After switching career paths from private wealth management to travel advising, Cassidy Mitchell of All Star Travel Group in Los Angeles, CA has quickly made a name for herself.
Mitchell was recently one of two agents from her office inducted into the inaugural Ritz-Carlton Constellation Club — reserved for the brand’s top 50 advisors worldwide. Reaching that pinnacle after just five years in the industry is why Mitchell is a 2016 Trendsetter.
Several years after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in international affairs, Mitchell decided to leave her career in finance to pursue something more meaningful.
“The transition came naturally for me as I went from assisting clients with monetary investments to advising clients on their travel investment,” Mitchell says. “I consider traveling as a form of investment as travel enriches your life — talk about a return on investment!”
“My background in finance definitely instilled a strong work ethic and level of professionalism and discipline; I am very comfortable interacting with clients,” she notes.
Mitchell’s travel clients are primarily high-net worth financiers, CEOs, investment bankers and entertainment clientele. And while the majority of her business is leisure travel — honeymoons, multigenerational families, etc. — she also handles large business groups: Mitchell works on one of All Star’s largest corporate account’s yearly retreat.
“It involves coordinating flights, ground transportation and hotel accommodations for over 800 guests,” she says. “Needless to say, I am also very comfortable working with groups. When All Star Travel Group created their mentorship program for new employees, Mitchell was among those selected to be a mentor.
“I provide a good perspective for newer employees since I was fairly recently in their shoes and understand how overwhelming it can be at first,” she says. “If I can learn as much as I have in a few years it shows that they can, too. I strive to be an employee everyone can depend on.”
It’s clear that in a short time Mitchell has found a way to be successful. However, she can’t rely on clients walking in the door in order to wow them — All Star is a referral agency only, meaning Mitchell must constantly impress her current clients if she wishes to grow her business.
“You are only as good as your last trip, so I strive to keep clients happy with my service and from there referrals tend to come naturally,” she says. “It is important to keep reiterating the fact that travel agents still do exist and exist for a reason — we add value and personal touch, which you can’t get when you do it on your own.”
A strong relationship with her clients still isn’t the only formula to Mitchell’s success. Maintaining a close relationship with her hoteliers, DMCs and airline reps has been extremely important, she notes. “Some of the best advice I received was to develop my network as much as possible,” Mitchell says. “I attend as many post-work events as my week allows. It makes a huge difference when you need assistance and can pick up the phone and really know the person on the end of the other line.”
When Mitchell finds time to relax, she spends her free time running, snowboarding or watching college football (“Go Buffs!”).