by John Frenaye
Monday November 07, 2016

Tomorrow we go to the polls to elect a new President of the United States. Will it be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? Who knows! And I am not here to endorse, persuade, or pontificate on the election beyond saying that I probably speak for the majority when I say that we will all be glad to have it over! But once the new administration takes over, things for the travel industry will change.

While no one knows for sure what might happen, you can be sure that we will need to keep an eye on things; and it will be very important for us, as an industry, to have an advocate for us in Washington. Hey, ASTA, I am talking to you.

In 2007, George W.…

“One of the biggest mistakes that speakers make is trying to pack a lifetime worth of learning into a single talk.”

How to Deliver a TED Talk by Jeremey Donovan, page 14

This passage hit me personally; right between the eyes. And it probably pertains to you, too, when trying to convince a prospect to follow your…

by Richard Earls
Sunday November 06, 2016

The relationship between you and your clients reflects the temperament of your travel practice.  The more open you are, the more easily you encounter your clients and the more gracefully you carry your industry knowledge, the better your relationships. The travel professionals with the happiest clients did not win their approval with pricing or vague notions of customer service, but with the power of a relationship.

They always come out at…

If someone had asked me 25 years ago where I saw myself, I would have never imagined my current life. After graduating from school in the Netherlands, where I was born, I was accepted at a management-training program with Hyatt International in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. At the moment, I wasn’t even aware where Puerto Vallarta was and I had no plans to end up staying in Mexico. Little did I know!

When I arrived in Mexico, I did not speak the language and I learned it in three intense months. After four months in Puerto Vallarta, I had fallen deeply in love with Mexico, its people, and its culture, and knew I was never leaving.

Two years later, I was offered a position as Director of Sales at the hotel and later worked with hotel chains like Camino Real, Posadas, and Blue Bay. Ten years later, I was Director of Sales for five Hyatt properties around the country. I discovered my passion for the travel and hospitality industry and realized I wanted to work hard to improve the industry in Mexico and the perception of the destination…