Trade Secrets is on a holiday break, but in the meantime, we wanted to share some of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West’s other podcasts with our listeners. This week’s episode is The Folo, hosted by Travel Weekly’s Rebecca Tobin. Each week, The Folo digs deep into a topic of interest in the travel industry. On this episode, Tobin talks to Trade Secrets co-host Jamie Biesiada, also a senior editor at Travel Weekly covering retail travel sales and theme parks, about Disney’s planned $60 billion...

Trade Secrets is on a holiday break, but in the meantime, we wanted to share some of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West’s other podcasts with our listeners. This week’s episode is The Last Resort, hosted by Travel Weekly’s Christina Jelski. The Last Resort is a monthly hospitality-focused podcast where travel advisors share their first impressions of the last resort they visited. On this episode, Jelski talks to SmartFlyer-affiliated travel advisor Sarah Lopez and Travel Weekly managing editor...

How did Christy Menzies, the owner of Menzies Luxe Retreats, achieve $1 million in sales in her first six months in business as a travel advisor? Find out the answer to that question and many more in this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, where Menzies shares her journey in the industry and offers sage advice on explaining the value of travel advisors, finding clients as a new advisor, rapidly growing sales and more. This episode is sponsored by ALG Vacations.  Further resources: Menzies...

Thinking of becoming a travel advisor? This is the Trade Secrets episode for you, featuring the sound advice of Steph Lee, founder of Host Agency Reviews. During this episode, delve into the world of travel advising as a profession, including what to know about starting a business, what challenges you may face and more. Already established in the industry? We’ve got plenty for you to mull on, too, from using host- or consortium-provided marketing materials, advice on moving into a management...

Travel insurance is an important product for travel advisors and travelers alike, but it’s also an undeniably complex one. What should advisors talk about when selling travel insurance, and what shouldn’t they discuss? Is an annual plan a better deal than per-trip plans? What is a preexisting condition, and what does it mean for advisors? Find out the answers to those questions and more in this week’s episode, the second in a two-part series on travel insurance featuring Richard Aquino, vice...

Travel insurance is an important product for travel advisors and travelers alike, but it’s also an undeniably complex one. How should travel advisors position this product to clients? What insurance provider should they use? How do they parse through complicated plans? Find out the answers to those questions and more in this week’s episode, the first in a two-part series on travel insurance featuring Richard Aquino, vice president and head of sales for Allianz Partners. This episode is...

One month after wildfires devastated Lahaina, Signature Travel Network decided to move forward with its annual Owners’ Meeting at the Grand Wailea, located on an unaffected part of Maui.  This episode of Trade Secrets was recorded from the island. Hear from Signature CEO Alex Sharpe, travel agency owners and supplier representatives from Allianz Partners, Travel Insured International and Pleasant Holidays as they share their thoughts about promoting travel to the island. Listeners will also...

This week, Trade Secrets is all about the fam — fam, or familiarization, trips, that is! Hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by Theresa Chu-Bermudez, owner of Get Out! Custom Travels, co-host of the Tin Lounge Podcast and the creator of Fam with Intention. They talk about all of the ins and outs of fams: how to find them, how to prepare for them, what to do on a fam, and what to do after the trip is over.  This episode is sponsored by Air France-KLM.  Further...

In this episode of Trade Secrets, Indagare’s Melissa Biggs Bradley discusses the company’s sustainability efforts — including how her agency offsets the carbon footprints of all staff and client travel — the end of “fast travel,” and how travel advisors can encourage clients to travel more sustainably. This episode is sponsored by ALG Vacations. Further resources: Melissa Biggs Bradley: Indagare’s website On Instagram Her radio show/podcast, Passport to Everywhere From Travel Weekly,...

In this special episode of Trade Secrets, co-host Jamie Biesiada gets an update on the wildfires in Hawaii from Ilihia Gionson, the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s public affairs officer. Gionson talks about what’s happening on Maui, thanks those visitors who have left the island and asks for patience in the weeks ahead as damage is assessed and recovery begins. This episode is sponsored by ALG Vacations....

In this episode of Trade Secrets, hosts Jamie Biesiada and Emma Weissmann are joined by Christine Vincent, business technology manager for Travelsavers and NEST. They discuss how generative AI is changing the travel industry, and delve into how travel advisors can use it to improve their workflows. They also chat about how to become an effective “prompt engineer” to get a desired output. And yes, if you were wondering, Google’s Bard wrote this episode’s title and description (but it was, of...

Embark on a voyage of discovery into the fast-growing world of expedition cruising on this episode of Trade Secrets. Co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by Rachel Woodward, vice president of sales for Lindblad Expeditions, and Beth Butzlaff, Global Travel Collection’s vice president of partnership. They’ll tackle everything from which clients are best suited for which expedition cruises, to can’t-miss stops in Alaska, to how better Starlink connectivity will affect cruisers...

In this two-part episode of Trade Secrets, we’ll delve deep into the world of sales strategies for travel advisors, with guests Byrd Bergeron (of the Travel Byrds) and Steven Gould (of Goulds Travel, Luxera Travel and the Travel Advisor Resource Center). They also operate the Facebook group “Sales Strategies for Travel Professionals.” In part two, we’ll discuss a variety of listener questions, from how to allocate your time and strategies with managing email inboxes, to finding outside help...

In this two-part episode of Trade Secrets, delve deep into the world of sales strategies for travel advisors with guests Byrd Bergeron of the Travel Byrds and Steven Gould of Goulds Travel, Luxera Travel and the Travel Advisor Resource Center. We discuss practical techniques, answer listener questions and offer insights to help up travel advisors’ sales games. Tune in now for part one, and stay tuned for part two in two weeks, where we’ll dive into even more listener questions. This episode...

Travel to Europe surged last summer after two years of pandemic-related restrictions, and this year is no different. The continent is undeniably busy — even busier than last summer, by many metrics. Travel advisors are grappling with planning travel to sometimes sold-out destinations, difficulty securing airfare, high prices and more.  In this episode, we’ll help navigate European travel this summer with the help of Lindsay Taylor-Lauer, director of luxury and hosting at Travel Leaders 365....

Picture it: you’re onboard a Windstar ship after spending the day in Venice. You’re the only cruise ship there, and as you exit the port, the sails unfurl and you literally sail past the city of canals on your way to your next stop. It’s a moment Captain Neil Broomhall, Windstar’s fleet captain, has experienced firsthand.  In this special episode of Trade Secrets, we talk to Captain Neil Broomhall, Windstar Cruises’ fleet captain, about, what a typical day looks like onboard a Windstar ship...

This week’s Trade Secrets episode was recorded at the ASTA Global Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 2. Co-hosts Jamie Biesiada and Emma Weissmann rounded up some of the industry’s finest to offer their best advice to travel advisors. They touch on everything from sustainability, to entering the luxury market, and beyond. This episode was sponsored by Windstar Cruises.  Further resources: ASTA, the American Society of Travel Advisors  FyndTravel  Amanda Klimak’s Trade Secrets...

Fees are a perennial hot topic among the travel agency community. On the season four opener of Trade Secrets, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada delve into many different aspects of planning fees with Tiffany Hines, CEO and president of Global Escapes, and Cali Stein, a luxury advisor with Embark Beyond. They address normalizing fees, different ways to charge, whether every client should be charged the same way and more. In this episode: 8:22 - An overview on fee data from Travel...

Trade Secrets is returning May 1 with season four. At 20 episodes, this marks the show's longest season yet! Tune in for episodes on everything from fees, to Europe, to best business practices. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade Secrets is on a brief hiatus to gather questions for season four, but in the meantime, hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are sharing some of their favorite episodes of the show. We’ll be back with new episodes in May! This week, Jamie’s pick: Whenever Jennifer Doncsecz, president of VIP Vacations, is traveling, she always wears pink. She started years ago, and since then, she uses pink on VIP’s logo, website, and even the Victorian house where the agency is located. That,...

Trade Secrets is on a brief hiatus to gather questions for season four, but in the meantime, hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are sharing some of their favorite episodes of the show. We’ll be back with new episodes in May! This week, Emma’s pick: all things client relations with Jennifer Jacob. Jennifer is the COO and co-founder of Tique, a travel advisor brand and systems design studio, and the former founder of Explorateur Travel. They tackle qualifying clients, keeping track of —...

Welcome to the season three finale of Trade Secrets! This episode, hosts Jamie Biesiada and Emma Weissmann are flipping the tables a bit and interviewing each other. Find out if they’ve always envisioned being writers, how they found the travel industry, who’s a Swiftie, who believes in ghosts and more. This is the season finale, but we’ll share some favorite episodes and moments from Trade Secrets every other week until season four premieres this May. This episode was sponsored by G...

Julie Patterson, the founder of Wanderfully Planned, attributes a lot of her success in the travel industry to her mentor, Whitney Shindelar, the owner and founder of Undiscovered Sunsets and the host of the Masters in Travel podcast. But asking someone to be your mentor is asking them to commit time and effort that could otherwise be used developing their own business. In short, it’s a big ask, but the rewards can be even bigger on both sides. In this episode of Trade Secrets, learn about...

What is Travelmation? Well, it’s a travel agency for starters, but its name is actually a combination of “travel” and “animation.” In this episode of Selling the Mouse, delve into the agency’s name, strong sense of branding and more with president Adam Duckworth. Adam and host Jamie Biesiada will also delve into the latest theme park news, from pricing and capacity at Disney Parks, to Avatar coming to Disneyland, to the opening of Super Nintendo World in Universal Hollywood. Get in touch to...

The travel advisor-business development manager (BDM) relationship can be critical to an advisor’s growth with supplier partners. So, how can advisors go about building strong relationships with BDMs, and how do they leverage that partnership to ensure the success of both parties?  This special episode of Trade Secrets was recorded on-site at Hard Rock Los Cabos in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during ALG Vacations’ Pros in Paradise event. At the event, ALG Vacations brought together a group of...