By agents,for agents
By Brian Chima and Will Lee
Book a free strategy callThe Travel Agents Academy was built by people who book the trips and run the campaigns. We prove the system on ourselves first, and only then do we teach it.
43 countries
Brian Chima
Brian Chima has traveled to 43 countries and visited Europe 17 times.
After graduating college, he spent a year living in Henan, China, where he taught business.
October 2012
Brian Chima
A niche in complex trips
In October 2012, Brian launched his career as a travel agent and quickly discovered his passion for creating logistically complex itineraries, especially throughout Europe and Asia.
Over the years, Brian has built a niche in complex international trips that let travelers see the world with confidence. He’s just as passionate about mentoring other travel advisors as they build their skills and learn to sell destinations worldwide.
Chima Travel
Will Lee
Advisors who think like CEOs
William Lee is the marketing strategist and co-founder behind The Travel Agents Academy. He has over 6 years of experience in digital marketing, SEO and travel industry growth strategy, and has helped turn agencies from small operations into multi-million-dollar businesses.
As head of marketing for Chima Travel, he’s overseen campaigns that drive new leads and bookings.
William loves teaching travel advisors to think like CEOs, whether that means building automated lead systems or creating a brand that attracts high-value clients. His mentorship sticks to practical, step-by-step systems agents can use right away to grow their income, tighten up their processes and get their time back.
During COVID
Brian and Will
It started with a conversation
“Almost nothing that helps you grow the business behind the bookings.”
Back during COVID, the two of us sat down and talked about what we actually wanted to build in travel. We’d spoken with a lot of agents, and the same thing kept surfacing: there are brilliant travel agents and brilliant travel programs out there, but almost nothing that helps you grow the business behind the bookings: the marketing, the sales and the systems.
So we started where we could, with a passion project: a podcast where we talked openly about our experiences in travel. It made us better agents, and it connected us to the community we wanted to serve.
Around the same time, Will launched his own marketing agency. Working with real clients made it obvious what travel agents actually needed, and which tactics moved the needle and which only sounded good.
After a few years running the agency, we brought it all together.
The Travel Agents Academy
A few years on
We built the academy we wish we’d had when we started.
It teaches you to put a real business behind every booking and run it like an owner who creates their own demand.
The Travel Agents Academy is everything we know works, taught with you as you build. You learn to run a business and grow it, sharpen your sales and marketing, and build a steady stream of high-quality leads: people who fill out a form, qualify and book an appointment with you.
How we work
Done-with-you
We build your system with you. Nobody hands you a login and a stack of videos and leaves you to figure it out.
Proven first
We ran every method live on a real agency before we ever taught it.
Radical honesty
We tell you to cut our numbers in half before you project your own.
“We’re obsessed with making this a great product, and we can’t wait to work with you.”
Brian & Will
Akron, Ohio · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2024
At home
Brian married his wife, Cristina, in 2024, and together they split their time between Akron, Ohio, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Away from coaching and marketing tools, Will travels with his family, tries new recipes at home and builds AI tools that make running a travel agency simpler and more profitable.
Ask Brian about his #1 sales tip. It’s the strategy that has helped him close countless travel bookings.
Masthead
The Travel Agents Academy
- Co-founder & Mentor
- Brian Chima
- Co-founder & Marketing Strategist
- Will Lee
- Strategy calls
Book a free strategy call and tell us where your agency is today.
A real person reviews it, and if the fit isn’t there, we’ll say so on the call.
- From the members
Kara of Ready Set Booked took advice from one coaching call and turned it into a national-press feature. Small changes like that add up, and they’re what we coach for.
Ready Set Booked, USA. Featured in Travel + Leisure.
- Also from us
- The podcast Member login
- 43 countries, Brian, Europe 17 times
- October 2012, Brian, travel agent
- Chima Travel, Will, 6+ years
- During COVID, Brian and Will
- The Academy, A few years on
- Akron & San Juan, Cristina, 2024