10 questions, 12 very different answers Each month we will feature a new THOR member travel agent who’s been asked to respond to the same 10 questions. See how different the answers can be!

TRAVEL AGENT PROFILE:
NAME: YESENIA COTTO
TITLE: LEAD TRAVEL CONSULTANT
TRAVEL AGENCY NAME: ALTOUR
TRAVEL AGENCY LOCATION: ATLANTA, GA, USA
YEARS IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY: 25
SPECIALTy: International Fit, Cruise & tour Worldwide

Q: In what positive ways do you feel that your role as a travel agent has changed over the years?

Guidance & Wisdom - while many clients use the Internet for looking, they have realized an agent is for booking. I provide a unique and sophisticated experience with exceptional value and service. Ensuring clients are receiving the experience of a lifetime, no matter how small or big the itinerary.

Q: How many stamps do you have in your current passport? Where is the furthest country you visited?

I currently have six since the last renewal of my passport. Paris would be my furthest at the moment. It’s a beautiful city with amazing food and so much culture and history.

Q: What hotel have you always wanted to stay at?

I have several hotels worldwide; however, the ICEHOTEL is one of my favorite. It’s the world’s first and largest hotel built of snow and ice, situated in Jukkasjärvi, a small village in Northern Sweden with 1,100 residents and 1,000 dogs. Around 100 people are involved in the construction of ICEHOTEL, half of Which are artists especially invited to design particular areas of the hotel. The construction is a year-round process. The uniqueness of transformation from water to ice, making something so beautifully handcrafted, which words cannot explain until you have experienced it yourself (I was told).

Q: If someone visited your hometown, what one thing would you recommend that they do?

Brooklyn, New York (NYC) is my hometown, and I would recommend the New York Transit Museum. Definitely one of the coolest museums in the entire city; located in downtown Brooklyn, it offers visitors an opportunity to see what subways were like back when a ride cost a nickel. This lesser known museum is just a flat-out cool experience, from the minute you realize its entrance is a faux-subway station you realize you’re in for something special. It’s the largest museum devoted to urban public transportation history in the country, and it’s no surprise that it’s in New York, because if there’s one thing we do well here, its public transportation.

Q: If travel were a scent, what would it smell like?

It would smell like Coco Mango - -mixture of sweetness and tranquility.

Q: What is the strangest thing that you have ever had a client request?

I had a client request to surprise his partner with heart shaped chocolate Hershey’s Kisses on the bed and the chocolates had to be a certain temperature. The location of the trip was not customary for these requests. So one staff member was hired to make sure when they arrived at the hotel the chocolates were at its peak. Surprise!

Q: If you could take your all-time favorite singer or band on a trip, who would you take and where would you go?

I would take Casting Crown, and several other artists, to perform in Madison Square Garden for a private performance only for ME and a few close friends.

Q: What is the most unique hotel amenity that either you, or a client, received?

One of my clients received complimentary tickets to the Opera for one of her favorite performers during her stay in Russia. The performer was not announced to the public and only a handful of guests received the private invitation.

Q: Where are you planning to travel in 2014?

Bermuda for my last, year-end business trip in December, and then visiting family and friends in New York City…no place like home.

Q: Share a happy travel moment with us, whether it was for you or your client, which reflects why you love being a travel agent.

A new client walked into my office and explained they were trying for several years to visit France and due to the wife’s illness it was postponed several times. They explained visiting France would be her ideal dream come true vacation. Her husband and I were able to arrange a 007 experience, beautiful hotels, fancy cars, an amazing experience of a lifetime. My greatest fulfillment is knowing that everyday I’m impacting someone by helping them create new memories that will last a lifetime.