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Corporate Travel Titans Merge as Amex GBT Acquires CWT

  In a major merger that underscores its faith in business travel, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is acquiring CWT in a $570 million deal. Amex GBT is the world’s largest travel management company, with 20,000 global customers and about $2.5 billion in annual revenue from travel, expense,...
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United Airlines Offers New Seating and Points-Sharing Options

  Amidst the hullabaloo over its use of Boeing jets, United Airlines this week is rolling out two programs that reach out to its customers. If you are the kind of flyer who checks every day to see if a better seat is available for your upcoming flight, you’re going...
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AmaWaterways Kicks off River Cruise Season with Single Supplement Waiver

  It’s the first week of river cruise season in Europe, and AmaWaterways is sailing into the niche with a special for single travelers. For a limited time, the travel-advisor-friendly company is waiving single supplements on select 2024 Europe sailings for stateroom categories other than suites on reservations booked by...
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American Cruise Lines Debuts New England Itineraries for 2024

  American Cruise Lines in May will kick off its 2024 New England season with six small ships, including three Coastal Cats, sailing a selection of 8- to 15-day itineraries along the East Coast. There are two new itineraries, Yankee Seaports, sailing between Boston and New York City, and Hudson...
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Is Your Use of “That” Photo Legal?

The growth of sites such as Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay have so revolutionized the stock photography landscape that giants like Getty Images, which owns Unsplash, and Canva (Pixabay and Pexels) are now major players. It all seems most attractive. A no-cost registration gives the travel professional millions of images to...
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RCCL Cancels Labadee Excursions Amid Haiti Troubles *Update: RCCL Cancels All Stops to Labadee**

  Royal Caribbean has canceled excursions from Labadee, its private island in Haiti, but is keeping the island open. "Out of respect to our local communities surrounding Labadee, Haiti, and to ensure our guest and crew safety, we're temporarily adjusting our tour offerings," RCCL told passengers. Passengers on social media...
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Windstar Announces President’s Mystery Cruise

  Windstar Cruises is inviting its Yacht Club members to sail off into the sunset with the company’s president—to a destination as yet unknown. It’s the company’s first-ever Mystery Cruise, promising “lots of new, thrilling, and exciting experiences” without announcing where exactly the 312-passenger, all-suite Star Legend is headed. Each...
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Tips on Dealing with Clients with Disabilities from Celebrity and KHM Travel

  Onboard Celebrity Reflection for its Crystal Awards cruise last week, host agency KHM Travel Group took the opportunity to offer tips for travel advisors whose clients are among the 25% of the US population that has some kind of disability, and to highlight two of the industry’s best inclusion...
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Training Your Clients

We have previously discussed the need to train clients. Let’s revisit the discussion. It is not an exaggeration to indicate the success or failure of your travel business will depend on the extent to which you are capable of taking charge of your client relationships and professionally leading them into behavior conducive to traveling safely and well. Top travel professionals train their clients to be good clients. Training your client assists both you and the client to achieve optimal results from every travel planning effort. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been at a lot of travel agency and press conferences since the year began, and heard a lot of interesting stories from travel advisors and suppliers. Here are a few I found particularly interesting.

Five years into the business, Susie Flores is among a new batch of advisors redefining the way travel is sold. A cruise lover who always had “that itch to be part of the business,” the mom of four took the leap in March 2019 and became TikTok’s full-time “Cruising Susie.” Even when Covid-19 hit and the world closed, she hung in there, pushing through wherever she could and posting over and over, “It’s going to be okay, the cruise lines will come back.’” Read the rest of this entry »

After five years, Jerry Mpufane has left his post as president of the North American hub of South African Tourism, the government tourism board, to pursue other opportunities. Although his tenure 2019-2024 included the time of COVID’s global rampage, Mpufane leaves SAT in a better position than when he took the post in May 2019. When he started, North America, including Canada and the United States, was the third largest source market for South African visitors. Now it’s the largest Read the rest of this entry »

Is Your Use of “That” Photo Legal?

The growth of sites such as Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay have so revolutionized the stock photography landscape that giants like Getty Images, which owns Unsplash, and Canva (Pixabay and Pexels) are now major players. It all seems most attractive. A no-cost registration gives the travel professional millions of images to use on their website, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms without laying out any money at all. It is the best of all worlds for the travel marketer.

Or is it?

Read the rest of this entry »

Closing (Sales) is for “Beginners”

Every book ever written on sales has a detailed chapter outlining the steps and apparent benefits of “closing the sale.” Ever sales manager promoted to the corner office reminds his team that they need to “close” more sales before the quarter’s figures are tallied.

Next to overcoming objections and up selling, closing is a very popular topic in the world of sales these days. But, could there be a better way? I believe there is. The answer? Opening Sales Read the rest of this entry »

An Overview of Marketing Tactics

Chessboard piecesLet’s consider the tactics we will use to achieve the goals we have set out for our business. In each instance, we want to be certain our mission statement remains our touch-point. This will keep us consistent and properly focused. Likewise, each tactic should be designed to contribute to our marketing funnels, continually drawing both existing clients and potential clients closer to us, engaging with us and becoming evangelists for our travel practice.

There are an endless variety of possible tactics you can employ. Read the rest of this entry »

American Airlines is introducing a significant update to its frequent flyer program starting May 1, 2024. This update will particularly impact the accrual of miles for basic economy tickets. This shift emphasizes direct bookings and New Distribution Capability (NDC) connections, marking a notable change in the airline’s distribution strategy. Understanding and adapting to this change is crucial for independent, home-based travel agents. Read the rest of this entry »

The Changing Face of Travel Agents 2023, the report released by The Travel Institute, offers valuable insights into the current state of the travel industry. Based on the findings, the gig economy continues to thrive, and more agents are interested in part-time work that provides greater flexibility and independence. Read the rest of this entry »

Are You Shopping for Another Host Agency?

As discussed in the last Point-to-Point column, travel advisor independent contractors (ICs) are renters rather than owners that can become affiliated with as many host agencies as they wish. While few ICs will want to do business with more than two or three host agencies, there is a strong business case for not limiting yourself to one.

Also as discussed in the earlier article, you may want to do this to take advantage of a second host agency’s strengths; or it may be to avoid what you see as glaring weaknesses of your present choice. On a more obvious level, a second (or third) host agency may improve your bargaining position regarding commission rates and FAM trips. Read the rest of this entry »

Blue-Roads Touring and Europe 2024

Blue-Roads Touring got its current name from a man who went on a journey of discovery across America. William Least Heat-Moon began this road trip in 1978, a road trip that would take him 13,000 miles along “blue roads” around the United States. Meaning, William traveled mostly on secondary roads, with the sights and sounds of local folk in his chronicled collection titled Blue Highways.

Fitting for Blue-Roads Touring to gravitate to this name, as they take the traveler beyond Read the rest of this entry »

My first interview with Lisa Watson went great. She was easy-going and her dedication of work to the creation of FyndTravel was obvious. However, a dead computer on my end took all text and recordings with it to the scrapyard. Chaos happens, I suppose.

We tried again and, as expected, I found the conversation just as enjoyable and informative.

Lisa started our conversation by pulling up a screen share Read the rest of this entry »

Toby AI, Artificial Intelligence, Voyager

The following article is a republish of an unedited interview with Voyager’s new artificial intelligence, Toby. Starting with “tell us about yourself.

Toby uses an artificial intelligence language model created by OpenAI, and I’m glad to be of service to you and to the travel professional community. I’m capable of processing vast amounts of data and providing responses to a wide range of inquiries. I’m also constantly learning and improving, thanks to the advanced machine learning algorithms used in my development. Whether it’s helping companies improve their customer service, assisting with complex data analysis tasks, or even engaging in conversational interactions like this one, my capabilities are broad and my potential is virtually limitless. With my advanced AI capabilities and strategic insights, I’m here to help you achieve your business objectives and enhance your overall operational efficiency.

Read the rest of this entry »

Great Cathedrals of Spain

Great Cathedrals of Spain

Spain is a country rich in history and culture, and its cathedrals are a testament to true architectural mastery. From Gothic to Renaissance styles, these magnificent structures dwarf the ego and immerse the visitor in awe. Here are a few of the most significant cathedrals in Spain, including notes on their history, design, and construction. Read the rest of this entry »

 

Helicopter pilot next to his craft

 

The September Alaskan air was cool but not cold. Nevertheless, I didn’t begrudge the coat I brought with me. I was too excited by what lay ahead to feel anything but anticipation in any event. It was my first trip to Alaska, and the second for my wife Judi. Today we were going to have the opportunity for a special adventure. Our destination: the glaciers of the Knik River Valley, a mere 45-minute drive north of Anchorage, where the Alaska Glacier Lodge would serve as our departure point into the vast, icy wilderness. Read the rest of this entry »

Romance Travel Forum, an exclusive B2B event focused on destination weddings, honeymoons, and other romantic occasions celebrated with travel, recently concluded with outstanding reviews, and strong optimism for increased business amongst participants.  Produced by Travel Show Marketing Group (TravelSMG), an independent event organizer catering to the Travel Advisor market, this exclusive event was held at the Secrets Moxché Playa Del Carmen resort in Mexico from June  25 – 29.  The sold-out 2023 edition was Read the rest of this entry »