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“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” ~ Albert Einstein

Talent.  You have it or you don’t… Right? Isn’t talent the reason Bobby Fischer was a grand master chess player at 19?  Isn’t talent why Bill Gates was a boy genius and is now the world’s richest man, or why Tiger Woods was a child golf prodigy? Is talent why some people seem to be natural born successes and others struggle up and down the steep slopes of the Pareto Principle their entire life, never breaking into the top 20% of their chosen field?

Maybe not. Read the rest of this entry »

Viking announced its new 2020-2021 Viking World Cruise, which will span 161 days, six continents, and 75 ports, with overnight stays in 13 cities. Setting sail on December 14, 2020 from Miami, the itinerary will include six new ports of call for Viking, including Honolulu and Nawiliwili, marking the company’s inaugural visit to the Hawaiian Islands. Read the rest of this entry »

I am proud to say I have been a part of the National Transaction Corp (NTC) family for over 10 years, and am now the VP of Operations. However, when I left the Army as a Satellite/Microwave Communication Specialist, I never would have imagined it would lead me to where I am today. When you think about it though, credit card terminals need to communicate, and most of the time, the problems merchants experience with the terminals, are communication issues.

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It’s that time of year again! Bring out the mistletoe, the Santa Hat and the New Year party favors!

Has 2018 has flown by for you? Our industry has the habit of moving faster than Santa’s sleigh on a cold night, and social marketing seems to move even more quickly than Santa’s elves on caffeine. Here’s the social marketing highlights, in case you missed anything in the whirlwind that was 2018. Read the rest of this entry »

Last year, Travel Pulse listed some resolution that travel professionals devised for 2019. Last week, we spoke about getting the word out. And this week, I wanted to tackle another outstanding resolution—getting certified. Easier said than done. Maybe!

The problem is, that certification in the travel industry has always been like trying to nail jello to a tree. No one ever agrees who should be the certifying agency, or what the criteria should be, or what it even is that should be certified. Read the rest of this entry »

In the 2000 hit movie, What Women Want starring Mel Gibson, Marisa Tomei, and Helen Hunt, a chauvinistic executive played by Gibson (imagine that) after an accident gains the ability to hear what women are really thinking or rather the inability NOT to hear it.

One of the greatest things about my “job” working with travel agency clients large and small is finding the that they all experience the same challenges – just on a different scale. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s November, and if you live anywhere outside of Florida, you can feel Winter nipping at your nose. So, it’s time to focus sales on Alaska. I’m sure that sounds counterintuitive. The calls will start coming in soon enough asking for cruises to “somewhere warm.” In the meantime, several travel advisors are seeing an uptick in Alaska requests. For now the focus is on 2019, but the 2020 itineraries are starting to open for booking. Royal Caribbean just opened 2020 sailings and the rest of the cruise lines will be following suit over the new few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

If you don’t have your Europe wish list handy, go ahead and toss it aside because you’re going to need a new one altogether after this. Instead of the usual European vacation, conjure up the kind of bucket list experiences you’ll always remember from speed boats, golf cart tours, icy hideaways, and snowmobiling across glaciers. Here’s what to do and see in Europe to remember for a lifetime. Read the rest of this entry »

Sky Bird Travel & Tours has been an industry leader in airline consolidation for over 40 years. Starting in a small office building in downtown Detroit, Sky Bird rooted its mission in providing exceptional customer service to travel agents by connecting them with low net fares that weren’t available to the public. Today, Sky Bird has 11 offices throughout the United States along with offices in Canada, India and the Philippines in order to serve their clients on a broader scale. For the last three years, Sky Bird has been nominated for and taken home the Travvy Award for Best Airline Consolidator (silver in 2016, and gold in 2017 and 2018). Read the rest of this entry »

Happy New Year! For me, 2019 got off to a great start with a travel agent request for 6 older ladies who want to go to the Festival of Quilts (Birmingham 1st-4th August). After a quick-fire volley of bright ideas from me, they are now flying from Atlanta to the user-friendly northern gateway of Manchester for a series of imaginative and memorable visits which include:

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I’m doing something a little unusual for this TRO installment! In order to maintain privacy, I’m answering a question without providing the specific exchange. Over the past two weeks, several travel advisors reached out to me to let me know that their host are not paying their commissions (sometimes to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars). Read the rest of this entry »

My dad was a salesman. He regularly left home on two-week missions to sell more of his “stuff” in order to pay the mortgage for a home large enough to house my mother and seven children. I was #2, and I remember those days like it was yesterday.

My dad loved to fly and he loved his work. Based on our comfortable living conditions while growing up in a big house open 24/7 to all shape and size kid and their friends, he was a pretty good salesman.

Flying to him used to be an exciting proposition. I suspect that another reason he enjoyed traveling so much had a little to do with that 24/7 thing…but that is just my guess. That being said, he liked meeting people and was quick on his feet. He whistled a lot. He was a happy guy. Read the rest of this entry »

Founded in 1990 by social entrepreneur Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures is a small group adventure travel operator offering more than 700 tours in 100 countries, on all seven continents. G Adventures’ award-winning trips support local communities, giving travelers meaningful experiences with people, cultures, landscapes and wildlife, while offering them the  freedom and flexibility to explore on their own. G Adventures’ responsible approach to travel is demonstrated through its ‘G for Good’ social impact initiatives, which include travel guidelines for children, wildlife and Indigenous people and community-based social enterprise projects that travelers can experience on trip, plus its industry-leading ‘Ripple Score’ assessment to measure what percentage of customer dollars stay in the local economy. G Adventures offers life-changing tours for individuals of all ages, interests and budgets. Because our world deserves more you. Read the rest of this entry »

Pennsylvania-based Jeremy Brady is the National Sales Manager for G Adventures in the United States, a leadership position he earned after four years work in the field, educating agents and selling travel experiences through the tour operator’s large network of travel advisors in the mid-Atlantic region. Today, he applies the principles of servant leadership and noble purpose to coach G Adventures’ nationwide team of 10 Global Purpose Specialists (GPS’s) in outside sales. Together, they have achieved double-digit sales growth while changing thousands of people’s lives through responsible travel. 

Prior to joining G Adventures, Brady earned his stripes as a travel agent with Liberty Travel. His youth was largely spent overseas in Europe as part of a military family, an experience he describes as a privilege that sparked his early love for travel. Read the rest of this entry »

Out in the wide expanse of Jordan’s terrain is a city that was once lost to time. A city cut from the stone face of a deep and winding valley, Petra is a magnificent example of human ingenuity. Journeying through the rose-colored rock that surrounds and comprises the ancient city is a walk through the history of humankind. Considered to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and a UNESCO World heritage Site since 1985, Petra is for the adventurous that wish to have life-long memories of another world. Thanks to G Adventures, we’ll learn all about it in today’s 60-Second Geography.

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In the center of the archipelago that makes up the Galápagos Islands sits the most developed of the islands, Santa Cruz. It is surrounded on all sides by picturesque beaches thriving with wildlife. The island was once home to a research station created by Charles Darwin when he was working on his theory of evolution. From watching iguanas lazing about on white sands to exploring many of the unique natural settings, Santa Cruz is a land of adventure. Thanks to G Adventures, today’s 60-Second Geography is all about Santa Cruz, Galápagos

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The Limburg region is a peaceful area that spans across the borders of Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium. It is a place of calm and peaceful atmosphere, stone bridges that lead into historic cities, and rolling greens surrounding old villages. The Limburg region of Flanders has the some of the most scenic and safe rides in the world, whether it be for leisure or sport cycling. Read the rest of this entry »

A conversation with one of our Society of International Railway Travelers (IRT) clients one recent Sunday morning went like this:

Text to my phone early morning: “My passport is lost! We are in London. Help!!” Read the rest of this entry »