How to do crisis management in travel, according to a panel of experts.
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Afar.com is a digital and print magazine that publishes travel tips, guides, news, and stories: https://www.afar.com
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Follow AFAR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfarMedia
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TravelTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:08 OK, so let's get started, even though people are just
00:12 still coming in.
00:13 But it is now 5.02.
00:15 So thank you guys again so much for joining today to my panel.
00:18 We have the most amazing panel today.
00:20 And I will introduce them in just a minute.
00:22 But a couple of housekeeping things.
00:24 Like I just said, feel free to ask a question in the Q&A box,
00:27 and I'll see what we can get to during the call.
00:29 We had a lot of questions beforehand,
00:31 but I'll be reading those and kind of monitoring them
00:33 throughout.
00:35 I did want to mention my email address.
00:36 I got several questions last week kind of rerouted to me.
00:39 So it's just-- it's annie@afar.com
00:41 if you have any questions, comments, anything at all.
00:43 We are doing these weekly for now,
00:45 so every Thursday from 12 to 1 Eastern time.
00:49 And our theme today is crisis management.
00:51 But I think another way of saying it,
00:53 which Joe Diaz, our co-founder, would definitely agree with--
00:56 he's on today--
00:57 is pivots and opportunities.
00:59 And you can't plan for a crisis of this magnitude,
01:02 but it really has amazed me how people have pivoted,
01:04 how I've had to pivot, how our company has pivoted.
01:08 And I think there is a lot of opportunity here.
01:11 And staying positive I don't think is naive.
01:13 I think it's more leadership.
01:14 But backing that up with research and stories
01:17 and anecdotes from people like the panel today
01:20 will help us as we move forward.
01:22 I've been joining a lot of calls like you guys
01:25 and hearing a lot, will restaurant workers
01:27 have masks on?
01:28 Will we have temperature checks at the airport?
01:30 And of course, none of us know.
01:31 But we will figure it out together,
01:35 and we will know more week by week.
01:37 And hearing lots of perspectives is key.
01:40 And this is an epic crisis, as we know,
01:43 a public health crisis, which we're still
01:44 surviving, a financial and economic one, emotional,
01:47 mental.
01:48 And again, I think you'll really like hearing
01:50 from our panel today.
01:51 So we have Mei Zhang, founder of Wild China, based in Berkeley.
01:57 Thank you.
01:58 Hi, everyone.
02:00 We have Barbara Buckerman, the CMO of SilverSea,
02:03 who's based in Monaco.
02:05 Hello to everyone.
02:07 We have Priscilla Alexander, the founder
02:09 of Pro Travel International, who agreed to come back and talk
02:12 to us today.
02:13 And I'm so excited.
02:14 Thank you, Priscilla, for joining us.
02:18 We have Jackie Friedman.
02:20 Yeah, president of Nexion Travel Group,
02:23 one of the largest host agencies in the US, or the world,
02:25 actually, based in Dallas.
02:28 Good morning, everyone.
02:30 And we have Danny.
02:31 Danny, I'm going to mess up your last name.
02:33 I meant to ask you yesterday.
02:34 Quayar.
02:35 Quayar.
02:36 Quayar, director of global advertising at United Airlines.
02:41 And then, of course, from afar, we
02:42 have Joe Diaz, our co-founder, and Ellen Asmodeo,
02:45 our executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
02:48 So thank you guys for joining.
02:51 So Joe, I wanted to open with you,
02:54 as an entrepreneur, business owner of a travel media
02:56 company.
02:57 How are you feeling?
02:58 What has been a forest playbook?
03:00 And what did those early conversations
03:02 that you were having look like to what they're looking like
03:05 now?
03:06 Yeah.
03:06 So first, thanks, Andy, and to the entire team.
03:10 I want to just send everyone really good wishes right now.
03:13 I know we're all going through a lot of craziness.
03:16 And I think the most important thing is that we're all healthy.
03:20 And I know a lot of folks have had
03:21 to deal with this crisis from a health perspective.
03:25 And so I just want to send out our good wishes on behalf
03:29 of all of our-- to everybody in the industry and beyond,
03:32 just hopefully they're healthy and wishing some equanimity
03:37 and balance and harmony in this time.
03:39 So thinking of all of you, and I want
03:41 to thank Annie and Michelle and Ellen for just bringing us
03:44 together in these times.
03:46 And I think A Flower Live has been such a great opportunity
03:48 to bring everybody together.
03:50 So thank you for that.
03:52 And really, just such a--
03:54 it is a really fascinating time.
03:56 We're in an industry that I think is extremely resilient.
04:00 It's passionate.
04:01 There's people that have so much purpose in this industry.
04:05 At the end of the day, we're a hospitality business.
04:08 We're so customer-centric.
04:09 And it was really incredible to see how when this happened,
04:16 in such a big way, that we didn't wait.
04:20 I think everybody just kind of rolled up their sleeves
04:22 and got to work.
04:23 And you saw what Roger Dow and the USTA was doing,
04:27 and Terry Dale at USTOA, and folks on the agency side,
04:31 like Clayton at MMGY, and a lot of our DMO partners,
04:35 and Carolyn Bacchetta at Visit California,
04:38 and even on the airline side, watching the team at United,
04:43 and what Oscar Munoz has been able to do,
04:46 and really get out ahead of this.
04:47 So we're in an amazing industry.
04:49 And I think it's one that we're going
04:52 to be able to push through.
04:53 That's not to say that this is an easy time.
04:56 Somebody that I follow, a man by the name of Howard Marks,
05:02 had a quote that said, "Experience
05:03 is what you got when you didn't get what you wanted."
05:06 And so congratulations, everybody.
05:08 We've got a lot more experience now under our belt,
05:11 because I assume none of us really wanted this.
05:14 And no one knows when this is going to end.
05:18 Market signals are totally out of whack.
05:20 I think further illustrating the uncertainty,
05:22 you got oil at all-time lows, unemployment at all-time highs.
05:28 You got equities shooting up and down in conjunction
05:32 with haven assets like gold and treasury.
05:34 So everyone's rushing to different things,
05:37 and no one really knows where this is going to really
05:42 net out in the short term.
05:44 We, afar, we launched in a crisis.
05:48 We launched in 2008, 2009.
05:51 We started hiring our first employees a week
05:54 after Lehman Brothers collapsed.
05:58 And this is not that.
06:01 There is not, I don't think, a real playbook for this.
06:05 I think what this really focused us to do
06:09 was, once we got past the Laura Redman, our digital editor,
06:14 oversees all our digital content last week,
06:16 talked a little bit about the six stages of grief.
06:19 I think once we got through the denial and the anger
06:23 and the bargaining and the depression,
06:25 and hopefully now an acceptance, we're
06:28 trying to find meaning in all of this.
06:30 And so the faster we could get to that, what does this mean,
06:34 was really, I think, important for us.
06:36 And pardon the woo-woo on this, but it
06:40 allowed us to really get back down
06:42 to our core of who we were, taking a really deep look
06:46 at who we are, our values, why we exist, our purpose, what
06:52 we have, so the assets at our disposal, and what can we do.
06:56 What do we have the power to do in this time
06:58 when so many things feel like they're happening to us?
07:01 And how can we behave and react in this time?
07:06 So our guiding force in this was these two things.
07:12 And you've heard this before, probably, Stockdale paradox.
07:16 So it's this idea of conviction and faith
07:19 that we are going to get through this.
07:21 We will get through this.
07:23 But combining it with this discipline
07:25 of really confronting the most brutal facts of our reality.
07:29 And the reality is pretty darn brutal.
07:33 And so that's what we really, at first, really tried to do.
07:37 And at the end of the day, we are travelers.
07:40 That's what Afar focuses on.
07:42 We're curious about the world.
07:43 We're open-minded.
07:46 We're global citizens who yearn to connect with each other.
07:50 And we're hopeful about the world
07:51 and want to see it in all of its beautiful colors.
07:55 So we got to really think about that's who we are.
07:59 And our purpose, why do we exist?
08:02 We believe travel is a force for good.
08:05 And we believe that the more people
08:08 who travel in an open-minded, curious way,
08:12 the better the world will be.
08:14 And that's powerful.
08:17 That's been a powerful mantra for our team
08:19 since we launched over 11 years ago.
08:22 And our assets.
08:23 I mean, we've got a lot of these folks that are even--
08:28 we all have great teams that we depend on,
08:31 that are passionate and accountable
08:34 and collaborative and entrepreneurial.
08:36 Those are a lot of the words that we use at Afar
08:38 as we think about the values of our team, who are
08:41 willing to go the extra mile.
08:42 And this has not been easy on our team.
08:44 And I know it hasn't been easy on all of our teams.
08:49 And we've had to make some hard decisions.
08:51 And one of the things we did is we
08:53 made some hard decisions early on,
08:55 knowing that this was going to be bad.
08:58 And so we asked our teams not to get into the details.
09:01 But we've asked our teams to sacrifice along with us
09:05 so that we wouldn't have to let any of our team go.
09:07 We've been fortunate in that.
09:09 That doesn't mean they've taken a hit financially.
09:12 We all have.
09:14 And because we believe in the mission and the power of travel,
09:17 I think that's really been helpful for us.
09:19 We've got amazing partners that we're in constant contact with.
09:25 And we've got great relationships.
09:27 And so we love working with our partners.
09:29 We love the brands that they are building.
09:32 And so that's an asset for us.
09:34 Our audience, the world's best travelers,
09:36 these are folks that are out in the world
09:38 traveling more than anybody.
09:40 That's an asset.
09:41 And then our ability to execute.
09:43 I think we've been really, really good at executing.
09:45 And so those are some of the assets that we have.
09:48 And then I just look, we think about our behaviors.
09:51 And what we did early on was we really
09:54 emphasized moving off of our numbers
09:57 and trying to focus on our clients' numbers.
10:00 What's going to happen to them?
10:01 How can we be of service to them?
10:03 Where can we be helpful?
10:04 And we went out and we connected with and engaged
10:07 with our community, our clients, our colleagues.
10:10 We're putting our fingers on the pulse.
10:12 And that's why I love this industry.
10:14 All of us are doing this.
10:15 We're not the only ones doing this.
10:17 We're all reaching out.
10:18 We're all trying to understand how everyone else is doing.
10:22 And I think one of the things that we also thought through
10:25 was we don't have all the answers.
10:28 We do not know what's going to happen.
10:30 But we tried to be as, I think, transparent and open
10:33 with our team as possible.
10:35 We're all in a very vulnerable position right now.
10:40 And I think it's important to be able to share
10:43 that vulnerability with our teams and each other
10:46 as we're going through this because no one has--
10:49 especially in our industries, we're in travel
10:51 and we're in media, two of the worst to be hit by this.
10:54 No one's going to come out unscathed.
10:57 But that gave us the opportunity to really think ahead
11:01 about who do we want to be when we get out of this?
11:05 Who do we want to become?
11:06 How can we retool?
11:08 So I'm just kind of giving you, Annie, a lot of the mindset
11:13 that came through and that we thought a lot about.
11:16 And it's really helped guide our behaviors.
11:19 And I think something, a key word you just said,
11:21 transparency, that was really important for all of us,
11:25 I know.
11:25 And something else you just said when
11:27 I was talking to Priscilla before this,
11:29 she said something that stuck with me, which was focus on--
11:32 not on the when, because we don't know the date,
11:34 but focus on the what.
11:36 And what are we doing now?
11:37 And that actually leads me into my next--
11:40 thank you, Joe, first of all.
11:42 But it leads me really well into my next question for May,
11:45 who the founder of Wild China, because of course,
11:48 China is a few months ahead of us.
11:51 And talking about transparency, I
11:53 thought it was fascinating when you told me that in China,
11:56 it is very expensive to fire people
11:59 and that you had to make decisions early on.
12:02 So I'd love to just--
12:04 for you to talk about that and then also your playbook
12:07 as you're looking forward, because you're
12:08 doing some amazing things with education and training.
12:12 Thank you.
12:12 Thank you.
12:13 Thanks, Joe.
12:14 That was really reflecting the mindset of where we all are.
12:18 And thanks to the amazing of our team
12:21 for having me, more than happy to share.
12:23 Because two months ago, when China was in freefall,
12:28 the whole industry came to our rescue.
12:31 And particularly, I want to shout out,
12:33 I think, Jean-Paul from Geographic Expeditions,
12:35 Zachary from Journey Mexico, and Karen from Seesaw.
12:39 They came to us in a room like this,
12:42 sharing with people in the industry in China
12:45 on what do you do when you are in the crisis freefall mode.
12:49 So we're really all in this together.
12:50 We're a very global community.
12:53 As far as China goes, I think we are just a little bit ahead
12:57 of the curve.
12:59 And I would say we are right now probably
13:03 in the third phase of this crisis, which sounds like--
13:08 it only happened two months ago.
13:10 How can we already be in the third phase?
13:12 But this whole thing goes by so fast.
13:16 I would say the first phase was--
13:18 for me, it was end of January and early in February.
13:22 We were fully, fully in the crisis management mode, which
13:25 is where I think we are a little bit, this room, right now.
13:30 And it felt like you just had an accident.
13:33 There was a trauma.
13:34 And you had to immediately stop bleeding.
13:37 And this is what you were referring to, Annie, right?
13:39 So immediately, we formed a crisis management team.
13:43 Stop the bleeding.
13:44 Two factors, very, very important
13:46 to stabilize at that time.
13:50 One is the client side.
13:52 You have to calm the clients down and say,
13:55 we're going to be OK.
13:56 We're going to be OK.
13:57 And try not to refund as much as they would like you to.
14:03 And defer.
14:04 Put the refundment-- put the money as much as possible
14:07 in the business, because cash is your blood flow.
14:10 If you drain out of cash, we're not here
14:12 talking about anything anymore.
14:14 So that's one side.
14:15 But the other side--
14:16 and to do that, you train all your staff
14:18 to do that, because you don't personally
14:20 have the capability to call up all the clients anymore.
14:23 The other side is the staff.
14:24 Once the client is stabilized, the staff
14:26 are going to be wondering, now, what
14:28 are you going to do with me?
14:30 And that is the most, most critical time,
14:33 because staff, for a lot of us--
14:35 I mean, besides the cruise lines and hotels--
14:37 my business, while China is in more like trip design,
14:41 trip planning, it's a high-end sort of China travel firm,
14:45 corporate events--
14:46 we don't have any assets.
14:47 People.
14:48 That's all we have.
14:49 So you need to keep these assets being transparent and open,
14:53 and communicate with them, and say, what are we going to do?
14:56 This is the financial situation.
14:58 And how much do we all take the bullet, a pay cut,
15:02 a cross-board?
15:03 We achieved those early on with 100% of employee agreement
15:08 to do that.
15:09 That's the rule, right?
15:09 You said that's the--
15:10 That is the rule in China.
15:12 Yeah.
15:13 And any layoff that you've been considering,
15:15 we are actually in the opposite position.
15:17 We couldn't execute the layoff, because the cost of layoff
15:23 in China is multiple years of their service times
15:28 their monthly salary.
15:29 So it's a big cash outflow.
15:30 We actually couldn't do that.
15:32 So we decided to keep everybody on board and move ahead.
15:36 So we did a lot of that in crisis management sharing.
15:38 That was the first phase.
15:40 Then second phase, that's when you change into a growth
15:44 mindset to engage and say, OK, blood has stopped.
15:49 And now I'm on the hospital bed.
15:51 How do I recover?
15:53 So a lot of webinars, a lot of Zoom calls like this,
15:57 and also engage your community, your staff,
16:01 on various projects, moving them forward.
16:04 The community outreach was more for broadening their learning.
16:08 I don't think-- Annie, should I pause here
16:10 so that we can go through the crisis management part?
16:14 Sure, yeah.
16:14 And then I can come back to the later phases later on probably.
16:17 Yeah, that would be great.
16:18 And actually, that's-- Barbara and Danny, I talked to you both.
16:21 I mean, you guys are in two of the hardest hit industries,
16:25 right, airlines and cruises.
16:28 And of course, there's a lot of social media fury.
16:31 And oh, they're just getting bailouts and things like that.
16:34 So I did want to talk about your recovery phases,
16:38 because you each are doing phases, as May is,
16:41 and talk about how we can support you moving forward.
16:45 But Barbara, do you want to start?
16:47 Sure.
16:49 Well, for us, the phase one--
16:51 and thanks, May, for your contribution.
16:53 It was really, really interesting.
16:55 For us, the first problem was getting passengers back home.
16:58 And very honestly, the response from governments
17:01 has been hit and miss.
17:03 Some governments have been incredibly
17:06 generous in taking all nationalities
17:09 and just getting people home.
17:11 Others have not.
17:12 And this has been our first focus
17:14 for the first couple of weeks, because since we voluntarily
17:19 decided to stop all ships, you still
17:21 have ships in pretty wild places and still
17:24 need to get people home.
17:26 And of course, we rely on airlines.
17:28 I mean, airlines are our blood flow.
17:31 And as Daniel will be able to say,
17:34 the fact that they had to stop as well
17:36 has made this repatriation much more difficult.
17:39 So we've been very fortunate.
17:41 Being a small luxury cruise line,
17:43 it was easier for us to repatriate people.
17:48 We ended up hiring something like 25 private jets
17:52 to get people home.
17:54 It was very expensive, but it was fast.
17:57 And we got everybody home in a reasonable time.
18:02 So this was phase one for us.
18:04 Phase two right now is mostly about being top of mind.
18:08 I mean, I've been shocked at seeing
18:12 brands in a lot of industries trying to sell, hard sell.
18:16 And what I think most brands don't understand
18:19 is that every single country is in a different moment
18:22 in time.
18:23 I mean, here in Europe, the situation is bad.
18:26 I've lost a friend to the virus.
18:29 I have another two friends who are at home, very, very sick,
18:32 waiting to get into the hospital.
18:34 So I'm thinking, if a brand were to try to hard sell to me
18:37 right now, I couldn't appreciate that.
18:40 I'm not in that mindset.
18:42 While there are some other countries that, luckily,
18:44 are less affected.
18:45 And I think we all have to be mindful that we are not
18:48 talking to one customer or one stakeholder right now.
18:52 Everybody's in a different stage of this.
18:54 And we need to be amazingly respectful for that.
18:57 So as a brand, I think we need to be top of mind, for sure,
19:02 but with the content that has to be right.
19:05 It cannot be tone deaf.
19:07 And it needs to allow them to escape,
19:09 which is one of the great things about our industry.
19:12 I mean, we are so fortunate because we
19:15 sell one of the most amazing products in the world.
19:18 And at the end of the day, we allow
19:20 people to collect memories.
19:22 And people will want to keep collecting memories.
19:25 So I think that just reminding them
19:28 about the amazing things of travel,
19:30 what Joe was talking about, is part of the role
19:34 that we have in the world right now.
19:36 Absolutely.
19:36 And I think, I mean, you just hit on personalization,
19:39 which, of course, as an industry, we've
19:41 been talking about for the past few years
19:43 how important it is to personalize.
19:44 And it's even more important to personalize now, right?
19:47 Because we're all having these different experiences
19:49 depending on who you know or who might be at risk
19:52 or if you just want to travel again, right?
19:54 And you don't have any fear at all.
19:55 So I think there is these levels.
19:59 And you, I mean, you, Barbara, too,
20:00 you mentioned because of Monaco handling it,
20:04 you didn't have to let anyone go either, right?
20:06 Well, we were very lucky because most of our staff is in Europe.
20:10 And Europe has come out with amazing laws
20:13 regarding furloughs.
20:15 Particularly Monaco, the principality
20:17 is a very rich country.
20:19 And so has allowed us to be flexible with the workforce.
20:23 So we furloughed everybody at different percentages.
20:27 And this allowed the team to stay together,
20:30 keep contributing, and still the business
20:33 to survive because this is the second time in history
20:38 that ships are laid up, to my knowledge.
20:41 Last time I laid up a ship was during September 11.
20:44 And we all remember how brutal that was.
20:47 And I think before that was actually World War II.
20:50 And the same goes for airlines.
20:52 I mean, this is unprecedented.
20:54 And there's no way that without help and support
20:57 from governments, companies, asset
21:00 incentive with a lot of business, such as cruise lines
21:04 and airlines can't survive.
21:06 So we are not getting any bailouts.
21:08 But the local unemployment laws have
21:11 been very, very helpful in supporting the teams.
21:15 Yeah, and that's great.
21:17 Of course, it adds to people's perspectives, too,
21:19 if they're taken care of while furloughed or not.
21:22 Danny, the last flight I took was a United flight.
21:24 And I got the little Star Wars thing.
21:27 I upgraded myself.
21:29 You do some amazing advertising campaigns, really fun stuff.
21:33 And I wanted to talk to you about where your head is at.
21:36 I mean, again, are you still in phase one?
21:38 Are you looking at phase two?
21:40 Where are you right now?
21:41 It's really amusing to hear all of us talking about phases
21:45 because I know we're all doing it.
21:46 I actually was in a--
21:48 I'll call it a debate versus an argument
21:50 last night at like 1130 with a co-worker
21:52 about whether we need to add a phase four
21:54 or whether it should be phase 2A and B.
21:57 It's like, OK, we're going--
21:59 our heads are too much in this right now.
22:01 Yeah, it's not black and white.
22:03 I'm to just do the work and shut up
22:05 because no one knows beyond phase one what
22:06 the hell is going to happen.
22:08 Yeah.
22:09 But I think-- I mean, you mentioned the bailout.
22:11 And I'll start there and happy to address it.
22:14 And yes, we heard from everybody on social media.
22:16 People are more than happy to tell us what they think
22:19 on social channels.
22:21 And yeah, I think--
22:22 look, and thank you, Barbara, for saying it.
22:25 The good news is in a lot of cases,
22:27 we are considered an essential service.
22:30 And we have-- if we're going to be flying people around,
22:34 which whether it's government officials, health care workers,
22:39 a lot of employees are putting themselves at risk.
22:42 And so to kind of buy that time--
22:44 and let's be honest, the bailout for the airlines in the US
22:47 is just about buying time.
22:48 It's not like it's going to solve everything.
22:50 It's kind of kicking the can down the road to October.
22:53 But while we figure that out and to be
22:55 able to keep 100,000 people, in our case, alone,
22:59 employed is a really helpful thing that we appreciate.
23:02 And I think it's all kind of in a way that we kind of pay
23:05 it forward and pay that back, whether it's the cargo flights
23:09 that we're doing, carrying supplies all around the world.
23:13 We're doing free tickets for medical personnel
23:15 to New York and California.
23:18 Barbara mentioned repatriation.
23:19 We're doing a lot of that to the US.
23:22 And we actually did a charter of 200 Australian citizens
23:26 from the Holland America cruise line from Florida
23:29 the other day and took them home.
23:31 And then kind of using the opportunity of the bailout
23:36 to do things like mileage plus extensions for elite status,
23:39 and kind of all those things are things we obviously wouldn't
23:42 be able to afford otherwise.
23:43 So we're really happy to be able to do all of that right now
23:47 while we figure out kind of phase two, which is, yes,
23:52 it's kind of when is it OK to talk.
23:54 I don't think people want to really hear about--
23:57 people want to dream about travel right now.
23:59 But to the point that was made, no one
24:01 wants to hear the hard sell right now.
24:02 And I couldn't agree with that more.
24:05 And we're just trying to figure out what the right time
24:09 and the right tone is right now.
24:10 You had mentioned some of the campaigns that we've done.
24:13 And thank you for that.
24:15 United, no secret to the 531 people on the line right now,
24:22 our kind of brand perception has been more of a corporate,
24:27 only caring about business travelers, stodgy brand
24:30 that we've been really working to change
24:33 for the last couple of years.
24:34 And whether it's Spider-Man, Star Wars,
24:36 or a lot of the other stuff that we've
24:38 done over the last couple of years,
24:39 really trying to open up the aperture of who we're talking
24:42 to, how we're talking to them, really realizing that whether
24:47 it's a $200 ticket to go see grandma in Florida
24:51 or a $10,000 Polaris ticket to Shanghai,
24:54 everybody in the plane's important.
24:56 And it's a really good opportunity for us
25:00 to really reinforce that right now.
25:02 And as we come out of this, really bring in the humanity
25:06 and bring the brand to life in a more emotional, human way.
25:11 Talk about what we did a little bit
25:13 without beating our chest too much,
25:15 but then really transitioning onto all of those things.
25:18 And I'd mentioned to you yesterday,
25:19 we were in a really lucky position with our name.
25:22 I love that.
25:23 Our name is so perfect for right now.
25:27 And none of the other airlines that I can think of really
25:29 have that going for them.
25:30 So you've already seen our social team
25:33 is doing a lot of really good work with #unitedtogether
25:36 and our United badge that we're doing.
25:40 And yeah, we're going to continue leaning into that.
25:43 Why not?
25:43 It's perfect.
25:44 I love it.
25:45 I love that emphasis.
25:46 In a terrible way, obviously.
25:48 I love that emphasis on fun and just talking to humans.
25:51 I think that so often that's missed.
25:54 But let me shift a little bit to the agency side.
25:57 I mean, I have two powerhouses on here.
26:00 And Jackie, I'll start with you.
26:02 I mean, you have 5,000 ICs?
26:05 Is that right?
26:05 We do.
26:06 I mean, how do you communicate with people
26:09 whose livelihood is travel and people aren't booking right now?
26:14 What was kind of your playbook in all of this
26:17 at the beginning and now?
26:19 Yeah, I mean, thanks, first of all, for having me.
26:23 Our advisors are all independent professionals.
26:27 Many work from home.
26:29 And they're scared.
26:30 They are spending a lot of time working with their clients,
26:36 managing cancellations and rebooking.
26:39 And the important thing is to make sure
26:43 that they have the information, to make sure
26:45 that they have the encouragement,
26:46 and to make sure that we keep reinforcing with them
26:51 the value that they're providing for their customers.
26:54 Because even though it might seem frustrating at this point
26:58 in terms of the cancellations and the lost revenue,
27:01 it is an investment in the future relationship
27:04 with that customer.
27:06 Because the fact that they're spending all these hours,
27:09 they're keeping their customers' best interests at heart.
27:12 So we need to keep reminding them of that.
27:14 And we do it in a number of ways.
27:16 Because with advisors all over North America,
27:20 there's no one way that works.
27:22 So we have monthly town halls.
27:24 We have biweekly chime-in chats, where
27:28 we do calls just like this.
27:30 We have a webinar series that we set up
27:33 called From Chaos to Control.
27:36 And it really is dealing with how to deal with this chaos,
27:40 but more importantly, how to start turning
27:43 your focus on recovery.
27:45 Because we find our role is to provide them
27:50 with the resources and encouragement to do just that.
27:53 Not to hard sell, because no one really wants that right now,
27:57 but to connect and to have those conversations
28:01 with their customers.
28:02 They're at home.
28:03 They have time.
28:05 So by encouraging them to do that,
28:09 by providing them with the tools and resources,
28:13 we also have done sessions for them
28:16 to make sure they understand how to take advantage
28:19 of some of the opportunities for them.
28:23 We're very closely aligned with ASTA.
28:26 ASTA has done Yeoman's work on behalf of all travel advisors.
28:31 And you're-- sorry, I just want to mention,
28:33 you're on the board there, right?
28:34 So you're doing--
28:35 Yes.
28:35 You really know what's happening at ASTA.
28:37 And someone mentioned this in the chat as well.
28:39 Don't forget ASTA.
28:40 They're doing incredible work.
28:41 We really can't forget ASTA.
28:44 And so we want to make sure that our advisors know
28:48 how to take advantage of those opportunities,
28:50 and also to do some advocacy right now,
28:53 because those funds have dried up,
28:56 and we need more.
28:57 So it's really a lot of things.
29:00 There's no one thing.
29:01 But to be encouraging and to really help them
29:07 look at the long-term interest and appreciate
29:12 what they're doing right now might feel frustrating,
29:14 and it might feel like they're on a treadmill peddling
29:17 backwards.
29:18 But those relationships that they're solidifying
29:22 will absolutely help in the long run.
29:25 Yeah, and I did.
29:26 I did want to mention one thing, because when we talked,
29:27 it also stood out to me.
29:28 And I don't want to--
29:30 I'm going to make sure we get to it on the call.
29:32 You did mention something that I hadn't thought about,
29:34 which is that people have more time, some people,
29:37 and how you've been surprised that--
29:40 or maybe not surprised, but you've seen that people
29:42 are actually interested in being a travel advisor, right?
29:45 Is that-- can you talk a little bit about that?
29:47 You know, we have programs to bring new advisors
29:51 into the industry.
29:53 And we're not seeing a huge downturn in the number of folks
29:56 that are interested.
29:58 First of all, folks are at home.
30:00 This is a business that they can run from home.
30:02 Folks have a little bit more downtime in some cases.
30:05 So now is a great time for them to train.
30:08 They may have lost jobs in other industries
30:11 and may have always been dreaming
30:13 about being a travel advisor.
30:15 And they understand that this business will come back.
30:18 There will be pent-up demand.
30:20 So why not take the time now to get trained
30:24 so that when it does come back, they'll
30:26 be well-positioned to be there for their clients?
30:30 So we have new agent classes.
30:33 They are filling up.
30:35 And these new folks to the industry
30:37 are very optimistic, which is something we love to see.
30:40 Yeah, well, that's great.
30:41 And they haven't been through this,
30:42 so they have the optimism.
30:43 They have.
30:44 Yeah.
30:45 It can only go up from here.
30:46 Yeah, exactly.
30:48 Priscilla, Priscilla, when we talked,
30:51 you had talked about how you can either
30:54 be an elephant who takes really slow amount of time
30:57 to turn around or a really fast meerkat
30:59 in these kind of opportunities.
31:01 And I know that it's just a funny analogy,
31:03 but you've been through so much.
31:05 You've been through so many crises and led them.
31:08 And I would love to just ask you your learnings
31:10 from past crises and what your advice would
31:13 be to people right now.
31:17 Thank you.
31:17 And I also want to say that I'm happy to be here
31:20 so I can say hello to a lot of people
31:22 I haven't seen in a long time.
31:24 Although I'm aware of what you're all doing.
31:27 I'm an armchair observer, though.
31:30 I haven't said that.
31:31 And I'm not dying to jump in, but that's OK.
31:35 Yes, there are things to be learned,
31:39 but I think more important things to understand
31:42 if you're in this business.
31:44 And Jackie, I kind of agree with the number of things you said.
31:50 Speaking on the side of the retail seller, many of those
31:54 are small, independent people.
31:57 They have their full life invested
32:00 in a small company or a larger company,
32:03 but have a model that's interesting.
32:05 And the one thing you have to know--
32:08 and please tell the new people who
32:09 want to become travel advisors.
32:12 They have to understand this.
32:15 No matter what happens of any calamitous event,
32:18 the travel industry is affected.
32:21 You just can't get away from it.
32:23 I don't care if it's an economic downturn.
32:27 That's bad enough.
32:29 What about all the man-made calamities
32:32 that we've had to adjust to which affected our business?
32:36 Terror attacks, war.
32:38 We never walked away clean from those things.
32:41 Not to mention natural catastrophes, hurricanes,
32:46 volcanoes even.
32:47 Volcanoes we had to adjust to.
32:51 Illnesses, catastrophic illnesses
32:54 that affected entire continents, and not to mention epidemics,
32:58 no less pandemic.
33:01 And the travel industry always gets slammed,
33:04 but the retail agency has another part.
33:09 At the whimsy of those--
33:11 and I use the word whimsy, ironically,
33:15 all due respect to some of the panelists as well.
33:18 When the airlines or the cruise lines
33:21 affect our whole pricing model, we have to adjust to that.
33:26 So we never walk away not affected by the world at large
33:32 as retail sellers of travel.
33:37 I think that they're far more resilient than people imagine,
33:41 but I think this event bears no resemblance to other ones.
33:47 This is quite almost biblical in its size
33:53 and how far it's going to go and what the effects are.
33:57 So I think I hear under everybody's speech the fact
34:02 that they are aware of this.
34:05 I also am terribly concerned that, in a sense,
34:10 as national people or international people,
34:13 we've lost our voice.
34:15 We can't.
34:17 We don't have people in front of the White House with signs.
34:20 We don't have people who can get together and make marches
34:24 and make their voices heard.
34:26 We're isolated from our ability in many, many big events
34:32 or ones that are going to affect our life,
34:34 perhaps, forever to be able, as a group, to speak.
34:38 That's another thing that we have been taken away from.
34:45 And our voices become very singular,
34:47 and singular voices are very difficult to make any real shake
34:51 or noise or change to.
34:54 I think, though, that I've seen some interesting things.
34:58 I've seen people start to reevaluate
35:01 what is their company.
35:03 And maybe even looking at, listening to Jackie
35:06 about that model that you've built up
35:08 so effectively over the years,
35:12 maybe that model has to be relooked at.
35:16 Maybe that model of how these people,
35:19 thinking they can survive all independently that way,
35:22 have to step back and have to think more about the future.
35:27 There is no model that doesn't have a shelf life.
35:31 And I think it's times like this that make people sit back
35:38 and look at their business and what they're doing
35:41 and thinking, because it's going to happen again.
35:43 Something else is going to happen, I promise you.
35:45 Something always comes and whacks us
35:47 in the back of our head and wakes us.
35:50 So, I mean, you don't have to jump in the East River
35:53 each time, as we did at the beginning when things happened.
35:59 But I think it behooves everybody, first of all,
36:04 adjusting to what's going on.
36:05 Those who are nibbling at the edges,
36:08 I don't think will survive.
36:10 I think you have to take very, very bold steps right now.
36:15 And I think along with very bold steps,
36:18 you have to think about how you structured your business.
36:22 Are you in the part of the business for,
36:25 as a singular person or as a group person,
36:28 what are my other alternatives so I can stay in this industry
36:32 that I have invested time and I do love?
36:36 Yeah.
36:36 Just some thoughts.
36:38 No, Priscilla, thank you so much.
36:39 I mean, all of that is so true.
36:41 And Joe mentioned that when we talked this week.
36:45 Like, this is such a crisis.
36:48 And you mentioned that you were even a little excited by that,
36:52 right?
36:53 And that's what Priscilla was saying, that not everything
36:55 has a shelf life, whether it's completely gone or not.
36:58 It's shifting.
37:00 And how are we--
37:01 I don't say I was excited.
37:05 I would have rather gone home.
37:06 Yeah, and I don't think Joe and you weren't excited either.
37:10 But these things happen.
37:11 And if you look at some when the airlines years ago,
37:15 that was the most calamitous thing,
37:17 pulled the commissions away from all people
37:19 that were selling the retail.
37:21 That was enough to really put you right over the top.
37:25 When you just signed a 10-year lease on the building,
37:27 you have new equipment coming in.
37:30 And what did you do about it?
37:32 For me, it was a turning point of how
37:34 I changed what I was selling.
37:37 And I didn't listen to all the sages saying,
37:40 don't sell air anymore.
37:42 Get out of the air business.
37:43 Did not.
37:44 When there was the time of cutbacks
37:47 where people had to be let go--
37:50 I don't know how long you've been doing this, Jackie,
37:52 and selling this.
37:54 But you remember there was a time
37:55 that there were only a handful of people who
37:58 knew the word independent contractor, which
38:01 is now the buzzword of the industry
38:04 and putting people there.
38:05 There were very few people who had independent contractors
38:09 in just one or two cities in the entire country.
38:12 That's when I got into that business.
38:15 And I do think it had a snowballing effect about how
38:19 you restructure how you have people working in a company.
38:23 But they came out of bad things happening.
38:27 And how do you re-change your business?
38:29 Yeah.
38:30 Well, like you said, something else will happen again.
38:32 But I do hope this kind of level is once in a lifetime
38:35 or once in 100 years.
38:37 And maybe the bullet is that we can no longer
38:40 eat Wheaties for breakfast.
38:42 It might be an easy one.
38:45 Yeah.
38:46 Thank you, Priscilla.
38:48 May, if I could loop back to you a little bit,
38:50 talking about what you're working on now,
38:53 your training, and also what you learned coming out of SARS.
38:56 I read this great article about how
38:59 you had to shift your business and what you were surprised
39:02 about during that pandemic.
39:04 Yeah.
39:06 Thank you.
39:06 I learned so much from the co-panelists.
39:09 Priscilla, that was wisdom that you just spoke
39:13 about how to deal with a crisis.
39:18 This is our 20th year.
39:19 I never thought I'd be celebrating 20th year
39:23 in this mode.
39:25 So having gone through this, the phase two and three
39:31 that I was referring to earlier, phase two
39:34 is exactly the growth mindset.
39:37 Since now we know we're going to be in this for a little while,
39:41 what do we do?
39:43 And I love that documentary of Sir Shackleton
39:48 being stuck on ice in Antarctica.
39:52 And he kept his crew busy, just shuffling things
39:55 from left to right, just to stay busy.
39:58 I mean, in our business, fortunately, there
40:00 are piles of things that we haven't done--
40:03 risk management, procedures, sustainability policies,
40:09 various back office things.
40:11 This is a great time to have project teams.
40:14 Now, one thing important is the nimbleness of the team.
40:19 Reconfiguring a team quickly, pulling people
40:22 from various departments to focus on these projects
40:25 is a great way to prepare the business for future.
40:30 And when we reached out to clients,
40:33 everyone here agrees it's too early to sell the product.
40:38 No one's in the mood to hear you.
40:40 So use the time to build the knowledge.
40:43 So we launched-- the whole month of March,
40:46 we talked about archaeology in China.
40:48 Whole month of April, we talk about architecture,
40:51 traditional architecture, modern architecture.
40:54 We invited speakers, scholars from communities.
40:58 All of these knowledge-building online Zoom classes
41:04 are incredible ways to connect the community.
41:06 If we can't travel, we bring the world to you.
41:10 And then we use the time to build our supplier base.
41:15 We haven't had time to regroup with the guides for years.
41:19 Now we train them 10 sessions at a time.
41:23 I mean, one a week.
41:24 You talk about storytelling, risk management, customer
41:29 service mindset, all of that.
41:31 So that forms your growth mindset.
41:34 Then when you're feeling like you're OK,
41:36 we are now in the third phase.
41:38 It's called preparing to reopen.
41:41 So here's the good news.
41:42 You do see light at the end of the tunnel,
41:45 even though I don't know how long the tunnel is going to be.
41:49 But this is when you can really start
41:52 thinking about what's the marketing message we get out.
41:55 We continue to actually invest in new projects now,
42:00 the various projects that we wanted to build.
42:03 And now we're getting ready to start Zoom classes.
42:08 That's client-facing for booking or agent-facing.
42:11 And also what Priscilla said, thinking
42:14 about our business model.
42:15 Are we right to put everybody in the office that's
42:18 very expensive in Beijing?
42:20 Or do we disperse and let people work from home?
42:23 Maybe adopt some of Jackie's model, ICs.
42:27 It's a great time.
42:28 Coming out of SARS, we learned to diversify the business.
42:32 Coming out of this one, what are the strategic--
42:35 like you said very well, how to restructure the business.
42:40 Maybe the model, we've reached a shelf life.
42:42 What is the next life?
42:43 Perfect time to think about it.
42:45 Don't have an answer.
42:46 Yeah.
42:47 But I think it's very good that we have this time to think.
42:51 Absolutely.
42:52 I mean, the gift of hindsight will help us in a year.
42:54 We'll all know more about what we all learned.
42:58 But I did want to go back to Barbara and Danny, too,
43:01 because I'm getting a lot of questions on the Q&A
43:03 about the fear of safety.
43:07 And will people be fearful?
43:10 And what sort of measures will be put in place,
43:14 like post-9/11, and if they'll last a certain amount of time
43:17 or forever?
43:21 How are you guys thinking about that, Barbara?
43:23 And also, again, the negative cruise press, which, again,
43:28 I don't agree with.
43:28 But how do we fight that sentiment in the industry?
43:32 Because cruising is so big for so many advisors and travelers.
43:36 Sure.
43:37 Well, travel will change.
43:39 There's no doubt about it.
43:41 I mean, the same way that after September 11,
43:44 the way we were going to airports changed,
43:48 COVID-19 will change the way we go get to planes,
43:52 get to cruise lines.
43:54 I mean, I think that most of the negative press
43:58 that the cruise line has had is due to the fact of the
44:01 perception that people see people stuck on ships.
44:06 But in reality, ships and airlines, by the way,
44:09 are much better controlled than, for example,
44:11 hotel lobbies, buses, or other types of transportation.
44:17 It is a case of nature that in a pandemic, if people are close,
44:23 and the closer they are, the higher the risk of spreading.
44:27 This does not mean that cruise lines or airlines
44:30 are by themselves dangerous.
44:32 It's how you manage it.
44:34 I think that nobody will question,
44:38 I think, at the level of trustworthy brands
44:42 like Silversea or United, nobody will really question
44:45 the procedures we'll put in place.
44:47 And from a cruise line perspective,
44:51 I mean, the industry has hired a very large number
44:55 of incredible scientists to try to understand
44:58 what is the best balance.
45:00 So I don't think that the procedures of making sure
45:04 people are safe are going to be the issue,
45:06 but it's really going to be how we counteract,
45:09 from a communication perspective,
45:11 to the horrible images that have haunted our newspapers
45:15 for more than a month.
45:17 I mean, I personally think that the rescue will come from afar,
45:21 from other magazines and press, because the only way
45:24 to counter that is through air and media,
45:27 and showing the reality of cruising
45:29 that has another beautiful life to it,
45:32 of people traveling safely around the world.
45:35 And in this case, I think luxury cruising
45:38 will be at a huge advantage, because we have small ships,
45:42 our tickets are expensive, which means we can afford
45:47 to actually do a lot to make sure the safety
45:52 and security of the crew,
45:54 and also allowing social distancing
45:56 because by definition, there's a lot of space
45:59 on a small luxury ship.
46:01 And this is why I am optimistic, honestly, on the rebound,
46:06 but I think that how we frame the communication
46:08 is going to be fundamental.
46:10 I think it's, personally, I was a little scared
46:13 of seeing some communications
46:15 with a lot of medical procedures,
46:17 because that's not the kind of message we want to send out.
46:20 I mean, you're a trustworthy brand,
46:22 and the customers will trust us in doing everything
46:27 that is available and state of the art.
46:29 And the customers know that we will only resume sailing
46:33 the moment it is safe to do so.
46:35 And as you said, we don't know when it is.
46:37 - Yeah, no, that's a good point.
46:39 Again, no one wants to go on vacation,
46:41 but have to be in a hazmat suit, right?
46:43 Or to have to have these like certain regulations in place.
46:47 They'd rather stay home.
46:50 I had a question too.
46:51 What do you think of kind of these screening tests
46:54 that airlines are starting, Emirates started?
46:57 You don't know, I'm sure,
46:58 but how are you guys preparing on the safety side?
47:03 - Yeah, I'll back into it a little bit to the answer,
47:07 and May put it perfectly, actually.
47:10 During this downtime, I think we should all be
47:12 kind of taking the moment to kind of rethink everything.
47:16 And my boss, actually,
47:17 I was talking to him about phase two yesterday,
47:21 and he said something very jarring.
47:22 He was like, well, if we're gonna have to basically
47:24 build the airline up from the ground again,
47:27 we might as well do all the things
47:28 that we'd always wanted to do.
47:29 And I mean, that was kind of like,
47:30 oh, are we really building up from the ground again?
47:33 But I guess we are.
47:34 You know, so, and for us,
47:37 a lot of those things are gonna be
47:39 in the procedural cleaning space.
47:41 And that's, I think, how,
47:43 that's gonna be our biggest task
47:44 to make people feel comfortable and safe
47:47 in the airline industry about coming back.
47:49 And, you know, that's everything from,
47:51 you know, as you walk into the airport,
47:54 you know, what have we done to the kiosk
47:55 that hundreds of people have touched before you?
47:57 You know, I guess-- - That was always gross,
47:59 by the way. (laughs)
48:02 - Security, and then in the gate areas,
48:03 what are we doing?
48:04 And then obviously on board.
48:05 And, you know, I think it's gonna be
48:07 the really kind of nice kind of communication
48:13 of all of that to people, you know,
48:15 and making sure it's easy to understand
48:17 and just no questions unanswered
48:20 and just really, really constant communication
48:23 on what we're doing to get people comfortable.
48:25 And, you know, we've talked about everything,
48:27 you know, are we gonna have to start putting alcohol wipes
48:29 in every seat moving forward?
48:30 You know, because we can say we're cleaning,
48:32 but people still, we know people
48:34 would rather do it themselves.
48:34 They still don't, you know,
48:35 the trust factor is gonna take a long time to get there.
48:38 So there are an insane amount of people
48:41 at United right now, I know, working on,
48:43 you know, what the steps are gonna be
48:44 on what aircraft and when and from what markets
48:47 and, you know, all of that stuff.
48:49 So that's, you know, a big part
48:51 of what you'll see from us as our phase two.
48:54 There were, you know, some people are already talking
48:57 about what they're doing.
48:58 Again, I don't think it's the right time.
48:59 I don't think people are terribly interested right now.
49:02 - Yeah.
49:03 - But the second, you know, we see an uptick
49:07 and the kind of relaxing of quarantine and all that,
49:10 that's when we're gonna come out with all of that.
49:12 - Yeah, and we're probably looking at Google searches
49:13 and things like that to see where people's heads are at.
49:17 I can't believe we only have a little bit of time left.
49:19 So I did wanna go around to the group and ask a question,
49:23 starting with Joe, about kind of,
49:27 whether it's the role of content
49:28 or what we're learning now, communicating virtually,
49:32 you know, that will help us operate in a post COVID
49:36 or with COVID world.
49:39 You know, for instance, we do communicate globally.
49:41 All of us would never get together in this manner, right?
49:43 Before this.
49:44 So what are some things that we might take with us,
49:47 you know, content personally, business wise, moving forward?
49:53 - Well, I mean, like I think the panels have been saying,
49:58 I mean, things will change, right?
50:00 So, and the longer this goes on,
50:02 the more permanent those changes will be.
50:05 And, you know, once again, it's been amazing to see
50:10 just everybody step up in their own individual ways
50:13 and use May's term, just get busy.
50:18 And so to just see the innovation and the effort
50:22 that's coming out of this industry,
50:24 and even watching, you know, our editor in chief,
50:27 Julia Cosgrove, is doing a variety show,
50:31 you know, every Friday on Instagram,
50:33 which is first time, sorry,
50:36 Rosalie, our head of social at a bar,
50:37 but first time I've been on Instagram in a long time.
50:40 You know, so it's bringing people back
50:44 and it's allowing them to really get out of this day to day
50:48 and think about ways to innovate and keep it interesting.
50:53 So, you know, what's gonna happen in the future?
50:56 I mean, you know, we'll probably end up,
50:58 people starting to feel more comfortable
50:59 doing virtual calls and video conferencing.
51:02 And so you're gonna see more of that.
51:04 I think, you know, on the content side,
51:07 we just have to meet people where they're at.
51:10 One of our first editors who helped us work on the blueprint
51:14 said, "Joe, you gotta help people walk through a front door
51:18 "that they feel comfortable with,
51:20 "so that you can take them out a side door
51:21 "that just completely blows their mind."
51:24 And so I think we just have to be,
51:26 and this goes to the point of hard selling,
51:28 very cognizant of what people's front doors look like
51:32 in right now and today.
51:34 And so, you know, we're trying to do things
51:36 that admit that, you know, we are in a crisis
51:39 and show, you know, Michelle Barron on our team
51:42 has been leading the charge on our COVID content.
51:46 Do it in a fair and balanced way
51:49 that isn't sensational and provides a whole picture.
51:52 And I think, you know, people really appreciate
51:54 seeing what's going on as it really is.
51:57 And you'll see more of that,
51:59 that ability to give people a fair and balanced,
52:03 non-sensational view of the world.
52:06 And to help them see it as it is in all of its real colors.
52:09 And I think there'll be more appreciation of that.
52:12 - And Joe, I love, love, love that front door analogy
52:15 and I had forgotten that.
52:16 And that's so true for this.
52:18 Thank you.
52:20 I did, someone in the Q&A, I have so many questions,
52:23 but just please share with presenters
52:25 that my clients want to travel,
52:26 they're very optimistic and need a trip
52:28 in the hopper to look forward to.
52:29 So she says she's adding trips
52:31 and no complete cancellations.
52:33 So Jackie, what's something that you'll kind of take
52:36 with you after this?
52:38 Oh, sorry, you're muted.
52:41 - One of the things that I've seen through all of this
52:48 is just the importance of community.
52:51 You know, our business is made up of individuals
52:54 that are spread all over the country,
52:56 many of whom work from home.
52:58 And they've learned new ways to connect with each other,
53:03 to support each other, to lift each other up.
53:07 And I've seen a lot of that going on.
53:10 I think they will take some of these platforms
53:14 and when things are back up and running,
53:17 which they will be, and when folks are traveling again,
53:20 they're going to continue, you know,
53:22 with that sense of community.
53:24 And we will continue to do everything possible
53:27 to encourage them to do that.
53:29 But collaboration and not competition,
53:32 whether it's advisor to advisor, advisor to supplier,
53:37 we have seen this community like we have never seen before.
53:40 And that part is really heartwarming
53:43 and I hope we never lose that part.
53:45 - I love that.
53:46 And the collaboration I've seen a lot
53:47 within the travel industry.
53:49 We're better to get better together.
53:51 And actually, unfortunately,
53:53 I wanted to ask all the panelists,
53:54 but I did want to give Ellen a chance to talk too,
53:56 'cause you have such a umbrella perspective as well
53:59 to close us out.
54:00 So thank you guys for joining us,
54:01 but I'll let Ellen close us.
54:04 - Thank you, Annie.
54:06 You know, Annie and I and the team at AFAR
54:09 have been really grateful to have everyone join us each week.
54:13 This has grown from 30 people to over 500
54:17 and we're very excited to continue to communicate.
54:20 And I do, you know, echo a lot of the thoughts
54:23 that are here today, including, you know,
54:25 what collaboration I've never seen, you know,
54:28 in a time like this, everyone,
54:30 the playing field is leveled
54:32 and everyone needs to help each other.
54:33 And this is part of that.
54:35 And hearing from each of you has been extremely rewarding.
54:38 When I look at what the side panel is, I mean, it's just,
54:42 I hear over and over that this is the best hour
54:44 of everyone's week.
54:45 So what does that tell you that we need to,
54:47 the human connection is really valuable now.
54:50 I love what Barbara said also about just everyone's
54:52 in a different place.
54:54 And so you have to be respectful of that.
54:56 And the, you know, the door opening that Joe just mentioned,
54:59 but also just, you know,
55:01 having this empathetic approach to what you're doing.
55:03 I hope that that continues because that's something
55:07 at AFAR that we truly believe in is being empathetic
55:11 and being inspiring,
55:13 but also being transparent and informative.
55:15 So these are the things that I took away from today too.
55:19 And I do know, and I forget who said it,
55:22 that we need to stay top of mind
55:25 and we need to create the dream and the escape
55:28 because we will be doing this again.
55:30 We just, we don't know what's possible right now.
55:33 We can only control what's in front of us.
55:35 So, you know, I do know that dreams
55:38 are what tomorrow is made of.
55:40 So let's not forget that continuing to dream
55:43 and remaining optimistic and positive about our future
55:46 is what we have in front of us.
55:48 So I thank you all.
55:49 And I really do appreciate this panel.
55:51 It's been such a pleasure to create this with Annie
55:55 and see the success every week.
55:57 But I-
55:58 - No, the only thing is,
55:59 I just wish I could talk to each panelist for an hour.
56:02 - I know, I was thinking everyone seems to book an hour,
56:05 but it's their favorite hour.
56:06 Do we make it an hour and 15?
56:07 - That'll be too long.
56:09 It's like we're staying too long at the party.
56:10 I don't know, you gotta leave.
56:12 - No, I agree with that.
56:14 But, you know, I think that we are in this together
56:17 as a lot of you said,
56:18 and it will be very interesting to see what happens,
56:21 how we travel the world.
56:22 And next week, we're gonna focus on international,
56:25 more international voices,
56:27 because again, going back to the fact
56:28 that everyone's living in a place
56:30 that it's affected them differently,
56:31 like May said, you know, this is phase three for them
56:34 and we're in phase two.
56:35 And every week is something changing rapidly.
56:38 And who knows, we cannot predict what next week will bring
56:41 because it's not in our control.
56:43 But what is in our control is the attitude,
56:46 the positive forward thinking,
56:48 the again, making the dreams part of what we are
56:51 looking forward to in the future.
56:53 And so next week, same time, Thursday at noon, Eastern time,
56:57 we will focus on more international voices
56:59 and we have a great focus for the following week,
57:03 which I'll share next week.
57:05 So thank you all.
57:06 I won't say it, don't worry, Annie.
57:09 - Thank you guys again, Joe, Danny, Jackie,
57:13 Barbara, May and Priscilla and Ellen, of course.
57:15 Thank you guys and yeah, keep in touch.
57:19 - Thank you. - Thank you everyone.
57:20 - Bye. - Bye.
57:21 (upbeat music)
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