The warmest clients for a travel agency are people who have already decided to go on holiday and publicly ask for a recommendation for an agent or a hotel. Such posts appear regularly on Threads and Telegram: in the week of 21-27 September 2026, the searches we set up for travel businesses found 22 such requests. That is a sample of our searches, not the whole market. Below is how these requests sound, where to find them, how an agent should reply and what the first days of our travel agency client show.
What people looking for a trip ask
Here are examples of requests from our index for 21-27 September, paraphrased so the author can't be identified:
- “Recommend a trusted travel agent and an all-inclusive hotel in Turkey or Egypt, no kids.”
- “Recommend a hotel in Egypt with a clear sandy beach, no rocks or pontoons, safe for swimming with kids.”
- “Recommend a hotel in the Maldives for a family with kids.”
- “Recommend a good four-star hotel in Kemer.”
And a few from our research sample, also paraphrased:
- “Anyone been to Greece or Cyprus in October - how warm is the sea? Every agency tells me something different.”
- “Is the south of Tenerife warm in January? And where exactly should I stay?”
- “I want to go to the Maldives in spring. A trip for a woman over 50, up for an adventure.”
These examples show two situations. Some people have already picked a destination and are looking for an agent or a specific hotel. Others are still choosing where and when to go and ask for other people's experience. Typical intent phrases our model picked out of the sample: “recommend a travel agent”, “recommend a hotel”, “looking for a travel agency”, “need a good hotel”. We don't count how often each one appears.
This part is our opinion, not a measurement: a request for a hotel is a conversation for an agent too. Someone asking about a child-friendly beach in Egypt is choosing a holiday right now, and an agent who knows the hotels can help more than random reviews.
Where to find these requests
Threads. Search intent phrases on the “Recent” tab: “recommend a travel agent”, “looking for a travel agency”, “recommend a hotel”, “anyone been to” plus a country or resort. Fresh posts matter more than popular ones: someone who asked yesterday is still choosing. Don't skip replies under other people's holiday posts, where people often ask who planned the trip. The general guide is in how to find clients on Threads.
Telegram. Travellers' groups, city communities and chats for Ukrainians abroad. Requests drown among ads there, so pick groups carefully and read the rules before your first message. More in finding clients in Telegram chats.
How a travel agent should reply
A “recommend a travel agent” post quickly fills with identical ads: “message us, we'll find you the best trip”. People don't answer those; they answer whoever actually helped. So build the first comment like this: the first sentence is concrete advice for the situation, the end is one question. No prices, links or “DM us”.
| What the post says | How to start the reply | What to ask at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Looking for an agent for all-inclusive in Turkey or Egypt | What to look for in recent reviews, for example dinner rather than breakfast | Leaning more towards Turkey or Egypt? |
| A hotel in the Maldives with kids | What to check besides the hotel itself: how you get there from the airport | How old are the kids? |
| A beach without rocks in Egypt | What exactly to ask the hotel about getting into the sea | When are you planning to go? |
| Asks about the sea in October in Greece or Cyprus | What to check besides the weather: whether the chosen hotel and excursions still run then | How many days are you going for? |
A few rules that matter especially in travel:
- Don't guess. If the person didn't give dates, budget or who's travelling, ask instead of assuming.
- Don't promise “the best prices”. It sounds like an ad and says nothing of substance.
- Don't invent experience. “We've sent hundreds of families to the Maldives” is fine only if it's true.
- Links and quotes come second. Once the person replies, offering to put options together or quote a price fits.
Before and after examples are in the article on replying to “any recommendations?”.
Seasonality: what the data has and what it doesn't
It's tempting to say when people search for trips most. Our data doesn't allow it. The index keeps eight weeks: the number of travel requests for the week starting 3 August was 18, then 28, 32, 43, then 26, 7, 15 and 22 for the week of 21 September. We don't know what explains these swings: changes in our searches, people's activity or something else. So we don't read them as a season.
What we can say carefully: in two of the examples above, people ask not about the coming days but about January and spring. Whether that's typical, two posts can't tell. A detailed look at one week is in what people asked about travel in September, and the current numbers are on the travel demand page.
What our client's first days show
A travel agency in Kyiv started working with us at the end of September 2026. In the first 3 days, 38 leads appeared in its dashboard, and the agency has already sent 22 replies. An outcome is tracked for 4 people so far, and all 4 replied. Source: client dashboard data, October 2026.
What these numbers don't tell you: anything about sales, the season or the reply rate. Three days is a start, and “4 of 4” is not a conversion rate. The full story is on the travel agency case page. There is a second travel case too, an online travel service for Ukrainians: 24 leads in the first 3 days, 799 since August, and 5 replies from people marked in the dashboard. An outcome is tracked for only part of the leads there, so we don't derive a conversion rate. Details are on that case page.
What Zapyt can do for you
For a travel agency we set up the search for requests about trips and holidays for your format and city, score the posts we find every day and draft two reply options in your voice. You see every reply before it goes out and decide whether to send it. What people ask about travel and how we work with agencies is on the travel agencies page. The first 7 days are free on any plan: pricing.
FAQ
Where can a travel agency find clients without ads?
In public posts where people ask for a recommendation for an agent or a hotel: on Threads through search for intent phrases, on Telegram in travellers' groups and city communities. Reply to the point, without ads.
Should I reply to “recommend a hotel” if the person isn't looking for an agent?
In our view, yes, if you have something useful to say. The person is choosing a holiday now, and a helpful reply from an agent can grow into a conversation about the whole trip.
Can I give a price in the first comment?
Better not. A price without details is almost always inaccurate and reads like an ad. Ask about dates and who's travelling first, and offer a quote once the person replies.
How many travel requests are there per week?
In our sample over eight weeks, between 7 and 43 a week; for 21-27 September, 22. That is only what our searches found, not all demand.