If you’re applying to join Fora, the application is your first touchpoint with the membership team. They review every one, and they’re looking for a specific mix of traits: a love of planning travel—not just taking trips—an entrepreneurial streak, and a relationship-driven approach to work.
Travel advising is a business, so treat the application like a screening interview. The more thought you put into your responses, the more detail the team has to understand how you’d fit at Fora.
1. Make responses as complete as possible
Answer each question in the application thoughtfully, and pack in relevant details. This is your first opportunity to showcase your strengths and travel knowledge.
If there's something you loved about a specific hotel, name it and say why. Instead of just Six Senses, say Six Senses Douro Valley, because of the world-class vineyards, slower pace, and river views. The same goes for a memorable trip or cruise—name the specifics and walk through what made it work, including how your planning made it seamless.
Avoid short, incomplete answers. These make it hard to understand how much travel planning experience you have and whether you’re serious about building an advising business.
2. Highlight your transferable experience
The majority of people who join Fora are new to travel advising, but the most successful have skills and experience they can adapt to a travel business. The “why you’re interested” question is a great opportunity to showcase that.
If you’re the go-to travel planner in your friend group, the person people always come to for travel advice, or you’ve planned travel professionally before, share the context.
Being a travel advisor isn’t just about planning trips. It also involves finding and supporting clients, managing logistics, and making industry-side connections. If you have sales or marketing experience, you know how to attract clients and build relationships. If you already plan events or conferences, your operations background will translate over. If you’ve worked in a client-facing role like hospitality or customer service, you already have client service skills.
Avoid vague, generic responses like, “I love to travel” that don’t give much insight into your skillset or what you love about travel and travel planning.
3. Emphasize what makes you unique
Your application is your chance to show what kind of advisor you’ll be. Share anecdotes that capture your perspective on travel and travel planning, and do it in your voice.
Travel advising is personal—clients rebook with advisors who get them, and that often comes down to intangibles like travel style, working style, or personal experience.
For example, maybe you’re always in charge of planning your annual family reunion, which makes you good at handling multigenerational group trips. Or maybe you’re an avid solo traveler, so you know exactly what details to include for other solo trips.
Think about your angle, and whether it comes through in your application.
