Community Highlights: Meet J’Metria Anderson of Amare Travel and Vacations LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to J’Metria Anderson.

Hi J’Metria; please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started planning vacations for groups of friends and family sometime in 2009. I have always had a love for travel and party planning. To me, party planning and vacation planning are very similar. Both take research, time, and more to ensure a great time. I wanted to bring my love of travel to the people I loved being around, so I began curating girl trips with friends and family reunions for my paternal side of the family. Because my husband and I travel often, I decided to add couples to the mix and began curating trips for couples we knew and anyone who wanted to join us. During this particular time, I was working with a travel advisor, I would tell him where I wanted to go, and he would book our stay. Still, I found myself doing all the leg work, getting the people together, researching different excursions, exploring the correct type of house, hotel, or resort, researching the rules for arrival, etc. Fast forward to early 2019, I decided that I would do some research on how to become a travel advisor. I already felt like I was doing the job of an advisor, but I couldn’t book the way a travel advisor would. I dug deep into my research. I was on website after website and didn’t realize then how intricate the travel industry was and the credentials you could get; I was intrigued.

I researched many host agencies to get me started and decided to go with my current home of Nexion (I chose to go with a host agency because I wanted the training, credentials, and relationships already established). Nexion has a training program for military veterans who want a career in the travel industry; it’s called “Veterans in Travel.” I signed up for this program, received excellent training, and officially opened my travel agency, Amare Travel and Vacations LLC, in November 2019. I went with Amare, an Italian word for love; I love to travel and vacation. Now, I wish the story could continue being happy, but well, covid happened. So, while I was excited about my training as a travel advisor, as soon as I finished training and announced that I was now open for business, covid hit, and the travel industry was turned upside down! I lost everyone who booked with me, had to cancel my trips, and didn’t know what to do or if I would recover, emotionally or mentally. I was so excited that I had my agency. I could finally curate vacations with the customer service I wanted, only to have it disappear in a matter of months. I was a little disheartened, for sure. So, for an entire year – all of 2020, I would post and hope that someone would book, but it never happened. I remember having conversations with my sister, and she told me, be patient sis, travel will come back, and you’ll have so many you won’t know what to do.

Fast forward to 2021, people were tired of being stuck in their homes and almost ready to leave the house to travel again. I started to get traffic for quotes once again. I’ve been excited and happily booking since the summer of 2021, with my first big group booked in 2021 and traveling May 2022, and I’ve had several other groups depart since then, and many others planned between now and the end of next year! For 2023, I have a sold out Girl’s trip to Cabo San Lucas (with a waitlist yassss) and I’m hoping for a sold out event in 2024 where I am planning a tour of South Africa which will start booking soon.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I explained that covid was an obstacle and it was the biggest. Because no one could travel or even wanted to travel, not even domestically and Covid restricting where we could go people didn’t want to come together in groups, which was tragic for the entire travel industry.

Another thing I struggled with once bookings picked up was finding my niche and saying no. I love booking groups and luxury vacations; this is how I started and once I realized what I loved was what I wanted to bring to my agency I began concentrating on these things. Group travel outside of the U.S. and luxury travel for individuals is what I specialize in which includes All-Inclusive vacations and luxury travel, such as boutique resorts, river cruises and guided tours to places like South Africa, Peru etc. In the beginning, however, I was quoting everybody; It was taking too much time away from what I wanted. If you wanted to go to Disney, I’d quote you; wanted to go to Destin, FL, I would qoute you, it was too much, and I wasn’t happy. So, I had to learn that not everyone is my customer and the power of no. I wanted a niche, a specialization so that I could provide my current and future customers with the best customer service and attention. My processes are getting much smoother now because of the word, No and I learn something new and different with each group or luxury traveler I book. I love it here!

We’ve been impressed with Amare Travel and Vacations LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Amare Travel and Vacations LLC is a travel agency providing curated group vacations, luxury vacations, and guided trips for customers who seek excitement, luxury, and or peaceful travel. I specialize in luxury brands and all-inclusive vacations. I am proud of my group-led vacations, where I’ve taken groups to places like Antigua, Barbados, Costa Rica, Mexico, on cruises, etc. I believe excellent customer service is the beginning of any relationship, and I listen to the needs of my customers to design the best possible holiday for them. I am a well-traveled travel advisor, and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to travel the world, should they choose, and I am ready to assist them. I am for the busy traveler who wants to curate a group vacation but don’t want to do the work, so if you have a group wanting to travel, ready to book your next anniversary vacation to a boutique hotel in Costa Rica or Ixtapa, Mexico, or even a guided safari in Masai Mara I am that advisor and would love the opportunity to work with you. I work hard to maintain a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the locations that my clients visit. As a travel adviser, I believe in collaborative profiling with each client or group of travelers to learn precisely what they want and need while on vacation.

We love to hear about your fond memories of growing up.
I am an avid football fan, and every Sunday, I am glued to my television to catch every NFL game I can. My favorite childhood memory is watching football each Sunday at home while eating a seafood dish cooked by my mom. I’ve continued the football tradition but now my Sundays consist of all things Brunch vs Seafood which is still my favorite food but harder to get in Raleigh vs the GulfCoast of MS.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amaretravelandvacations.com
• Instagram: @amare_travel
• Facebook: @amaretravelandvacations
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Zs2Nw_YnyOodT70jkAXnw