Quick one before the week starts.
There is a new US boarding form that takes effect tonight. It is an annoyance more than a crisis, but it catches just about every client flying back into the US, so you are better off telling them than letting them find it at check-in. There is a note below you can send as it is.
Also in here: where ETIAS actually stands, three places worth putting in front of clients for spring, and this month's promos.
- Justin
The Big Read
Every client flying to the US has to sign a new form, starting tonight
The CDC issued an order on October 22 requiring every passenger boarding an international flight to the United States to sign a statement that they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 21 days before boarding. It takes effect at 11:59pm Eastern on November 3 and covers US citizens, green card holders, foreign nationals and anyone merely connecting through a US airport. Airlines have to collect it and have to refuse boarding without it. An amended order on October 28 added crew. The original order carried an end date of December 18, though CDC's own page does not state one, so do not promise your clients it expires.
For your client it is one checkbox at online check-in. The risk is not the form. It is the client who has never heard of it standing at the gate.
What to tell your clients
You'll be asked to sign a short travel history statement before boarding. It takes a minute.
It asks where you've been, not how you feel. It isn't a health screening and there's no vaccine involved.
Check in online if you can, since most airlines are building it into that flow. One adult can sign on behalf of children and others in the same party. No signed form, no boarding.
ETIAS still has no start date, and the fake sites are still selling it
EES, the biometric border system that replaced passport stamps, has been running since April. ETIAS, the travel authorisation everyone confuses it with, has not launched. The European Commission's own page says the system is not in operation and no applications are being collected. The EU confirmed in September that it will not launch in 2026 at all, and the working date has moved to 2027. Meanwhile ABTA counts more than 60 unofficial sites selling an ETIAS that does not exist yet.
This gets delayed every year and I have stopped guessing why. I wish they would just launch it so advisors could actually tell clients something definite. Until then, the useful thing you can do is put the official link in front of your clients before someone else puts a fake one there.
What to tell your clients
You don't need an ETIAS for Europe right now, and you couldn't buy a real one if you tried.
Any site charging you for one today is taking your money and your passport details.
When it does launch it will cost 20 euros, and there's one official site.
Destination Trio
Three for the spring 2027 booking window, which is the one you're working right now.
Évora, Portugal (Alentejo)
Évora is a European Capital of Culture for 2027, sharing the title with Liepāja in Latvia, and the year opens with a free public show on February 6. It's a walled city of Roman and medieval layers about 90 minutes by train from Lisbon, which makes it an add-on rather than a separate trip to sell. Good for the client who has done Lisbon and Porto and wants a reason attached to the next one.
Best time to visit: March to May, before the Alentejo heat arrives.
Peak: June to August
Shoulder: March to May, and September to October
Avoid: July and August, when inland Alentejo gets uncomfortable
Saint Lucia
Below Saint Lucia opens this winter at Anse La Verdure on the southwest coast: 31 underwater sculptures of Saint Lucian figures, designed to double as artificial reef. It's a dive site, so it suits certified divers rather than every beach client, but it gives you a fresh reason to call anyone who tells you they've already done Saint Lucia. The tourism authority announced it on October 7 and hasn't published a firm opening date.
Best time to visit: December to April, the dry season.
Uzbekistan
Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, with 2027 departures already on sale from Intrepid and G Adventures among others. High-speed rail connects the main cities, so it's considerably less rugged than clients assume when they hear Central Asia. This is the one for the traveler who has done the obvious long-haul and wants somewhere their friends haven't posted about.
Best time to visit: April and May, or September and October.
Avoid: July and August, when the Silk Road cities run very hot
Promo and Commission Watch
Royal Caribbean. An extra $250 per stateroom on Alaska Cruisetours, on top of your normal commission. New individual and group bookings named and fully deposited November 1 to 22, for departures May 14 to September 8, 2027. It pays as co-op funding to the agency within 14 business days after the window closes, not at booking. Existing Anthem of the Seas 2027 Alaska bookings rebooked to a Cruisetour during the window also qualify.
Villas of Distinction. Bonus commission on new villa bookings made November 1 to 30, paid on deposit rather than after travel, which is the part that matters for your cash flow. It scales with base villa cost, from $100 at the $5,000 mark up to $5,000 at $250,000 and above. Clients who book November 16 to 28 also get a Visa prepaid card, up to $2,000 depending on booking value.
Collette. The new Travel Advisor Loyalty Program starts earning January 1, 2027. Four tiers, Bronze through Platinum, based on qualifying traveler revenue. Benefits are cumulative and your highest status carries into the following year. North America only. Worth knowing now because the earning clock starts in January, so it's worth checking how December bookings are treated before you plan around it.
Steal This
Every client you have with a US-bound flight in the next six weeks needs to hear about tonight's change from you before they hear about it at the gate. Paste this, change the name, send it.
Subject: One quick thing before your flight
Hi [Name],
A new US requirement starts tonight, and I'd rather you were ahead of it than surprised by it at the airport.
Every passenger flying into or connecting through the United States now has to sign a short statement confirming they haven't been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the previous 21 days. It applies to US citizens too, and to people who are only changing planes.
It's a travel history question, not a health screening. Most airlines are adding it to online check-in, so the simplest thing is to check in online and handle it there.
If you can't find it, your airline's check-in page will say how they're collecting it. Without a signed form they can't board you.
I'm keeping an eye on this one. If anything changes before you fly, you'll hear it from me first.
[Your name]
To personalize: if you're sending to one client rather than your whole list, swap the last line for their actual flight date. It turns a bulletin into a service.
Time-Saver of the Month
Saved reply templates, built into the email client you already pay nothing extra for.
You answer the same eight or ten questions every week. Deposit deadlines, passport validity, whether they need travel insurance, what your planning fee actually covers. You retype them every time, and the version you type at 9pm on a Thursday is worse than the one you wrote in January.
How to start:
For one week, every time you type an answer you've typed before, paste a copy into a notes file instead of closing the tab.
On Friday, pick the five you wrote most often.
Turn them on. Gmail: Settings, then Advanced, enable Templates. Outlook: My Templates in the compose ribbon.
Rewrite each one so it sounds like you rather than like a policy document. This is the step people skip and it's the only one that matters.
Realistic time saved: 20 to 40 minutes a week once five are loaded, and more on the weeks when everyone asks about insurance at once.
Mark Your Calendar
Nov 3, 11:59pm ET. CDC attestation takes effect for every US-bound flight.
Nov 4 to 6. CruiseWorld, Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, with the Travvy Awards on the 5th.
Nov 22. Royal Caribbean's Alaska Cruisetour bonus window closes.
Nov 30. Villas of Distinction November bonus ends.
Nov 30 to Dec 4. USTOA Annual Conference and Marketplace, San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
Voyagr Guides, the destination and cultural briefing library, now lives inside the platform. A free account gets you in. https://voyagr.travel/pricing
Two from the blog: When a client brings you an AI travel itinerary and How to track travel agent commissions
Hit reply and tell me what you want more of. I read every one.
P.S. slot is open. See the note in Open questions below before you fill it.
