The Folo by Travel Weekly

By Travel Weekly

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What's The Folo by Travel Weekly about?

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors explore ideas, share experiences and provide insight into what they’ve uncovered while reporting on some of the biggest trends in travel.

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The Folo by Travel Weekly episodes:

06.24.2024
Why travel agent training matters | A Summer Series episode
Wanted: Travel agency seeks enthusiastic advisors eager for training. Good travel sellers need training – on systems, on suppliers, on sales tactics and more. How does a travel agency train up new advisors? How long does it take to create...
06.17.2024
The first Black-owned travel agency | A Summer Series episode
Welcome to our annual Summer Series, where we feature some of our favorite recent Folo by Travel Weekly episodes. In honor of Juneteenth, this week we're highlighting an episode about Henderson Travel, the first Black-owned, accredited travel agency in the...
06.10.2024
Hotel check-in: Leisure demand drops, business travel returns
With this year’s NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference just wrapped, it is a good time to look at the state of U.S. hotel business. And what we heard might surprise you. According to industry researchers STR, growth of RevPAR...
06.03.2024
Frontier's pricing-display strategy and what it means
Last month ultra low cost carrier Frontier made a surprise pricing move: It introduced a package of fare products designed to pull passenger away from its traditional unbundled offering. In this episode, Travel Weekly aviation editor Robert Silk and Cranky...
05.27.2024
The evolution of cruising’s private islands
On this episode we’re delving into one of the more unique aspects of the cruise experience, and that’s the one that takes place on land. We’re talking, of course, about private islands – or destinations – that are managed by...
05.20.2024
Are travelers balking at the cost of luxury travel?
This week we return to one of our favorite topics on the folo: The post-pandemic cost of travel. With pricing remaining high, we are continually asking our sources whether they’re seeing any resistance. In this episode, Travel Weekly's hotels editor...
05.13.2024
How travel agency mentorships help new advisors
In the past few years, travel agencies have been inundated with business from travelers seeking expert advice and booking assistance on their travel. At the same time, we saw an influx of travel advisors into the business and some career-shifting...
05.06.2024
The U.S. clarifies airline refunds, ancillary displays: Who wins?
We’re talking about final rules from the U.S. Department of Transportation about when and how airline passengers qualify for a refund. This rule is widely seen as a win for customers -- but there is at least one provision of...
04.29.2024
Tours that celebrate Black heritage, and a check-in on diversity in travel
In this episode we look at a new company called Black In that's building tours to celebrate Black history and support Black-owned businesses in each destination. Our guests are the founders of Black In: Martinique Lewis, the creator of ABC...
04.22.2024
The story behind private jet tours
Imagine a guided tour, but instead of a luxury coach your transportation is a Boeing 757 outfitted with 50 first-class seats -- and the plane will fly you around the world in ultimate comfort to off-the-beaten-path locations to get rare...
04.15.2024
The cruise news that CEOs are talking about
The Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami Beach in April is a great time for cruise lines to break news, and its annual State of the Industry panel is where business leaders head to hear the latest about trends, straight...
04.08.2024
The boom in travel for concerts, sports, festivals and events
What do Taylor Swift, March Madness, Formula 1 and a tiny weekend festival in Florida have in common? They’re all events-based travel, a category that is bringing in a tidal wave of business. And travelers' passions for concerts, sports and...
04.01.2024
The latest in wellness travel: Hard vs. soft experiences
Wellness travel is entering a new golden era: Strong growth is predicted in the next three years, according to the Global Wellness Institute. So what does it mean to travel for wellness in 2024? In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin...
03.25.2024
Boeing's troubles and what it means for air safety
Since the door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines flight 1282, Boeing has been in the news constantly: A temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9, investigations and fallout from the Alaska flight, and also the problems of production delays and...
03.18.2024
Spring break 2024: Who's traveling and where?
On this episode we dig deep into spring-travel trends with Hayley Berg, a researcher at the travel company Hopper. Among our topics: Where people are going in March and April – Orlando and Vegas, yes, but also some places that...
03.11.2024
Dogs in hotels | Spirit-JetBlue part 2
We’ve got a two-parter episode for you this week. In our first segment we’re talking about dogs in residence at hotels. Hotels editor Christina Jelski brings on Joel Morales of Castlerock Asset Management, which manages the Bobby Hotel in Nashville,...
03.04.2024
Spirit, JetBlue and antitrust law in the airline industry
Spirit and JetBlue on March 4 ended their merger plans, saying that regulatory obstacles won’t permit the airlines to close the deal in a timely fashion. But before the news broke, we’d recorded an episode with aviation editor Robert Silk...
02.26.2024
The first Black-owned travel agency
In honor of Black History Month, our retail editor Jamie Biesiada shone a spotlight on Henderson Travel Service, the first Black-owned, accredited travel agency in the U.S. And on this episode of the Folo, Henderson Travel Services president Gaynelle Henderson,...
02.19.2024
Two cruise ship orders and what it means for the industry
Carnival Corp. last week placed its first cruise ship order since the beginning of the pandemic: It will add 180,000-gross-ton ship to Carnival Cruise Line that will be the fourth in its Excel class. The very next day, Royal Caribbean...
02.12.2024
Romance, celebration travel and rise of the 'buddymoon'
Just in time for Valentine's Day: Some couples are not simply opting for traditional wedding-and-honeymoon travel; they're bringing their friends along for a buddymoon or expanding their trip into a megamoon. The expansion of the destination wedding into a full-blown...
02.05.2024
What the world’s biggest cruise ship means for cruise and travel
Travel advisors Eizabeth Caran of Outlander Travel and Jennifer Kellum of Neverland and Main Travel talk with Travel Weekly cruise editor Andrea Zelinski and Folo host Rebecca Tobin about the world’s newest, biggest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas....
01.29.2024
Best of the Folo: The evolution of kids clubs
We’re again talking about family travel, but today we’re focusing specifically on the kids club – that marvelous space in a hotel, resort or cruise ship where kids can play supervised by staff. This episode is based off hotels editor...
01.24.2024
Best of the Folo: Our survey of travel agents
Produced in partnership with research company Phocuswright, our annual Travel Industry Survey examines nearly every aspect of travel agency business: What type of travel they’re booking, who their clients are, demographics, business models, how much travel they book in terms...
01.16.2024
Best of the Folo: The solo cruising trend
In early October Norwegian Cruise Line made another move in the small but growing trend of solo cruising. And an article by cruise editor Andrea Zelinski about NCL’s plans, and how other lines are building single-occupancy cabins, shot to the...
01.09.2024
The Last Resort: A look at Hawaii's 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
This is our second week featuring episodes from our sister podcasts, and today’s is from the Last Resort, a relatively new podcast by hotels editor Christina Jelski, where she interviews travel advisors to get their take on new or noteworthy...
01.02.2024
The ins and outs of travel advisor fam trips
Happy New Year! For our next two episodes of the Folo, we’re going to do something a bit different: We’re featuring episodes from our sister podcasts, Trade Secrets and the Last Resort. Our episode today is from Trade Secrets, our...
12.25.2023
Preview 2024: Travel trends to look for
Our last episode of 2023 is about our Preview issue, our annual look ahead at the travel trends we expect to drive business in the new year. For this episode, we’ve gathered three of our editors: Jamie Biesiada, who covers...
12.18.2023
Our year in review: The biggest travel stories of 2023
Every year Travel Weekly publishes its year in review, a cover story on the biggest travel stories of the year. Here on the Folo to talk about Year in Review 2023 with host Rebecca Tobin is news editor Johanna Jainchill,...
12.11.2023
The Pleasant perspective: Where travelers are headed in 2024
With the new year almost upon us, we’ve been looking at which destinations might be most popular, and who better to call upon than a tour company that offers vacation packages all over the world. In this case it’s a...
12.04.2023
What this ski season brings: Big upgrades, hidden resorts
It’s December, and for a certain segment of our readership it means that ski season is here. For this episode, host Rebecca Tobin connected with our ski reporter (and aviation editor) Robert Silk and mountain expert, Storm Skiing blogger and...
11.27.2023
How one cruise line is catering to the solo-travel trend
In early October Norwegian Cruise Line made another move in the small-but-growing trend of solo cruising, saying it would more than double the number of cabins for single travelers across its fleet. And an article by cruise editor Andrea Zelinski...
11.20.2023
What our annual survey says about today's travel advisors
Our annual Travel Industry Survey is out! Produced in partnership with research company Phocuswright, it examines nearly every aspect of travel agency business: What type of travel they’re booking, who their clients are, demographics, business models, how much travel they...
11.13.2023
The latest on family travel: The evolution of kids clubs
This episode stems from hotels editor Christina Jelski’s cover story about the evolution of kids clubs: How resorts are pouring significant investment into children's spaces and programming to make them bigger and better, with more activities and more design upgrades...
11.06.2023
Will there be a recession in travel?
With all this will-there, won't-there talk about recession, it's reasonable to wonder whether there will be a contraction in travel and what form might it take. In this episode, news editor Johanna Jainchill and MMGY chairman Clayton Reid talk about...
10.30.2023
A wish list for Disney’s $60 billion parks plan
Disney is planning to put $60 billion into its parks, experiences and products division over the next 10 years. That means new investments at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, the cruise line and other parks. But what would Disney do with...
10.23.2023
Airline update: The Big Three and the LCCs -- plus the loyalty debate
It’s time this week to geek out over airlines: We’re going to talk about the major U.S. carriers and what they’ve been doing right, and where they may be facing headwinds. In this episode, aviation editor Robert Silk and Brad...
10.16.2023
West Maui is reopen after fires, but should travelers go?
In August, deadly wildfires swept through parts of Hawaii, specifically Maui and the Big Island. On Maui, the wildfires spread to the historical town of Lahaina. Around 100 people died, homes, businesses and hotels were destroyed, and that section of...
10.09.2023
Carnival Corp.'s big quarter, and what it tells us about cruise
The world's largest cruise company – Carnival Corp. -- released its third-quarter earnings results, and the company posted record revenues in the quarter. It also notched its return to profitability for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic....
10.02.2023
Diving in to a deep trend: Resorts' waterpark upgrades
The new era of outdoor resort features are bigger and more ambitious than a mere pool and a row of canvas-topped cabanas. There are waterslides; surf simulators; cabanas that look like living rooms; creative landscaping; and food and beverage from...
09.25.2023
Morocco and travel: How a tour company handles a crisis
The deadly earthquake that struck Morocco Sept. 8 had some serious repercussions for tourism, particularly as Morocco has become a popular place to visit. Last year more than 10 million tourists visited Morocco overall; at the time of the quake,...
09.18.2023
The summer's biggest stories, and what's next for travel
We’re back with new episodes of the Folo by Travel Weekly! This past summer we’ve been serving up our “best of” episodes, so to catch our listeners up on the biggest trends of the past two months, our reporting team...
09.11.2023
The popularity of movie and TV tourism
What do a young expat in Paris, the chain of White Lotus hotels, a wizard in England, a group of brunch-loving BFFs in New York and a certain iron throne all have in common? They’re all part of monster-hit movies...
09.04.2023
Why some travel agencies charge fees | Summer travel series
For a long time we’ve suspected, due to strong anecdotal evidence, that more travel agencies than not were charging their clients for their services, much like professional service-oriented businesses do, like financial advisors, accountants or consultants. Earlier this year we...
08.28.2023
Embracing farm life during a resort stay | Summer travel series
A surprising amenity that’s growing at certain luxury resorts around the world is not bath products, golf courses or thread counts. It’s chickens, goats, vegetables and orchards. And travelers are eager to tour and pitch in at these working farms,...
08.21.2023
AmaWaterways’ Black heritage cruise | Summer travel series
One initiative launching this month that showcases and celebrates Black history, culture and community is the Soulful Epicurean itinerary from AmaWaterways. To delve deeper into this cruise and what it means for Black travelers, representation and river cruising in general,...
08.15.2023
Pickleball's popularity in travel | Summer travel series
Welcome to the travel industry’s new favorite sport: Pickleball. Among our topics this week: How fast this sport has grown among travel companies, why travelers love to play and where travelers and advisors can find creative and plentiful courts and...
08.07.2023
What to expect from Disney and Universal | Summer travel series
Mega-theme park operators Disney and Universal are making moves to improve and change their experiences, but they’re taking two separate approaches: Universal is going ahead with a new park and smaller, regional parks, while Disney is making targeted improvements within...
07.31.2023
Why is demand for travel still so strong? | Summer travel series
War, inflation, recession, high fuel prices, high prices in general – and yet, Americans’ appetite for travel just seems to stay strong. On this episode, Bank of America Institute economist Anna Zhou and travel advisor Angela Hughes, the owner of...
07.24.2023
How Riverside Cruises got its start | Summer travel series
A new river cruise line, Riverside Luxury Cruises, has arrived on the Europe rivers this summer, and it’s especially noteworthy because it’s using the river cruise ships ships built and operated by the now-defunct Crystal Cruises. In this episode, host...
07.17.2023
How bleisure changed hotels | Summer travel series
The idea of a hybrid work-vacation trip – called “bleisure” -- was totally upended during the pandemic. And when corporate travel returned, it did so with a bleisure component – in some cases spouses and kids came along for long...

What's The Folo by Travel Weekly about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Folo by Travel Weekly episodes:

Why travel agent training matters | A Summer Series episode

The first Black-owned travel agency | A Summer Series episode

Hotel check-in: Leisure demand drops, business travel returns

Frontier's pricing-display strategy and what it means

The evolution of cruising’s private islands

Are travelers balking at the cost of luxury travel?

How travel agency mentorships help new advisors

The U.S. clarifies airline refunds, ancillary displays: Who wins?

Tours that celebrate Black heritage, and a check-in on diversity in travel

The story behind private jet tours

The cruise news that CEOs are talking about

The boom in travel for concerts, sports, festivals and events

The latest in wellness travel: Hard vs. soft experiences

Boeing's troubles and what it means for air safety

Spring break 2024: Who's traveling and where?

Dogs in hotels | Spirit-JetBlue part 2

Spirit, JetBlue and antitrust law in the airline industry

The first Black-owned travel agency

Two cruise ship orders and what it means for the industry

Romance, celebration travel and rise of the 'buddymoon'

What the world’s biggest cruise ship means for cruise and travel

Best of the Folo: The evolution of kids clubs

Best of the Folo: Our survey of travel agents

Best of the Folo: The solo cruising trend

The Last Resort: A look at Hawaii's 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

The ins and outs of travel advisor fam trips

Preview 2024: Travel trends to look for

Our year in review: The biggest travel stories of 2023

The Pleasant perspective: Where travelers are headed in 2024

What this ski season brings: Big upgrades, hidden resorts

How one cruise line is catering to the solo-travel trend

What our annual survey says about today's travel advisors

The latest on family travel: The evolution of kids clubs

Will there be a recession in travel?

A wish list for Disney’s $60 billion parks plan

Airline update: The Big Three and the LCCs -- plus the loyalty debate

West Maui is reopen after fires, but should travelers go?

Carnival Corp.'s big quarter, and what it tells us about cruise

Diving in to a deep trend: Resorts' waterpark upgrades

Morocco and travel: How a tour company handles a crisis

The summer's biggest stories, and what's next for travel

The popularity of movie and TV tourism

Why some travel agencies charge fees | Summer travel series

Embracing farm life during a resort stay | Summer travel series

AmaWaterways’ Black heritage cruise | Summer travel series

Pickleball's popularity in travel | Summer travel series

What to expect from Disney and Universal | Summer travel series

Why is demand for travel still so strong? | Summer travel series

How Riverside Cruises got its start | Summer travel series

How bleisure changed hotels | Summer travel series

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