Location: Johannesburg or Cape Town
Reports to: Reservations Manager
Company: Wilderness
Are you passionate about luxury travel, conservation, and creating unforgettable journeys? Join Wilderness as a Senior Travel Designer and help craft extraordinary experiences across Southern and East Africa!
About the Role
As a Senior Travel Designer, you’ll deliver exceptional, personalised travel experiences for our guests and agents. You’ll combine deep product knowledge with high-touch service, fast response times, and a consultative approach. Your mission: build strong relationships, curate bespoke itineraries, and drive sales while maintaining healthy margins.
Key Responsibilities
- Service Excellence: Deliver prompt, professional, and solution-oriented service to agents and guests. Communicate proactively and with clarity.
- Itinerary Design & Upselling: Curate bespoke journeys reflecting guest preferences and Wilderness standards. Identify upselling opportunities to enhance guest experiences.
- Agent Relationship Management: Build trust-based relationships, understand agent preferences, and collaborate with Sales and Operations teams.
- Booking Accuracy: Quote accurately and timeously, maintain meticulous booking files, and ensure seamless execution of itineraries.
- Operational Coordination: Work closely with Operations Specialists to ensure a high-quality guest experience and manage all booking logistics.
- Performance & Margin Focus: Optimise bed nights and margins, track financial performance, and ensure revenues are secured.
- Product Knowledge: Stay current on Wilderness camps and experiences across Southern & East Africa, and confidently position our offerings.
- Systems & Technology: Use industry systems (Wilderness Window, WETU, Smartbox, Tourplan, etc.) to streamline processes and enhance service delivery.
Candidate Profile
- Qualifications: Matric with Maths (Standard Grade or higher); tertiary qualification in Travel & Tourism or Hospitality.
- Experience: 4–5 years in a senior travel design or reservations role; proven experience in itinerary planning, customer service, and sales; familiarity with TourPlan and Microsoft Office.
- Skills: Exceptional attention to detail, strong communication (English required, European languages advantageous), organisational skills, and ability to upsell and personalise travel experiences.
- Personal Attributes: Creative, proactive, service-driven, passionate about wildlife and conservation, able to work under pressure, and dedicated to customer satisfaction.
Why Wilderness?
- Work with a passionate team dedicated to conservation and luxury travel.
- Deepen your destination expertise through ongoing training and familiarisation trips.
- Be part of a company that values creativity, initiative, and going the extra mile.
Interests:
A passion for wildlife and a commitment to sustainability and conservation.