“It Hit Us Like a Thief in The Night!”
As we get through another week of the second lockdown in Victoria, I have been speaking with our YTM Sponsor, Jen Watson, from Helloworld, Bentleigh. You may recall Jen spoke at YTM event back in March, the beginning of all the restrictions, on “How To Survive the Business Journey”.
I thought I’d share some of her latest newsletter, so you can read how they are managing the current situation. We learn so much when we access the experience and knowledge of other business owners and can be motivated and inspired by their approach and learnings.
So … what has been happening ?
Helloworld has been keeping in contact and supporting their clients as best they can-
“ … We are continuing to work through our client files in departure date order, so if you had travel planned for this calendar year, we are already looking at how this will impact you.
Note – whilst it is obvious that it will happen, some suppliers have not yet formally “suspended” their operations beyond end of August or September, so in those cases we will be recommending a “sit tight” approach in order to give us the best chance of negotiating a good outcome for you.”
Great example for all of us on how to stay positive and in contact with existing clients.
In Jen’s talk back in March, she spoke about her team and how integral hey are to her business. Here she introduces us to “Deb” one of the team and learn about her business journey and the the knowledge and experience her clients can tap into-
“This week Debbie Trewavis shares some of her travel memories; her view of this awful time and what she is thinking about to get her through until we can get back to some sort of "normality".
Deb is the Manager of our Monbulk office and has been with us since the inception of this business. She has so much expertise and a real passion for travel, which makes her one of the best travel consultants I know, but even more – she is a great leader and mentor in our team and the professionalism that she brings to our business is immeasurable. Here’s her thoughts:
Notice how Deb’s story helps us to connect with her.
Deb writes:
“I have always said that planning a holiday and that feeling of anticipation is almost as exciting of the trip itself. For me there is nothing like deciding on a destination and then spending the next few months trawling through brochures, selecting hotels and tours, devouring guidebooks, and online blogs, researching the best places to eat and discovering all the things you want to see & do.
· You take pride in bringing home made lunches to work and skipping that take away coffee just to save some extra dollars for the holiday. I have even been known to take a stroll through google street view and walk the streets of cities and places that I plan to visit.
· You talk with friends and family about your anticipated trip, maybe they have been there themselves and the excitement on hearing about their experiences, has you feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve. The anticipation grows steadily and excitingly until departure comes. With boarding passes in hand and fond farewells at the airport the holiday begins.
Then along came Covid-19 ……”
Deb’s honest sharing is something we as business owners can all relate too as the year we had planned is tossed upside down. She writes:
“It hit us like a thief in the night, the anticipation of a holiday in 2020 was abruptly taken from us.
The very essence of the travelling life has been cast adrift, there is no imminent departures, no travel plans to be made and now all we have are memories of past holidays.
Whilst we adjust to these strange days with walks in the park, jigsaw puzzles and reading books, cooking and meditation and the odd afternoon nap, it is no replacement for the sniff of jet fuel in the nostrils.
My travel career started over 30 years ago, Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Paul Keating treasurer and Australia was in deep recession. I was extremely fortunate to land a job as a trainee Travel Consultant and started out stamping brochures, booking interstate bus and train trips, handwriting tickets and picking up the telephone to book a flight - yes travel back then was vastly different to what we see today.
It was the golden years of travel, where we would send postcards home to stay in touch, take photos on film, and then worry they would be wiped by nuclear powered airport scanners.
Travellers cheques were the preferred currency and we would call home using a phone card, punching in 57 carefully sequenced numbers only to be told “your call cannot be connected”.
It was also the age of travel when planning a trip was based upon recommendations and Lonely Planet guides, we connected with locals and other travellers, asking for advice and often directions.
During the past 30 years in the travel industry I have worked through some difficult times,
the Pilot strike of the 90’s,
Ansett collapse, 9/11,
SARS,
Bird Flu, Swine Flu and the Global Financial crisis.
The arrival of Covid-19 would however have to trump them all as an unprecedented event impacting travel and the lives of so many. We could never have imagined governments shutting down international and domestic travel and closing borders almost overnight, being told to stay home and left with no choice, but to watch and wait.
For me personally its allowed me time to stop and reflect on my years of travel, it’s a time that we can allow ourselves to wander into the past and recall the people the place, the highlights and the unexpected that make a holiday such a memorable experience.
The breadth and depth of the travel memories I have amassed through the years have been amazing and I cherish them more than anything.
From my very first overseas trip to Fiji, trekking the Himalayas, sailing the Galapagos Islands, flying over the Grand Canyon, witnessing a breathtaking sunset whilst sipping sundowners on the Zambezi River and watching a sunrise over the temples of Angkor.
These memories can be revived in an instant, simply by a waft of a scent or a song that might come on the radio. The smell of Frangipani brings back memories of my first trip to Bali, clambering out of the air-conditioned taxi at our hotel, the moist heat and this amazing fragrance hit me. A Balinese woman with a beaming smile placed a lei of frangipani flowers around my neck. The heady sweet perfume wafted up on a warm breeze and now the smell of frangipani still takes me back to Bali and the memories of that perfect holiday.
The Burmese have a saying “Nothing is permanent, and everything passes”.
Travel will return, but in what form and when is still uncertain.
Whilst no one can predict when or where, we do know when the time is right, we will be back. We’ll be ready and waiting to reintroduce you to the world and once again share that excitement of planning your long awaited trip with you, hopefully anticipation is a word that will be with us all sooner rather than later.”
We share the above, because we know we all have our own memories of the past. Of our first jobs, of our businesses evolving over time and the good and the challenging. This insight is an important reminder to us all to step back and “smell the roses” - or the frangipanis, as the case may be and recognise that a supportive network, perseverance, resilience and commitment, a new normal will arrive and in the meantime we need to -
Stay Home, Stay Well & Stay Positive.
EVERYTHING PASSES!
If you would like to read more travel news from Helloworld, you can follow HERE or SUBSCRIBE to receive their newsletter right to your inbox.
At YTM, what we want for you is to stay safe, make sure that your relationships and technology are working for you, that they , along with us provide the support, knowledge and connection you need, not work against you!
By providing opportunities to access connections, personal and professional development and business, Your Time Matters, provides support, contributes to community and makes business networking conversations count.
If you would like to join the YTM business community for regular ONLINE conversations and connection, subscribe to our Event Alerts and check out what is coming up…
