Note to listeners: Humans of Travel is on hiatus for the winter, with new, full-length episodes resuming Spring 2025. This is a bonus Humans in the Hot Seat Episode, recorded at SmartFlyer's CORE conference in Lake Louise, Alberta, last month. This episode is released in conjunction with a Trade Secrets episode on email marketing, with SmartFlyer's Kayla Douglas.

Welcome to Humans in the Hot Seat, a spinoff series of Humans of Travel. This is Emma Weissmann, Executive Editor at TravelAge West, and your host.

This week, we are sitting down with Erina Pindar, Managing Partner and COO of luxury travel agency SmartFlyer.

Pindar is a veteran of Humans of Travel – her previous episode was recorded in 2020 with former host Valerie Chen. But for her return to the show, we chat all about what it takes to build a successful brand, beyond colors and fonts. How do brands remain authentic, but not "too perfect?" What was Pindar's goals when she rebranded SmartFlyer years ago? Find out this, and more, during our episode.

This episode is coming out out in conjunction with a new episode of Trade Secrets, a joint production of TravelAge West and Travel Weekly. On that podcast, we will be interviewing SmartFlyer's Kayla Douglas, director of content, about another unique form of branding: e-marketing. Head on over to the Trade Secrets feed for a listen.

Join us next week for an episode with our podcast sponsor, Riverside Luxury Cruises.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

SmartFlyer

Erina Pindar on Humans of Travel in 2020: SmartFlyer's Erina Pindar on How Her Childhood in Asia Shaped Her Worldview, Plus the 411 on Branding

Trade Secrets Podcast

Contact Pindar on Instagram:

@theSmartFlyer

@erinapindar

From TravelAge West: 5 Things We Learned at SmartFlyer's 2025 CORE Conference

ABOUT YOUR HOST 

Emma Weissmann is the Executive Editor of TravelAge West, a print magazine and website for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the co-host of Trade Secrets, a podcast created with sister publication Travel Weekly. 

TravelAge West also produces national trade publications Explorer and Family Getaways, as well as events including the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, Global Travel Marketplace West, the WAVE Awards gala and the Napa Valley Leadership Forum. 

ABOUT THE SHOW 

TravelAge West’s award-winning podcast, “Humans of Travel,” features conversations with exceptional people who have compelling stories to tell. Listeners will hear from the travel industry’s notable authorities, high-profile executives, travel advisors and rising stars as they share the highs and lows that make them human.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.