Hi everyone, and welcome back. Doing another solo episode this month. This time answering a question I get more often than I can count, which is, if you were starting a business today, would you still use social media to get the word out about your business … or another way it’s been framed to me … do you think social media helped you get to a place where you could later thrive without social media or do you think you would have arrived even without it? Such a good one! And questions that I’m happy to answer, if my thinking and process on it today with the beauty of hindsight layered with where society is 15 years later / where I am personally 15 years later, would help anyone else with a similar relationship (or lack thereof) with social media platforms.

Hi everyone, and welcome back. This is Lila, doing another solo episode this month. This time answering a question I get more often than I can count, which is, if you were starting a business today, would you still use social media to get the word out about your business … or another way it’s been framed to me … do you think social media helped you get to a place where you could later thrive without social media or do you think you would have arrived even without it? It’s such a good question! Both of those are! And questions that I’m happy to answer, if my thinking and process on it today with the beauty of hindsight layered with where society is 15 years later / where I am personally 15 years later, would help anyone else with a similar relationship (or lack thereof) with social media platforms.

This conversation with Raluca Spiac is a little different to some of my other conversations & interviews here. And that was on purpose. I've been connected to her for years, but haven't actually been to Romania ... nor sent clients to Romania, yet. And as many places within Europe largely become over-toured, when looking ahead to 2027 planning for my agency's clientele, I'm hyper-focused on secondary or emerging destinations on the continent. To create an entire trip from, or to pair with something nearby like a Greece, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Hungary, Slovenia ... Raluca shares the different aspects to Romania, and what make it a truly unique destination at this particular time in history.

We also dive into the politics of Romania. The country is only just now trying to come out of the ramifications left from decades of the brutal form of communism it was under until the 1980s.

We discuss hospitality and tourism in general. No one on their team has studied tourism in school. They operate in a destination that essentially has no demand. No ministry of tourism, no tourism board. There's no easy connectivity, unless you're flying in. There's a rail system, but it's archaic and for some travelers, could be uncomfortable. Some may see all of this as a deterrent. I see it as a giant hell yes. Let me go and explore it, the way it is now, largely untouched by governmental tourism, outside influence, before others get in ... other business, other tourists.

Romania is not for everyone, and Raluca and her team see that as a plus. They are not trying to market the country to everyone, but rather to a specific type of traveler. The type of traveler that is curious, adventurous of mind, a slower paced traveler, it's usually the type of traveler who is the first in their friend group venturing into a place ... the type of traveler who opts for Romania's version of the Camino, bypassing Spain's. Until Spain's falls out of the zeitgeist.

If you liked this conversation, you may also like my interview with Chamindra Goonewardene from Sri Lanka … similar type of destination in the sense that both Raluca & Chamindra see themselves as ambassadors of their respective countries, doing it their way, with their taste, and style, because neither Romania nor Sri Lanka have trad tourism boards per se. Challenge? Sure. One of the most splendid blank slates in hospitality? Bar none.

Sharing with you all another candid mentoring session that I had recently with a travel advisor here in Colorado who has spent the past nearly decade within traditional travel agencies, and is now considering other opportunities, particularly branching out on her own as an independent advisor or independent consultant. Different to the previous mentoring session I shared here last month – the conversation with independent travel agency owner Athena down in Florida – this conversation today is answering or addressing the questions a newer advisor may have --- a newer advisor wondering what it would be like to go from a steady salary, from a steady & guaranteed stream of clients that flow into the agency off of someone elses brand/hard work/reputation/years of work versus having to go out and market herself for her own clients, what are the upfront costs of starting a travel agency, what advice would I give to someone starting out, what should one look for or consider when researching the right host agency to join? Newsflash on those last 2 points … don’t be afraid of taking the little things on like a weekend hotel only booking in Minneapolis, put your blinders on and do not compare yourself to others, and ya’ll … I hate to break it to you, but I see so many of you bouncing every year or every other year, completely uprooting your systems, bookings, email addresses, confusing clients with logos changing which may not seem frequent to you but think about it if you work with a client once every other year on a big trip and they’re seeing 2 different logos associated with yours during that time … furrowed brow. There is no perfect host agency. That’s my opinion. And if more travel advisors thought similarly, we’d see less hopping around … and more staying with 1 for 5, 6 years to learn as much as you can … and then go out on your own independently. The costs aren’t nearly as high as the industry would lead you to believe. And there’s a freedom, and a peace that comes with that business decision. I also take a little dive for her into how to determine what she should target to sell in terms of sales to make a salary or take home pay after taxes, expenses, that she needs in her household. It’s really simplified math, but it holds, and is a really good tool to have in the back of your mind when you’re thinking through things quickly.

I hope you all enjoy this episode, and as always, thank you for being here.

This episode is solo. And something I’m going to do more of, in addition to the interviews/conversations you’ve become used to here. In this episode I’m going to answer a question I’m getting a lot lately, whether via email, linkedin messages from peers, even when I sit down to lunch with a friend in the business I haven’t seen in a few months … which is, the business decision I made earlier this Spring, to resign my travel agency from Virtuoso, the preeminent professional network in luxury travel that I’d been a part of for 14 years. I’m hearing that a lot of you are also currently evaluating some of your memberships and affiliations. There’s a lot in flux at the moment, in our business of travel, on the agency side, on the aviation side, and on the hotel side. The whole pie. Agencies are getting bigger, expanding internationally, pyramid’ing beneath, selling to banks, coalescing for clarity, or power, consortiums feel catch all … and trying to catch it all. Preferred programs were created in a time when the term host agency didn’t exist. Now it does, and hotels are feeling the strain. But behind the 8-ball. I could go on. But instead of going on, and paying handsomely while doing so, I decided I wanted off the barreling train to who knows where. Next stop. Not sure what it is, but OK with stepping off and just observing for a while, from a new vantage point, one that is different and of my choosing. It’s almost like there’s so much new and it’s not a question of what I want to belong to in terms of a consortia, or what I want to integrate in terms of AI. It’s, right now, I don’t want a consortia because I don’t see one that makes sense. I don’t want AI because I don’t see it making sense. Rather than try to make it make sense, which is a choice, it’s also OK to choose to sit back and say hey this doesn’t feel right in my bones, and then not. Like, you can do that too. If a consortia makes sense for your business, stay. If AI makes sense for your business, learn. I’m using those 2 examples, but they’re the biggest examples to make a point with. Fill in your blank.

Because it’s not what you do, it’s what you do it for.

A conversation with Jess Cook about a 20-year career within hotels & hospitality spanning iconic brands such as Butterfield & Robinson to Aman and Auberge, and eventually - due to a couple of strong life events in sequence - opening her own iconic brand in hospitality consulting and strategy. We discuss the thinking behind this pivot, and Jess' approach to deciding who to work with (and equally important who may not be the right fit). Jess relied on personal relationships rather than social / marketing in her efforts to connect with likeminded hotels when building her portfolio. We discuss the importance of boundaries and expectation setting with clients, placing time with family at the forefront of all business decisions.

We’re doing something a little different with this one. I’m going to read you a letter. A letter I received from an independent travel agency owner. It was a letter that spurred an idea in me. I get letters like this from other advisors quite regularly, and for a long time now I’ve not really known how to kindly respond to all of them, because truth be told, I have a mentoring helpful nature about me while also being aware of the reality. There are only so many hours in a day. Hours to sleep, and hours to be awake doing. In those waking hours I must first give time to myself. Then give of my time to those closest to me like my friends and family. Then my time needs to also be given to my businesses and clients. Full stop. It’s just the season of life I’m in.

Getting back to that letter. It hit me that Athena’s questions or the reasoning for Athena reaching out to me is the exact same reasoning for so many others, too. The same conundrum presented, the same questions. What if there was a way to give Athena my undivided attention, record it on the podcast, and share it with others … to help others in our business of travel. So, I approached her with the idea, and she graciously accepted. And as you will hear in our shared conversation, she did so as an open book.

I really believe in travel. I believe in a gorgeous itinerary, staying in lovely places, eating beautiful food, meeting extraordinary people. I also believe in happenstance, serendipity, in the value of getting lost, of getting turned around, getting in a taxi, ‘cause there’s a conversation that can only be had with a taxi driver who isn’t trained how & when to talk to the American guest. I believe in being a little uncomfortable, I do! I actually believe in not having a plan every waking moment of every single day. Not knowing where you’re going to dine that night, and so glad about it because there was a cute little place you walked past earlier, peaked into the window, got giddy about returning that night. A giddiness that just doesn’t come from reading the itinerary and seeing it there. A giddiness that can only come from within you. And not from god forsaken Instagram. Trust me when I say this.

But somewhere along the way I started washing all that from travel for people. I started orchestrating perfection. And I had to take a long hard look at that. Can I continue to orchestrate perfection for travelers. Yes. Do I want to continue to orchestrate perfection for travelers? No.

As humans we need on a biological level, healthy tension. If everything is easy, there’s actually discord. Counterintuitive, but it’s very true. I remember the first time I traveled abroad. It was to Florence, Italy. I have a bit more money than I did back then, you probably do too. Hostels served their purpose. They make us appreciate the boutique hotel now. But I had a paper map, a small suitcase, a camera, and nothing else but a loose plan.

As my agency turns 14 next month, that’s the energy I’m playing into. I’ve built a reputation the past 14 years, a taste level & style. I’ve built strong reliable networks of access and hospitality in every nation on earth. That is the capital travelers will come to me for. Travelers can google, or get their AI to answer a travel related question, even generate an itinerary … but their AI doesn’t have inherent taste, style, and network within that. People will come to me – and to you if you’re a travel professional – for who they know us to be & for the people we are made to know because it’s our job to know. Everything else is fluff.

That’s the energy. Beautiful itineraries for travelers … to a point. And that point is probably further back than it has been. Healthy tension. Discord. Intentionally. But you’ve trusted me. Keep trusting me. The rest is up to you.

When it comes to this conversation with Stephanie, she does a beautiful job of introducing herself, her background being born in Ecuador of an English father & an Ecuadorian mother, raised in Quito. Educated in England, she returned to Ecuador in her early 30’s on holiday with her husband Michael, at a time when they were both sort of at a crossroads in their life where they both had an appetite for change, for risk, for something different that their life in England wasn’t providing. The timing was impeccable. As the timing always is. They fell in love with the Galapagos Islands during that trip, a particular piece of land. They didn’t come from a hospitality background. They didn’t have preconceived notions of what a hotel or a place where travelers lay their heads, what that ‘should’ look like. They loved Africa, the romanticism of the tented camps. Neither of them liked the experience of being in a hotel. They dreamed of the creation of something that was romantic, comfortable, immersed in nature, and special. A redefinition of luxury.

When they opened their doors, they were the first tented camp in Latin America.

I hope you all enjoy this conversation, and if this topic is something you’d like to hear more about from another hotelier with a similar ethos, go back and listen to my conversation earlier this year with Hall Cannon who owns Otahuna Lodge in New Zealand. Same same. And as always, thank you for being here.

My guest this month is Tracey Harlowe, who owns a hotel representation company. Tracey & I met about a dozen years ago, traveling through Italy. We were fast friends and she's someone in our business whom I admire. She's remained for decades under the radar. Success on her own terms, never selling out. Big hotels have always called, dangling larger retainers, more exposure, more money, but she knows her compass. Which points her toward hidden gems, truly the gems where travelers lay their heads and remember that feeling that feels so different to most other places they’ve laid their heads around the world.

I wanted to have this conversation with Tracey because you all know that I’m in love with hindsight. I adore autobiographies for this reason. And I suppose in this moment I’m really drawn to document the words and thought of those around me before it’s too late. Last year a couple of friends passed away and I wish I would have said more … or had them say more. Yeh, that draw.