To my industry friends and partners: Breathe easy: Travel Weekly

Jenn Lee is vice president of sales and marketing at Travel Planners International.

As I travel and connect with hundreds of travel industry partners and advisors around the country, it’s clear we certainly are a happy, joyful and appreciative group of folks. I’m amazed by what we’ve been able to accomplish with no less than herculean efforts to get the world moving again.

Social media feeds are filled with proof that the world is traveling again. The family is finally taking that cruise. Baby boomers are checking off their bucket list trips. The predictions of demand for higher-end travel have come true. Business conferences are being held and filling up.  Airports are bursting at the seams. Cruise lines have entire fleets back in the water, with sailing dates open into 2025. World cruise and long voyages have sold out in a matter of hours. My LinkedIn feed has dozens of “I’m proud to announce I have taken a position with X Travel Company” posts. And reports that hotels can’t find or hire enough staff to meet bookings is a double-edged sword but reflective of high demand.

The takeaway? We’re back, baby!

Without us even realizing it, it’s clear now that we’ve been holding our breath for two-and-a-half years. Before, with every piece of good news, there were the “other shoe just dropped” moments that shattered forward movement. Even now, I believe we’re still afraid to exhale.

Who can blame us? After all, look at what we’ve been through.

• Leaders: You have carried the weight of the future of our beloved industry for two-plus years. Outwardly you had no choice but to be a positive, supportive figure, as you knew you were responsible for the health and wellness of those in your charge. Weary and stressed-out advisors relied on their agency, host or consortia leaders to provide guidance and support so that their clients could be served, even though many of the leaders weren’t sure where the path was heading.

And there was the unspoken challenge that your family was “losing you” (mentally) as you had no choice but to use every bit of your energy to serve others. Without missing a beat, you leapt into action, used your gifts and talents and ushered your teams forward, one step every day, guiding with empathy and determination.

Admiration and appreciation runs deep for each of you — we couldn’t have made it with you!

• Advisors: I’m not sure anyone in your lives can fathom what it must have felt like as you navigated clients through the menagerie of choices, disappointments and confusion.

More industry voices
• Helen Coiro: Cruise lines must stay the course on Covid rules
• Frank Belzer: What Google analytics can’t tell you
• Nicky Fitzgerald: Our business is all about partnerships. Really.

Those clients turned to you to fill in the gaps of the unknown, justify the unjustifiable and answer questions that no one knew the answer to. The endless hold times you endured, only to be connected with well-meaning (and exhausted) call center reps who couldn’t keep up with the rules and exceptions, relying on technology that wasn’t adequate or designed to support the ever-changing information being released. You did this all without being paid and in some cases with commissions being recalled — money you knew you had earned was just being sucked out of your bank accounts.

You are all total rockstars!

• BDMs and national account managers: The travel industry is a relationship business, and you were hired for your ability to build strong relationships face to face and strategize ways to build the business together with travel advisors. The loss of your co-workers — your teammates — and call center reps left you no choice but to fill in the customer service and coverage gaps, solving problems and interpreting rules that no one could keep up with. You became a miracle worker, protecting relationships you had built for years and serving your employers well.

So many of you did superbly — and you’re shining bright these days!

• TMCs: I can only imagine how it must have felt receiving email after email, phone call after phone call extending the “no travel” periods imposed by your client companies. Decades of work managing relationships, fine-tuning requests for proposals to win the business and then, poof, it’s all gone, without your permission or ability to do anything quickly enough to make a difference.

We see you, and you’re coming back!

• Those rejoining us: We know it’s been tough watching from the sidelines, frustrated that there wasn’t more you could do to help while holding out for the call to put you back in the game. We’ve certainly missed you, though we were often very jealous that your forced sabbaticals at least gave you precious and incredibly gratifying months with your families. You shared your beautiful stories, often acknowledging that you were aware that those working were also losing time with their families.

Be aware of all this, and as you return, be kind, supportive and most of all, thank them!

I share all this to say: We’ve proven that we can accomplish anything when we band together. We appear to be on the other side of this mess and are so much stronger for it.

It’s OK, friends. You can exhale now.

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