-made FIT itineraries
- ** French language a must**
- Tourplan knowledge and execution would be preferable
- Excellent South African and Regional geographic knowledge
- Strong touring logistics knowledge

Competency Requirements: Personal & Technical:

- Attention to detail is essential
- A mature approach when dealing with people
- Capacity for dealing with employers and workers at all levels
- Confidentiality, tact and discretion when dealing with people
- Excellent planning, organisational, and analytical skills
- ** French & and English competency **(speaking, reading & writing)
- Integrity and Honesty
- Excellent Problem solving skills

French Tourplan