A travel advisor's thank-you note is three or four lines: the client's first name, one detail from the trip that only their advisor would know, a plain thank-you, and your own first name. Send one when the trip is booked, one that lands a few days after they get home, one on the trip's anniversary, and one when they send you a friend. Eighteen notes to copy follow.
What should a travel agent thank-you note to a client say?
Say four things: their name, one detail of the trip, thanks, and your name. The detail is the point. "The window table in Positano." "Your dad's first time on a plane." "The Tuesday you nearly missed the ferry." Leave out your booking terms, a review request and next season's offers. Those go by email. The card is for the one thing an email cannot do, which is to feel like it came from a person.
Notes when the trip is booked
Post these the day the deposit is paid. The client is excited and a little nervous about the money. The card says they chose well.
Dear Karen and Phil, thank you for letting me plan your 30th anniversary. Ten nights on the Amalfi Coast, and I have asked for the window table in Positano. Start practicing your Italian. Laura
Hi Deepak, thank you for booking Japan with me. Cherry blossom is forecast for the week you land in Kyoto. I will send the rail pass details by email. Monica
Dear the Hendersons, thank you for trusting me with your first family cruise. Cabin 8214 is mid-ship, which is the kind one for first-time sailors. The kids' club takes ages 3 and up. Janet
Hi Rosa, thank you for booking Kenya. Seeing your mother's face when I said "hot air balloon" made my week. Nine months to go. Laura
Dear Michael, thank you for booking the Scotland golf trip for the eight of you. I have the tee times at St Andrews in writing. Pack for rain. Monica
What do you write in a welcome home note from a travel agent?
Write that you are glad they are back, name one thing you hope went well, and ask to hear about it. Do not sell the next trip. Time it to land a few days after they return, when the laundry is done and they want to tell someone about the holiday. That someone should be you.
Dear Karen and Phil, welcome home. I hope Positano gave you the sunset I promised. I want to hear everything, including what I should do differently next time. Laura
Hi Deepak, welcome back. Did the blossom show up on time? Call me when the jet lag lets go. I want to know which ryokan you liked best. Monica
Dear the Hendersons, welcome home. I hear from the ship that Owen was the star of the kids' talent show. I hope you all still have your sea legs. Janet
Hi Rosa, welcome home. I hope the balloon was everything your mother hoped for. Give her my best, and send me one photo. Laura
Dear Michael, welcome back. I saw the weather at St Andrews on Thursday. I am sorry, and I am impressed. Thank you for traveling with me. Monica
Notes on the trip's anniversary
A year on, the trip is a good memory and the client is wondering where to go next. This card does not ask. It remembers.
Dear Karen and Phil, a year ago today you were on the ferry to Capri. Happy 31st anniversary. I hope you open something Italian tonight. Laura
Hi Deepak, the blossom is out in Kyoto again this week, a year after you saw it. It made me think of you. Monica
Dear the Hendersons, one year since the cruise. Owen must be a whole year taller. Thinking of you all. Janet
Hi Rosa, a year ago this morning you and your mother were above the Mara at sunrise. I still have the photo on my desk. Laura
Notes to a client who referred a friend
Thank them when the friend first calls, not when the friend books. You are thanking them for their trust, whatever comes of it.
Dear Karen, thank you for giving my name to your sister. Being recommended by you means a great deal to me. I will look after her. Laura
Hi Deepak, your colleague Anil rang me this week. Thank you for sending him. It is the nicest thing a client can do. Monica
Dear Mrs Henderson, thank you for telling your neighbors about me. A kind word from you is worth more than any advert I could buy. Janet
Hi Michael, two of your golf group have now called me about their own trips. Thank you. You are better at my marketing than I am. Monica
Why do repeat clients and referrals matter so much to a travel advisor?
Because they are the two main reasons a traveler picks an advisor. In Travel Weekly's 2015 Consumer Trends survey, 41 per cent of people who used a travel agent said they chose that agent because they had used them before and were happy. Another 37 per cent named a friend's recommendation (Travel Weekly). That survey is old, but nothing newer we found contradicts it.
More of those travelers are new to advisors. In ASTA's benchmarking survey for the second quarter of 2024, 30 per cent of advisors said over half of their clients were using an advisor for the first time, as reported by Host Agency Reviews. A first-time client has no habit of coming back yet. The welcome-home card starts one.
The field is large. ASTA's 2026 fact sheet counts more than 310,000 travel advisors and 9,500 agencies in the United States. Citing Phocuswright, it says more than a quarter of travel is booked through an agency, including 70 per cent of cruise bookings (ASTA 2026 Fact Sheet). Your client can find another advisor easily. Being remembered is part of the service.
On the handwriting itself, the best evidence comes from retail, not travel. A field experiment with 1,232 customers of an online shop found a handwritten thank-you roughly doubled later spending. A typed note did nothing much, and the lift faded when a coupon came with it (Science Says, summarizing Kim, Choi and Kim, 2022). So do not put a discount code on the card.
Most advisors know all this and still do not write. Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley found in 2018 that people writing thank-you letters underestimated how good the reader would feel, and expected it to be more awkward than it was (Psychological Science).
When should each card be posted?
Post early, because mail is slow and your client is away. MailMyCard writes each card with a real pen held by a plotter, in real ink, and posts it from India. Delivery inside India takes days. Abroad it takes one to three weeks. The welcome-home card therefore needs to be posted while the client is still traveling, or before they leave on a short trip.
| Moment | When the card should be posted | What can trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Trip booked | The day the deposit is paid | Stripe, a CRM deal stage (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho), or a row in a Google Sheet |
| Welcome home | One to two weeks before the return date, for clients abroad | A Schedule set from the return date in your Sheet |
| Trip anniversary | About three weeks before the date | A yearly Schedule |
| Referral | The day the friend first calls | A row in the Sheet, or Zapier from your enquiry form |
Check how long mail takes for your client's country before you set the dates. A card written before the trip cannot mention what happened on it, so keep the welcome-home detail to what you planned: the table, the balloon, the blossom. We do not connect to booking or itinerary software directly. Use a Google Sheet or Zapier.
One card is $14.99. Advisors and agencies sending 50 or more agree a per-card price, from $8.99 for a pilot of 50 and falling with volume. See For business, and the developer docs if your agency has someone technical. There are travel layouts in the designs gallery. For the hotel's side of the same stay, see hotel guest thank-you notes, and for birthdays see client birthday card messages.
What should a travel advisor's card leave out?
Leave out anything that tells a stranger the house is empty, and anything that sells.
- Travel dates on a postcard. A card that says "enjoy your two weeks away from the 4th" should never travel without an envelope. The welcome-home and anniversary notes are safe. The booking note is better sealed.
- Booking numbers, passport details and prices. They belong in the secure documents.
- A discount or referral reward. Thank people for the referral in words. If you run a reward scheme, explain it by email.
- A review request. Ask once, by email, a week after the card.
- "Dear valued client". If you planned the trip, you know their name.
Common questions
Should I send a gift instead of a card?
A gift is kind, and suppliers often provide one. The card is the part with your words on it. If you send both, keep the note separate from any voucher.
What if something went wrong on the trip?
Say so, and sign it yourself. "I am sorry about the lost luggage in Rome. I have chased the airline and will call you Friday." A note that ignores a problem the client remembers reads as if you did not know.
Is an email enough for the welcome home?
Send the email as well. It is fast, and it can carry the survey link. The card comes a few days later, and it is the one they will keep.
How many cards is that a year?
For an advisor with 80 client trips a year, it is about 80 booking notes and 80 welcome-home notes, plus anniversaries and a handful of referral thanks. Start with welcome home. It is the one fewest advisors send.
Sources
- Travel Weekly, "Pass it on: Referrals are a must for travel agents", 2015 Consumer Trends survey: travelweekly.com
- ASTA 2024 Q2 Benchmarking Survey, as reported by Host Agency Reviews
- American Society of Travel Advisors, 2026 Fact Sheet (citing Phocuswright): asta.org
- Kim, S., Choi, J. and Kim, S. H. (2022), Journal of Interactive Marketing, summarized by Science Says
- Kumar, A. and Epley, N. (2018), "Undervaluing Gratitude", Psychological Science: psychologicalscience.org
