Tales from the Front Lines: Teodor Mihail

When the world started to close its borders in March 2020, it escalated to something that no one foresaw.

As time changes and we all continue to grow and evolve, travel advisor Teodor Mihail saw the pandemic as an opportunity to rebrand his business for the better.

His Richmond Hill, Ontario-based business went to a standstill as the demand for travel plummeted due to the pandemic. But in the end, Mihail believes there is always light at the end of the tunnel and the travel industry will emerge stronger than ever, as it always has.

This was proven to Mihail throughout spring and summer of 2020, when despite sales being far below what was forecasted, Mihail was surprised to see quite a bit of business coming in. Clients who did book a trip did not have a problem to quarantine for 14 days upon return. With this idea in mind, he knew that it was the time to work "on his business" rather than "in his business".

"We are often very busy working and making sales to generate revenue, that we forget to work "on our business" in order to improve services, as well as ensure that the visual presentation is kept to a high standard," says Mihail.

"In the end, it's all about presentation, which can be a time-consuming task."

The travel industry has been very successful over the years, and Teodor's business was growing constantly. Mihail saw the opportunity to get his image out there by launching a blog where he listed, and continues to list, many of his travel experiences. The blog is categorized by country, as well as a separate section where he lists his observations on how travel has changed as a result of the pandemic.

Read his blog at Travel With No Regrets.

The URL of his blog was inspired by Mark Twain's quote "20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do", as well as the hashtag #NoRegrets by Contiki, a tour operator which he's done 4 tours with. He has had this mindset since he was 11 years old, when his parents took him on their first family trip, and considers that one must travel as much as they can.

After launching the blog, he then made a goal to rebrand the entire company. Teodor started his business on November 15, 2013 as Inspiring World Voyages, affiliated with Centre Holidays, a host agency that consists of over 300 agents across Canada.

Teodor worked for months on changing the company's mission statement, the way he advertises to the public, and more importantly, the logo. He has also improved the way he advertises on social media. He now does Meme Monday, where he lists a funny travel meme, then Travel Tuesday where he talks about recent travel news or an experience that he's had which inspires others to travel. Then for those who want to travel, there is Takeoff Thursday where he posts special deals that the agency is offering. And what better way to end the week than with a Feedback Friday, where he showcases the great reviews that he has received from clients. This has drawn many people to his social media platforms. While travel might be at a standstill, he foresees lots of business coming in with an increasing number of followers and engaging posts.

He did not, and is not looking to, change his host agency, as he receives the best support from a wonderful team at head office who treats all their agents as "family".

Teodor changed the company name to UNRAVEL WORLD TRAVEL. He found that it sounds much more appealing and symbolizes that you as the traveler can unravel the stress of travel planning while Teodor works on planning your long awaited vacation to a destination where you will unravel from the stress of work and daily life. The logo was redesigned with the passion of traveling the entire world as your endless destination. The "U" surrounding the globe in royal blue represents the company's promise to YOU - the traveler - to always give 110% of his devoted time and passion with all elements in emphasizing reliability and trust wholeheartedly at the forefront of the company's mission: travel with confidence.