Travel With Meaning

Hello Meaningful travelers!

Welcome to this week's episode of the Travel With Meaning Podcast. Today we are joined by fellow podcaster, Comedian and TV host Mike Siegel. Mike created the Travel Tales Podcast – a lighthearted conversation highlighting the best and worst experiences that travel has to offer.

He was the host of TBS network's "TBS Movie EXTRA", and hosted numerous network shows including HGTV's "If Walls Could Talk", Fine Living networks' "What You Get For the Money", "GSN Live" on the Game Show Network, and "The Next GAC Star" on GAC.

"I realized I never tire of meeting people from around the world, and hearing stories from those who had been to wherever I hadn't. "

-Mike Siegel

Hello Meaningful Travelers!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of the Travel With Meaning Podcast! Today we speak with the Founder and CEO of Portico Travel, Jacqueline Hampton.

Portico helps you save, plan, organize, and share amazing adventures. Get ready to be inspired and have some fun, even before you depart.

Tune in to today's podcast to find out what travel means to Jacqueline Hampton and to hear some amazing travel stories. "I'm always up for a trip anywhere, whether it's a place I've been many times or a new adventure. I enjoy tucking down side streets to see real life, and one of my favorite ways to experience a place is through its food. The more I travel, the more I value both the similarities and differences in people around the world."

-Jacqueline Hampton

Enjoy!

Hello Meaningful Travelers!

In this episode we speak with Ryan Hitzel. Ryan is the Founder and Creative Director of The Roark Revival, a brand that follows a wayward adventurer named Roark around the globe making apparel and trinkets inspired by the travels. Previous to Roark, Ryan was an Associate Creative Director on Volkswagen at Deutsch Advertising in Los Angeles. He resides with his family in Laguna Beach, Ca.

"I grew up travelling a ton, and as an artist I'd do my best to document it through photography, painting and writing – often shows or books. It led me to 5 years working for Volcom in the Art Department in the early 2000's and then as a Creative Director in Advertising prior to starting Roark. Around 2010, the surf and outdoor industries bored me. They were formulaic and sterile, too big. It seemed to me that they had lost their way. I saw a lack of storytelling and the types of adventures I enjoyed off the beaten path. There was little care about moments that enriched ones development and excitement to learn about other cultures. I thought I could apply the things I loved to a brand that did more than just make clothes and get tubed. It seemed like an opportunity to literally tie the stories to the product and create something that wasn't a surf, skate or outdoor brand. A brand that was focused on the lifestyle of adventurism. Roark was born."

Listen to the amazing and inspiring travel stories that Ryan has to share in this episode of the Travel With Meaning Podcast. Hope you enjoy this one!

Welcome to the Travel With Meaning Podcast Season 4! A very special guest, Beth Santos, the founder and CEO of Wanderful joins us on this episode of TWM™. Wanderful is a global lifestyle brand and inclusive community of thousands of travelers and travel content creators. Wanderful reaches over 45,000 women each year through a thriving online membership network, local chapter events in 50 cities, global summits and small group trips. In 2014, Wanderful launched the WITS Travel Creator + Brand Summit, a leading event for women and gender diverse travel creators and industry hosted on two continents each year listed by Forbes as one of the top inspiring events for women to attend. Wanderful is also the creator of the annual Bessie Awards to honor women of impact in travel, as well as the first major outdoor festival for women travelers, Wanderfest. Wanderful has been recognized in Business Insider, Yahoo!, The Chicago Tribune, Lonely Planet, Matador Network, and Skift, among other publications. Beth is both a Tory Burch Fellow as well as a Zell Fellow, and has been named one of 17 changemakers shaping the future of the travel industry by Business Insider, and one of 10 people shaping the future of Boston by Timeout. In 2014, she was named a top 100 travel blogger in the USA and invited to the White House under the Obama Administration. She was the co-founder of #AtTheTable, a national movement to support female founders. Today, Beth is an acclaimed thought leader, consultant for travel brands and destination marketing organizations, and keynote speaker who has collaborated with organizations such as Tripadvisor, the Girl Scouts of the USA, and the Travel & Adventure Show. She is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management and Wellesley College, and lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters.

Described by Downbeat Magazine as "an exquisite singer-songwriter", Joanna's music conveys a beauty of a many-coloured sort that speaks to straight to the human condition. Her songs reveal personal truths about love, loss, adventure, home and hope. World Music Report described it as "quintessential heart-music by a vocalist who seems to have connected with the deepest recesses of her being emerging into brightness again with songs of haunting beauty."

Joanna is a master in the art of live vocal looping and as a multi-instrumentalist plays baritone ukulele, piano, flute, Indian shruti box, kalimba and melodica. Her music defies genre classification as she effortlessly imbues her songs with nuances of jazz, classical, art-song, and folk, carrying her "clear-eyed poetry" (Boston Globe) and "striking vocals" (Hothouse). Her songwriting extends beyond just lyrics and melody - Joanna also arranges for ensembles including string quartets, winds, a cappella voices and more.

Joanna's career has taken her around the globe. She first studied to be a painter at Central Saint Martins, London. This led her to Paris, where she sang on the bridges of the Seine with the "Rene Miller Wedding Band". Following this formative time she did a masters in jazz at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2012 she moved to New York City where she forged an indelible musical path, appearing and collaborating with musicians including Dan Tepfer, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Werner, Sam Newsome, Lee Konitz, to name a few. She released her debut album, Wild Swan, in 2011, featuring Joe Martin, Sam Newsome, Rob Garcia and Art Hirahara. In 2015 she signed with Sunnyside Records who released The Origin of Adjustable Things, an intimate duo project with pianist Dan Tepfer. As a follow up to this success she recorded Gardens In My Mind, her third album of self-penned songs and arrangements, featuring the award winning string ensemble The Sacconi Quartet, and Dan Tepfer on piano. In 2018 she self-released her fourth record, Blood and Bone, which London Jazz said, "overflowed with creativity and musical resources." 2019 marks the release of her fifth record entitled Far Away From Any Place Called Home.

The Great Song Cycle: An adventurer at heart, in August 2016 Joanna embarked on a solo concert tour of the West Coast of the USA, by bicycle. Over the course of 1,154 miles she performed 16 solo shows between Portland and Los Angeles carrying her instruments, camping gear, and everything else she needed upon her bike. In her inimitable way she turned this once-in-a-lifetime experience into a 60-minute song-cycle, a recorded album and a memoir. She has performed the live piece in theatres including: National Sawdust, NYC, Boston Court Performing Arts Centre, LA, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, UK, Phoenix Theatre, UK and Joe's Pub, NYC. In June, 2019 Joanna celebrates the release of her fifth album Far Away From Any Place Called Home, and her debut memoir "The Great Song Cycle; Portland to Los Angeles on Two Wheels and a Song", which is being published by Australian Publishers UWA Press.

Show Notes:

Early travel memory to a classic baseball stadium (8:51)

The curiosity that led him to the real estate industry and to Marriott Hotels (15:45)

Peter's philosophy around creating a community through travel (22:10)

Learning to travel in an RV during the pandemic (34:30)

Handling the Starwood/Marriott merger (40:26)

Struggles and successes with updating the group's Rewards Program (47:30)

What Does Travel Mean to You (54:38)

Speed Round (55:40)

Peter B. Cole; Founder, Eclectic Companies

Peter was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Yet, he didn't really appreciate the "Midwestern Nice", until he moved to the East Coast, went for a run and said good morning to everyone in Central Park, only to be looked at like a crazy person.

Peter is a lifelong hospitality veteran, whose eclectic sense of curiosity has led him to distinct leadership positions. He started his career at Marriott in the world of finance supporting the company's M&A efforts. His financial skills allowed him to experience various sides of the hospitality business from hotel development through operations to corporate office.

Peter gained a deep understanding of the luxury industry and international operations during his time as the CFO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Later, his knowledge and wealth of expertise enabled him to successfully lead the Marriott/Starwood integration as Managing Director. During this time he oversaw a wide array of activities, including hotel operations, organizational design, talent management, loyalty programs, system integration, financial management, and unit growth.

Most recently, Peter was the CEO of Design Hotels, a highly curated portfolio of independent, design-driven hotels that function as social hubs and spaces for purposeful experiences. This time helped Peter deepen his belief in the power of working through a community and of curating experiences. Under his leadership the company launched Further, a laboratory for collaborative culture, and won a Skift Innovation award for its original Virtual Retreats.

Through these experiences Peter saw an opportunity to help forward-thinking entrepreneurs capture emerging trends by leveraging his background and expertise. Consequently, he formed the Eclectic Companies.

Peter is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland. He is an avid swimmer and cyclist, and he loves to travel and explore new places. He enjoys a strong espresso, a good glass of wine or a neat pour of bourbon while listening to an eclectic collection of music.

On this episode, we reconnect with two old friends: air travel—it had been sixteen months since our last flight; and Los Cabos, Mexico—it had been twenty-five years since our last visit. We were invited by Los Cabos Tourism to take part in a FAM trip aboard the inaugural JetBlue direct LAX to San Jose del Cabo flight. There were festivities at the airport, on board and on arrival. Talk about a great way to return to air travel. This episode will give a detailed recap of the trip and experiences. It will also share some conversations with fellow travelers and locals, asking what travel means to them and what their hope is for the future of travel, post-Covid. Hope you enjoy this episode, and if you're looking for a great getaway Los Cabos has something to everyone. Conversations on this episode with: Susie Najera (15:30) https://www.visitloscabos.travel/

Fernando del Toro (15:50) https://www.cabovillasbeachresort.com/

Lindsay Myers (20:43) https://getlostwithlindsay.com/

Mark Watson (21:01) https://www.cabo-adventures.com/en/

Ubaldo Martinez (21:20) https://www.lostamarindos.mx/

Rachel Harshfield (31:01) https://www.rachelharshfieldwellness.com/

Jill Chapman (31:13) https://www.instagram.com/jillslivingwell/

Eleni Rabadan (31:26) https://www.sunsetmonalisa.com/

Jeannette Ceja is an award-winning bilingual travel journalist, television host, travel advisor, and global public speaker. Over the past ten years, she has interviewed countless celebrities, politicians, athletes, and travel experts, including Samantha Brown, Rick Steves, and Anthony Bourdain. Jeannette's travel segments have appeared on ABC7 Los Angeles, WTTW Chicago, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Mexico Travel Channel, KUSI News, and other prominent media outlets around the world. A seasoned journalist, Jeannette is known for her expertise on women's travel and the Latinx demographic. Her work encompasses luxury travel, female travel, and diversity travel. Jeannette's dedication has taken her to over 60 countries to date.

A respected and sought-after host, Jeannette has emceed the New York Travel Festival, the Changemaker Awards, Global Voice Awards, and the Impact Travel Immersion Global Conference. In 2018, Jeannette was the Official Travel Host for the World Woman Summit at the Clinton Presidential Center. The following year, she was recognized as one of the Top 20 Global Women of Excellence by U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis and the Multi-Ethnic Advisory Task Force at the 7th Annual International Women's Day Celebration.

Jeannette has been nominated multiple times for her work by the Los Angeles Business Journal at the Women's Council & Awards. She was a nominee for Best Travel Creator at The Tecla Awards - part of the 10th annual Hispanicize conference - honoring Latinx contributions to media. She has partnered with tourism boards, including Visit Pasadena as their official bilingual spokesperson for National Plan For Vacation Day.

A passionate advocate, Jeannette has spoken about the need for more diversity and inclusion in the travel industry at conferences including The Women Economic Forum- Egypt, The Women in Travel Summit, The New York Travel Festival, Tourism in Romania Conference, Impact Travel Immersion Conference, Epic Mastermind Conference, Travel Talks, the Travel Unity- Economic Development through Diversity Summit and The Women Economic Forum- Mexico City.

She is on the Board of Directors at the non-profit organization, Travel Unity. Jeannette is an active member of The National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She aims to assist and represent every traveler with a special emphasis on women, diversity, youth, and travelers with disabilities.

Jeannette can be found on Instagram @jetsetwithjeannette.

A special solo episode, quickly checking in with all of you, dear listeners, after this crazy year we've had. As we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic, I reflect on what the meaning of travel is, the things we took for granted, and how we move forward with travel in the future.

In this episode, I talk about my thoughts about the perception of travel, the concept of "revenge travel," travel versus tourism, and my five steps to traveling with meaning.

See you on the open road!

Konrad Waliszewski is the CEO & Co-Founder of Tripscout, a venture-backed travel company that has built one of the most popular travel entertainment and trip planning apps. He has visited approximately 100 countries and Forbes has called him a "modern day Marco Polo."

The Tripscout app is the #1 ranked trip planning app in the AppStore, has raised $5m of venture capital, and has built an audience of 8m+ followers on Instagram across their network of travel accounts. Tripscout has maintained a fully remote team from its conception and that team currently spans 7 countries and 4 U.S. states.

Prior to Tripscout, Konrad was the COO of Speek, where he led the raise of $6m in venture capital, operations, business development, and the acquisition by Jive Communications, now LogMeIn (NASDAQ: LOGM). He was also a consultant for several private equity firms and publicly-traded companies, helping companies with special projects – including acquisitions, restructurings, strategic plans, and new businesses unit launches. He also worked as an investment banker focused on cross-border technology M&A and venture capital for some of Silicon Valley's leading companies at GCA Savvian in San Francisco.

Konrad is a regular speaker and commentator on the future of travel, travel tech, and consumer trends. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Business Insider, Washington Post, Huffington Post, and Forbes.

Konrad's mission is to make the world a more curious, compassionate, and connected place through travel, and you can follow his adventures on Instagram at @gokonrad.