The Five People You Meet

Just like Eddie in “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom, I met five people at Travel Trade’s recent 21st Annual Leisure Travel Conference and Winter CRUISE-A-THON and the preceding NACTA meeting who “changed my path forever.” Like Albom’s characters these people were both loved ones and distant strangers. I’d like to tell you about each of them and their messages. Maybe they’ll change your path too.

The first is Joel Abels, Chief Extraordinaire of Travel Trade. His message this year was that we all must “connect for success.” Of course, C-A-T provided ample opportunities for doing that. There were suppliers, exhibitors, speakers, agency owners and agents who were all eager to share their ideas and latest changes.

Perhaps the greatest connection of all was with Joel himself. Despite feeling under the weather, he showed up to give a keynote address at the NACTA meeting and was ever-present for C-A-T functions. His faith in the home based segment of travel sales has never wavered. Because he believes so strongly in this business model, I will stay the course. His belief makes it crystal clear to me that the travel industry will continue to change to support us.

Every supplier talked about working on finding ways to connect with us. Because Joel believes in us, I’m going to devote lots of my time this year in making sure they all know where my agency and its affiliated independent contractors (ICs) can be reached. I’ve actually added a goal to my business plan that states: “Send my IC E-mail list to every supplier whether they hold one or 100 bookings. Each of you could take time to do that, too. By the end of 2005, not a single supplier should wonder how to find us!

Besides being one of the five people I met at C-A-T, Joanie Ogg is sure to be one of the five I meet in heaven. And, trust me, it’s not because either of us are angels! It’s just because she’s already been a tremendous influence on my life. We’ve known each other a long time and this encounter, like most or our others, has changed my path. You see, she had a BlackBerry. She used it to stay in personal contact with her family. She could get E-mail and phone calls on it. I want one. I figure it will be the ultimate connection. No more carrying my laptop. No more worrying about whether my family can reach me. It was a little late to add it to my wish list for Christmas so I’ll have to earn it. Still, it changes my communication path.

One of the speakers at the NACTA meeting was José Barreiro from Spanish Heritage Tours. Friends, I’ve had my head buried in the sand of beaches and cruises. I haven’t thought about Spain and Portugal as destinations in my whole travel career. Mr. Barreiro was so enthusiastic and so descriptive about the majesty of his countries, I could hardly wait to go. I wrote myself a note to book our next anniversary trip there.

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