Passports, Profits & Pixie Dust
Host: Lindsay Dollinger | Guest: Kate Thomas
Kate's Origin Story
Kate's entry into travel was unexpected — sparked by a chance conversation at a 4th of July pool party in 2008. She met someone who planned trips to Ireland and the UK, immediately knew she wanted in, and by her own description "stalked" the company until they hired her. The very next 4th of July, she was on her first flight to Ireland, which became a deeply personal destination for her. She eventually launched her own company, Northing Leisure.
Business #1: Northing Leisure
What it is: A boutique DMC (Destination Management Company) specializing in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales.
What they do:
- Work exclusively with travel advisors (not direct-to-consumer) on FIT trips
- Handle all ground components: accommodations, rental car, driver guides, special experiences
- White-label all proposals so the advisor stays front-facing
- Provide a 24/7 emergency line for clients on the ground
- Send commission after booking is complete — no advisor registration required
How it works for advisors: Kate describes it as a "profitable partnership." Advisors handle the client relationship and intake; Northing Leisure handles all destination logistics. She calls it being "a travel agent's travel agent."
Team structure: Kate is based in Florida and handles sales and marketing. Her partner Christine, based in the Cotswolds, runs the operational team on the ground across the UK and Ireland. The partnership grew out of their friendship post-COVID, and together they've exceeded what either was doing individually.
Selling Ireland & the UK — Tips for Advisors
Who it works well for:
- First-time international travelers (English-speaking, easy to navigate, very welcoming)
- Solo travelers, couples, families, multi-gen groups
- Clients with family heritage/roots in the region
- Outdoorsy or nature-loving travelers
- Fandom travelers — Outlander (Scotland), Game of Thrones (Northern Ireland), Bridgerton (Bath), Harry Potter
Pricing guidelines:
- High season (May–September): starting around $700/person/day for self-drive, 4-star with some splurge stays and activities
- Shoulder season: April and October
- Low season: November–March (excluding festive dates and St. Patrick's Day)
- Pricing has increased year-over-year; a full breakdown by season, travel style, and accommodation tier is available via Northing Leisure
Group travel notes: Northing Leisure specializes in custom multi-gen and small affinity groups rather than set itinerary groups. One consideration: finding hotels with consistent room standards across a larger group can be limiting, so mixed room types are often easier to accommodate.
Christmas/Festive season: Christmas markets exist but are less prominent than mainland Europe. Christmas packages typically cover December 24–26 as a 3-day stay at a single property, which handles entertainment, meals, and holiday programming (since many attractions close those days).
Business #2: Travel Pro Theory
What it is: A resource platform for travel advisors focused on using AI to save time and increase productivity. Started in 2018 as a podcast with co-founder Heather Christopher; has evolved into AI education and tools for advisors.
The core philosophy: Running two businesses with a young child means no time to waste. Everything Travel Pro Theory produces reflects that reality.
Using AI as a Travel Advisor — Kate's Recommendations
Start here — train your AI first: Pick one LLM (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) and don't get hung up on which is "best." The key is training it before expecting great results. Treat it like onboarding a contractor — give it your brand voice, ideal client profile, and overall messaging up front via custom instructions.
Easiest wins (low-hanging fruit):
- Newsletter writing
- Social media captions, hooks, and Reel scripts
- Blog posts
- Any marketing copy that eats up time
What AI is NOT good for: Writing itineraries for destinations you don't know well. AI is trained on the internet without being able to weigh source credibility, so it can be a "confident liar." Don't trust it for destination-specific accuracy.
What AI IS great for on itineraries:
- Cleaning up descriptions
- Generating Google Maps links
- Restaurant recommendations personalized to the client
- Adding extra client-experience touches
Next level — Deep Research: Available in ChatGPT (free plan gets a few credits). Access it via the + sign in the chat bar → More → Deep Research. It always asks 3 follow-up questions before running, then compiles a full sourced report. Great for:
- Market research on your ideal client
- Destination research and how to sell it
- Building out a marketing plan
Advanced — Custom GPTs: Train once, use repeatedly without the "drift" that happens in long chat conversations (caused by the AI's limited context window). Useful custom GPTs for advisors:
- Newsletter writer
- Social media copywriter (in your voice)
- Lead magnet creator (with sign-up page copy + email sequence)
- Blog writer
- Itinerary assistant (Google Maps links, restaurant recs, descriptions)
Rapid Fire
Favorite business book: Atomic Habits by James Clear — though she's more of a fan of his 3-2-1 newsletter, which she calls a masterclass in email marketing.
Morning or night routine: Neither, really. Morning is: get the kid out the door, make coffee, get into it.
Favorite trip ever: Her leap-of-faith solo trip to Ireland when she left her job and launched Northing Leisure — meetings with hotels, boots on the ground, all in. Emotionally, the most significant. Runner-up: Goldeneye in Jamaica with her husband, right before the pandemic hit.
Bucket list destination: South Africa — originally planned as their honeymoon, shelved due to time constraints, still waiting for the right two-week window.