Highs and Lows

Last Thursday, in celebratory fashion, GBTA WINiT recognized women who are making things happen in the industry, dare I say, the world!  We heard about rising leaders, companies focusing on empowerment, allies who stand with us, lifetime achievements and so many more.  It was a night filled with laughter, tears and inspiration.  To sit in a room and celebrate wonderful leaders made heart happy and excited to see what lies ahead. 

Sunday, I went to a college volleyball playoff game.  It was hard fought battle but the team I was cheering for won.  Yeah!!!  Between sets, I was perusing the program where the other team had their “feature athletes” noted.  They were interviewed and asked a series of questions.  One was, “What is your dream job/career?”  Thinking they were interviewing college level athletes, I focused in on those responses and was sad to see that one of them replied, “Being a trophy wife.”  I was speechless and most of you know that is hard to make happen. I googled trophy wife and here is what says: ”Simply put, a trophy wife is a status symbol for her husband. The term has a bit of a negative connotation to it because it implies that the woman is nothing but her good looks. In essence, she lacks intelligence, personality, ambition, or money of her own. She is completely dependent on her husband.” 

 

That is someone’s goal?  Dependency, symbol, lacking personality and intelligence? 

 

In a span of four days, I saw the highs of celebration and recognition and this low point.  Do I think every woman (man and child for that matter) can change the world?  YES! By giving of ourselves, working for a common good, inspiring others and simply being a role mode…anyone can change the world.  A wife and mom can change the world.  As an executive in the corner office, she can change the world.  This young woman can be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, construction worker….anything she chooses to be, and change the world.

 

We are in November now and it’s a time of year we start to think of what we are thankful for.  I am thankful for all the people (women, men and children) who inspire me everyday to set goals for myself and support me in striving to reach those.  I hope in some way I can be that to others and who knows, maybe this young woman will be next on my list.  In the meantime, I keep going and ask you do the same!  

It's Time!

 So much has happened since my last post and after a long pause, I figured it was time to get back on the proverbial horse.  So much to cover, so I will start with a few bullets:

1 – The industry is in a good place, but we need to do better.  Travel is back on an upward swing and our partners are finally able to take a much needed breath.  They survived the challenges of a pandemic, have learned much, have changed much and are on the right path.  Service and experience need to be their focus as we move forward.  Corporate travelers want their service back and expectations will be high.  No more excuses, let’s work together to move these things forward. 

2- Inventory is a struggle.  Remember the good old days when an airline would play with their inventory to get better RASM?  Remember when a hotel would close out rooms because they could get more money from someone else?  Now we have airports and municipalities stepping in to govern inventory?  We still have government entities saying who can travel and enter countries.  To my buyer friends, if you are NOT looking at inventory and paying attention, it’s time to start doing that and I am happy to help people understand how to do that! 

3 – Distribution is a mess.  I would rarely quote another person on my blog, but I am going to quote the Man, the Myth, the Legend, Jim Davidson of Farelogix.  (Please don’t tell him I called him a Legend, it will go to his head!)  15 Years ago, he sat on stage at a GBTA conference and gave, what I lovingly call, the “Old and Crabby Speech.”  He talked about the challenges of distribution and said, “We are still going to be having this conversation in 15 years” to which people laughed, but sadly, he was right.  (Again, don’t tell I said he was right!)  This is a mess and absolutely NO one on the supply side is fixing it.  TMC’s are slow, GDS’ are reluctant and OBT’s are making progress but not fast enough.  If given the chance, I will gladly give the “Old and Crabby Speech” next year at GBTA if needed. 

4 – Speaking of GBTA….it is in good hands.  Suzanne is an amazing person who is smart, caring and gets it.  She knows what the industry needs and is working hard to make it happen for the buyers and suppliers. 

 

Now that I am back, I intend to cover all of these and so much more in the weeks ahead.  I will share some personal stories as well as my thoughts and ideas.  Not doing this because I think anyone cares to hear from me, I am doing this because I care.  I care about the industry, I care about my program, I care about “my people” and I care about relationships.  Plus, I think its time we all focus on the future and keep going!