Trade Secrets is on a winter break. We're sharing some of our favorite episodes until we return.

Travel advisors, how do you handle it when a client has unrealistic expectations? What if they ask to stay at a property you wouldn’t recommend (especially if they serve truly lackluster midnight hotdogs)? What do you do when their budget is unrealistic for the trip they want? Or, what if they have a really bad experience while they’re in-destination? Get advice on all that and more in this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, where co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by Abbey Meyer, CEO of Sky High Travel in St. Louis, Missouri.

This episode was sponsored by Collette.

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com

 

Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade Secrets is on a winter break. We're sharing some of our favorite episodes until we return.
Travel advisors, how do you handle it when a client has unrealistic expectations? What if they ask to stay at a property you wouldn&rsquo;t recommend (especially if they serve truly lackluster midnight hotdogs)? What do you do when their budget is unrealistic for the trip they want? Or, what if they have a really bad experience while they&rsquo;re in-destination? Get advice on all that and more in this week&rsquo;s episode of Trade Secrets, where co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada are joined by Abbey Meyer, CEO of Sky High Travel in St. Louis, Missouri.
This episode was sponsored by <a href="https://www.gocollette.com/en/travel-advisors">Collette</a>.
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com</a>
&nbsp;
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at travelweekly.com/podcasts.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:

Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.

Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.


Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners&rsquo; questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more &mdash; as long as it&rsquo;s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at <a href="http://travelweekly.com/podcasts">travelweekly.com/podcasts</a>.
<hr>
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:
Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors&rsquo; 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives &mdash; the highs and lows that make them human.
<hr>
 Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod Link: <a href="https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop">https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop</a> License: <a href="https://filmmusic.io/standard-license">https://filmmusic.io/standard-license</a>
<hr>
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

Trade Secrets Podcast

Trade Secrets

Encore: How should travel advisors manage client expectations?

This week on Trade Secrets After Dark, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada welcome Travel Weekly’s own Johanna Jainchill, the publication’s newly minted editor in chief. Get to know Jainchill, her vision for Travel Weekly’s editorial strategy and why the Bolivian military once picked her up after inadvertently crossing a border on foot (no, really!).

While Trade Secrets usually invites listeners to ask questions that are answered on the show by industry experts, enjoy the occasional “After Dark” episode, featuring casual chats — and drinks — with guests from around the travel industry.

This episode was sponsored by AmaWaterways. 

Further resources

Send Johanna Jainchill an email

Mentioned in this episode:
Johanna’s story on tourism (and bourbon) in Kentucky
Christina Jelski’s story on branded hotel apparel
The Travel Industry Survey
Robby Silk and his competitive sitting: read about it in Travel Weekly and Atlas Obscura, and hear about it on The Folo
Johanna’s column on reader feedback (and the article that inspired it)

Get in touch!

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 

 

Theme song:

"Sweeter Vermouth" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Trade Secrets After Dark, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada welcome Travel Weekly&rsquo;s own Johanna Jainchill, the publication&rsquo;s newly minted editor in chief. Get to know Jainchill, her vision for Travel Weekly&rsquo;s editorial strategy and why the Bolivian military once picked her up after inadvertently crossing a border on foot (no, really!).
While Trade Secrets usually invites listeners to ask questions that are answered on the show by industry experts, enjoy the occasional &ldquo;After Dark&rdquo; episode, featuring casual chats &mdash; and drinks &mdash; with guests from around the travel industry.
This episode was sponsored by <a href="https://advisors.amawaterways.com/agent-login">AmaWaterways</a>.&nbsp;
<hr>
Further resources
Send Johanna Jainchill <a href="mailto:jjainchill@travelweekly.com">an email</a>
Mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Johanna&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Kentucky-tourism-success">story on tourism (and bourbon) in Kentucky</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<li aria-level="1">Christina Jelski&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Fashion-forward-hotels">story on branded hotel apparel</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<li aria-level="1">The <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/For-Travel-Agents/Travel-Industry-Survey">Travel Industry Survey</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<li aria-level="1">Robby Silk and his competitive sitting: read about it in <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/How-to-explain-a-day-desert-sitting-Social-distancing-as-endurance-sport">Travel Weekly</a> and <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/competitive-sitting-extreme-sport">Atlas Obscura</a>, and hear about it on <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Podcasts/Folo/The-sport-of-extreme-sitting">The Folo</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<li aria-level="1">Johanna&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Johanna-Jainchill/A-duty-to-inform-readers-on-political-issues">column on reader feedback</a> (and <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Preview-2026/policy">the article that inspired it</a>)</li>
<ul></ul>
</ul>
<hr>
Get in touch!
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
&nbsp;
Theme song:
"Sweeter Vermouth" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade Secrets After Dark: Bourbon, editorial strategy and cross-border incidents (feat. Johanna Jainchill)

What’s your plan for your business when you retire, or you’re unable to run it anymore?

In this episode, the second in a two-part series on succession planning, hear from industry attorney Tom Carpenter. He discusses some of the varying ways agency owners prepare their businesses for the next step, and gives practical advice on how to make the transition smoother.

This episode was sponsored by AmaWaterways. 

Further resources

Find Tom Carpenter:
On the web 
Via email
On YouTube
On Facebook

Mentioned in this episode:
Mark Pestronk on the web and in Travel Weekly
Bob Sweeney’s Innovative Travel Acquisitions

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 

 

Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What&rsquo;s your plan for your business when you retire, or you&rsquo;re unable to run it anymore?
In this episode, the second in a two-part series on succession planning, hear from industry attorney Tom Carpenter. He discusses some of the varying ways agency owners prepare their businesses for the next step, and gives practical advice on how to make the transition smoother.
This episode was sponsored by <a href="https://advisors.amawaterways.com/agent-login">AmaWaterways</a>.&nbsp;
<hr>
Further resources
Find Tom Carpenter:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.carpenterlawgrouppc.com/">On the web</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="mailto:tcarpenter@carpenterlawgrouppc.com">Via email</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ThomasCarpenter">On YouTube</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MediaTravelLaw/">On Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Mark Pestronk <a href="https://pestronk.com/">on the web</a> and <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Mark-Pestronk">in Travel Weekly</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<li aria-level="1">Bob Sweeney&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.tvlacq.com/">Innovative Travel Acquisitions</a></li>
<ul></ul>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
&nbsp;
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Succession planning for travel agencies, part 2 (feat. attorney Tom Carpenter)

What’s your plan for your business when you retire, or you’re unable to run it anymore?

In this episode, hear from mother-and-daughter duo Stacey and Sami Ray of Sisterhood Travels as they discuss their personal paths on the vital, albeit often overlooked, process of succession planning within a successful travel agency. 

Next episode, tune in to hear from a travel industry attorney who’s an expert in succession planning.

This episode was sponsored by AmaWaterways. 

Further resources

Sisterhood Travels on the web and via email

Stacey Ray’s podcast, Life. Reimagined. with Stacey Ray

Stacey Ray on Humans of Travel

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 

 

Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What&rsquo;s your plan for your business when you retire, or you&rsquo;re unable to run it anymore?
In this episode, hear from mother-and-daughter duo Stacey and Sami Ray of Sisterhood Travels as they discuss their personal paths on the vital, albeit often overlooked, process of succession planning within a successful travel agency.&nbsp;
Next episode, tune in to hear from a travel industry attorney who&rsquo;s an expert in succession planning.
This episode was sponsored by <a href="https://advisors.amawaterways.com/agent-login">AmaWaterways</a>.&nbsp;
<hr>
Further resources
Sisterhood Travels <a href="https://sisterhoodtravels.com/">on the web</a> and <a href="mailto:info@sisterhoodtravels.com">via email</a><a href="https://sisterhoodtravels.com/"></a>
Stacey Ray&rsquo;s podcast, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4diOz8t2x1GFLJ1ZCTClpU">Life. Reimagined. with Stacey Ray</a>
Stacey Ray on <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Podcasts/Humans-of-Travel/humans-of-travel-podcast-stacey-ray">Humans of Travel</a>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
&nbsp;
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Encore: How should travel advisors manage client expectations?

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