Meet Amy McCracken, Travel Advisor, with Ruby's Travel

Ever wondered what happens when your flight gets canceled at midnight in a foreign country? Or how some travelers magically get room upgrades and complimentary spa treatments? The answer might be simpler than you think.

Meet Amy McCracken, a seasoned travel advisor with Ruby's Travel who transformed her passion for planning adventures into a 15-year career helping others create unforgettable travel experiences. What started as friendly advice—"you should get paid for doing this"—has blossomed into a full-time commitment to crafting dream vacations for honeymooners, families, and corporate clients alike.

Amy dispels the common misconception that working with a travel advisor costs more than booking through impersonal online platforms. "A lot of people think travel advisors are going to be more expensive, and that's really not the case," she explains. The reality? Travel advisors like Amy provide round-the-clock support, insider connections for upgrades and special perks, and crucially, a real person to call when travel plans go sideways. As Amy pointedly asks, "Try doing that with Costco or Expedia—it's not going to work very well."

From Caribbean getaways and Mexican resorts to Italian adventures, Amy crafts experiences tailored to each client's needs while monitoring travel advisories to ensure safety remains a priority. Her expertise isn't just about finding the right destination; it's about enhancing your entire journey with unique experiences, room upgrades, complimentary meals, and spa treatments that online bookings simply can't match.

Ready to transform your next vacation from stressful planning to stress-free experiencing? Connect with Amy at amymccracken@rubystravel.com or call 404-403-4327 to discover that a travel advisor can make all the difference in your travel story because:

• As your travel advisor, Amy is essentially your personal vacation concierge.
•  Amy can guarantee you won't encounter any surprise fees on accommodations and activities once your trip is booked.
• Your travel advisor, Amy, will be the one who will manage your trip, including payments due, and offer you travel insurance.
• As a client, you will have direct contact with Amy if you have questions or concerns or need to make modifications to your trip.

Transcript

Meet Amy McCracken, Travel Advisor

Speaker 1 0:01

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Poehler.

Speaker 2 0:10

Hey everybody, I'm excited today to be chatting with Amy McCracken. She is a travel advisor and works with Ruby's Travel. Welcome.

Speaker 3 0:19

Amy Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2 0:22

Yeah, we're excited to chat today, so why don't you start off by telling us about your business and Ruby's Travel?

Speaker 3 0:29

Sure. So I got involved being a travel advisor with Ruby's Travel about 15 years ago. A mutual friend connected me with another travel advisor with Ruby's and the rest is history. I always enjoy planning trips and adventures, and for myself. So my friend was like you should get paid for doing it and I was like good idea. I started, like I said, about 15 years ago, doing it part-time and now I'm fully committed full-time and planning vacations, corporate trips, for my clients and, yeah, I love helping people plan their dream vacations.

Career Journey to Travel Planning

Speaker 2 1:14

Awesome, awesome. And can you talk about what you were doing before becoming a travel advisor and how it all led you to make that decision? And career change led you to make that decision and career change?

Speaker 3 1:24

Sure. So I was in the golf business for a pretty long time as a golf merchandiser and buyer and, while I love that this opportunity came along and I was doing both things at the same time, but soon realized I really need to dedicate my full time to being a travel advisor because literally we work around the clock. Some people travel very early morning, some travel late at night, so I always have to have my phone near me just in case there's any type of emergency, anything like that case there's any type of emergency, anything like that, and I can offer my assistance.

Speaker 2 2:13

Awesome, awesome. And are there any myths or misconceptions out there about the travel industry or using a travel advisor that you'd like to clear up for us?

Speaker 3 2:19

Yeah, a lot of people think that travel advisors travel planners are going to be more expensive, and that's really not the case. I think some travel advisors do charge a minimal fee for their guidance and assistance, and that's invaluable information. We know which hotels, resorts and tour guides will work best for you, and we can enhance your trip with unique experiences.

Speaker 2 2:52

Awesome, awesome, and it sounds like, from what you said before, you do a lot of troubleshooting and you help people if they run into any issues while they're traveling.

Speaker 3 3:01

We provide expert recommendations and we basically take the stress out of planning. A lot of people, it's a stressful thing planning a trip and we can help them based on their budget and travel dates and their destination. Awesome, what else?

Speaker 2 3:18

do you like doing for fun besides traveling? I'm sure that's one of your favorite hobbies, if you want to talk about that a little too, that would be great.

Planning Destinations and Safety Considerations

Speaker 3 3:26

Yes, I do enjoy traveling a lot and, yeah, I enjoy it Try to bring my husband along when I can, but I enjoy going to travel shows and learning more about the industry, as well as taking my own vacations. I also gosh. I also enjoy. I like to shop, I have to say it. I like to play golf. I love trying new and different restaurants and hanging out with friends.

Speaker 2 3:55

Nice, nice. Where's your favorite spot? If you could go on a trip tomorrow, where would you go?

Speaker 3 4:09

tomorrow. Where would you go, wow? Oh, I've never been to Turks and Caicos or Antigua, and that's something that I'd really like to go. Where I'd like to go in the?

Speaker 2 4:13

future. Okay, so like a nice beach trip for you. Yes, ma'am, sounds relaxing. I'm sure when you got started in the industry there was a little bit of a learning curve. Were there any like hurdles along the way or struggles that you had that maybe folks out there might be able to learn from?

Speaker 3 4:34

Yeah, we try to provide top-notch service for all our clients. We have close connections with our inside sales teams that can provide promotions, upgrades, and we can do that all for our clients have a direct contact with us when they may have questions, concerns or need modifications, which that is, valuable information at no cost to them. I feel a lot of people still book with Expedia, costco, etc. But they're not going to get the support they would from a travel agent travel advisor.

Speaker 2 5:21

It sounds that way. Where are some destinations that you've planned trips for recently for your clients?

Speaker 3 5:31

Sure, so I do. I plan a lot of honeymoons for my clients. I also do cruises Europe Italy has been a favorite one A lot of Mexico and a lot of the Caribbean islands. I do family trips, I do. I also do trips for I just draw a blank Corporate travel. Corporate travel, yeah. So Caribbean Mexico is a good place. Any of the Caribbean islands are always fun to go to. I think people are more not traveling abroad as much just because of the times we're in. So they want to feel safe and many parts of the Caribbean are very safe. We are first to get any kind of travel warnings for countries and we'll definitely we won't send clients if there's a travel advisory for that country. So we're on top of that every day.

Speaker 2 6:33

That's great. Anything you haven't had a chance to share about your business that you'd like our listeners to know.

How to Connect With Amy

Speaker 3 6:39

As a travel advisor, we know which hotels, resorts and tour guides to work with. We take the stress basically out of planning a trip and that's huge and we can provide excellent recommendations for those resorts and anything else they have an issue with. We can get you special perks like room upgrades, complimentary meals, spa treatments, excursions, and the most important thing is my clients can reach out to me anytime in case of bad weather, sickness and other unexpected situations that may come up during their travel. Which try doing that with Costco Expedia. It's not going to work very well yeah, I imagine yeah.

Speaker 2 7:31

If folks are interested in learning more about you and your business, what's the best way for them to find you?

Speaker 3 7:37

Sure, they can contact me via email at amymccracken at rubystravelcom, or they may call me at my cell phone, 404-403-4327.

Speaker 2 7:57

Awesome. Thanks so much for joining us today, Amy. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was great.

Speaker 1 8:06

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Milton More. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpmiltoncom or call 470-664-4930.