61. Insider Look: Travel Partner Trainings with Classic Vacations, Xcaret, and Switzerland Tourism

Are you ready to discover the travel secrets that could elevate your next vacation? In this episode, I’m giving you an exclusive peek into the behind-the-scenes world of the 3 travel supplier partner trainings I recently attended in Houston, Texas. Tune in to find out what these trainings are all about and how I’ll be using them to inspire and craft unforgettable getaways for myself and my clients.

Mentioned in this episode:
Switzerland Travel & Tourism
Classic Vacations
Xcaret

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Hello there, jetsetters, and welcome back to another episode of jetsetting with me. Happy summer. Can you guys believe it's already June and we're halfway through 2024? For some reason, I'm still stuck thinking it's March. I don't know. I don't know how that happened. A special shout out this week to Girl Scout troop 1446 in Austin, Texas. They are leaving soon for their trip to Club Med Cancun, which they self financed through their cookie sales, which I did my best to help them all with my purchase of peanut butter patties and Thin Mints. So ladies, have an excellent time.

On this latest episode of Jetsetting With Me, I am going to take you behind the scenes of 3 exciting travel supplier partner trainings that I did this week. That is a mouthful. Travel supplier partner trainings. Okay. Just to back it up a moment, a travel supplier would be someone that I, as a travel adviser, help you purchase travel from. Simple example would be the Walt Disney World Travel Company. Other suppliers that you might not have heard of would be some of the ones I'm gonna talk about in just a second. They are actually usually called the vendors.

But way back when when I was in the wedding industry, and I love me some Mindy Weiss. Anybody who knows Mindy or follows her on social knows she is one of the world's finest creative geniuses, a leader in the event industry, and a very nice person. And she said that we should not talk about vendors as if they are our vendors, that they are our partners in the event industry. So I refer to travel suppliers as my supplier partners. That was my squirrel moment, in case you missed it. So I had lunch with Classic Vacations, dinner with Escare, and lunch the next day with Switzerland tourism. And we are going to talk about how these firsthand experiences shape the travel experiences that I curate for my clients, and they highlight my, quote, always be learning, quote, motto. So my colleague, Liz, and I traveled all the way from Austin to Houston.

For those of you not in the know, that's about a 3 hour drive, to make the most of a full 2 days worth of learning because these supplier partners were going to Houston, but they were not going to be in Austin. And in between, Molly Rogers, the Molly Rogers, the lead fashion designer for and just like that is going to be on it. So to say that I'm in a little bit of a panic about what to wear would be an understatement. Now before I go any further and I share all the nuggets, all the menus from the meals, and the fun that I had with Liz, my colleague, I have a personal favor to ask. I am especially proud of the episodes of jet setting with me these past 2 to 3 weeks. I think I'm finally starting to find my groove with this new brand. I'm finally talking the way I would write, AKA my inner Carrie Bradshaw is coming out, but I really need your help. If you were out there listening to me right now, I would love it if you would click the follow button.

So that little plus turns into a check mark. Download each episode and listen. Okay. So if I can't get you to listen to all 15 to 20 minutes of me talking, you can at least press play and fast forward all the way through so that Apple Podcasts and Spotify think you listened. And if you are so inclined to leave me a review on Apple Podcasts, that would be awesome. It really does help others find the podcast. And the embarrassing truth is that despite the fact that I have not missed a single week since starting my very first episode over a year and a half ago, which is beyond what I thought I was gonna be able to do. I really thought I was gonna be in this for 3 months, and then it was gonna be too much.

So I'm really proud of myself, but the fact remains that not very many people are listening. And I would really love to feel like more people are interested in what I have to say other than, you know, my family and closest friends. So if you're out there listening, again, follow, download, listen. And if you're so inclined to leave that review on Apple Podcasts, well, then I will just love you even more and maybe give you a shout out on a future episode. Now, back to my trainings. So first, we had lunch by Classic Vacations, and they partnered up with Palladium Resorts, which is a resort that are in the Caribbean and Mexico. And I was excited to attend this training because the leadership team of Classic Vacations is leadership that I have worked with in the past when they were with a previous supplier partner. I know them well.

We're friends on social media. Marilyn Cairo, who's the vice president of sales of Classic Vacations, is one of the best mentors in this industry, and she's a phenomenal speaker. And any of you who know me and know me from when I went to engage know that I'm the conference snob, and listening to fabulous people speak that I can learn from is just always a treat. So I was super excited to get to see these friends of mine and their new positions with classic vacations, and it was primarily about groups. So, again, very exciting because I am looking forward to doing a group in 2025 with some special BTS, which is really similar to what I put together for this year's Sex and the City cruise. Only, it is going to be a land based vacation in 2025, probably over the summer again. I was especially excited because this training was also going to focus on groups. And similar to what I put together this year with the Greek Island Glow and the Saxon City with some creatives who talk about and love the Saxon and City and the end just like that canon and have special behind the scenes knowledge that they're gonna share with all of us sailors on that trip, which by the time you hear this, I will be on that trip, but I'm recording it the week before we go.

I am looking forward to doing a land based group with Classic Vacations for 2025. And I'll give you a hint, all the Harry Potter that I've been talking about might come into play, just maybe. And so I learned all about putting together these vacations with Classic and how to do a group with them. They say that they know because they go. They have on the ground vacation experts in every city and country, and they vet their resorts that they partner with, and they do partner with some of the best. I mentioned Playdium, but they also partner with Four Seasons. Just amazing. The Miliya Resorts.

But I just have to say that they started in Hawaii. That was where they started. It was classic Hawaii, and then they became classic vacations later. And they are doing a specialized training this October that is going to take place in Hawaii. So classic vacations, Marilyn, Francisco, if you're out there, I've already submitted my application for e 3. Okay. I did promise to give you a little menu insights. That was at a restaurant called Whiskey Cake, of which I had never heard of, but I did find out we have one in the suburbs of Austin.

I got the it was like a chicken cheese melt. It was a sandwich on sourdough bread and French fries. I really ordered it because we had a select menu that we could order from. It was the only thing on that menu that came with fries, and it was lunch. And everything else was a little heavier than what I wanted, and it came with fries. It also came with ketchup that had, little chili pepper flakes in it. And I didn't realize that until after I dipped my french fry in it and took a huge bite, only to proceed to be coughing the rest of the lunch. I had to get mayonnaise to undo the taste of the chili flakes.

This is a funny story because it will come into play again. Anyway, and then their house specialty of whiskey cake for dessert, which was dreamy. Sorry, no pictures. I was busy taking pictures of the slides, so no food pictures, and no pictures of me coughing up my lung because of the chili flakes. Next, we went and checked into our hotel, which was the Westin Galleria. And thankfully, our room was ready. I was able to dump my stuff and immediately went to go shopping. Thank you, Nordstrom and my fabulous salesperson, Nicole.

If you're ever in Houston, she works on Tuesdays, women's lingerie. She was the bomb. That night, we went to a Mexican restaurant to meet with I'm gonna say it ex carat because it's spelled x c a r e t, but the company pronounces that x as a c. So it's cicaret, like a cenote. And I thought they were just hotels. So I was interested in going Liz, my colleague, had And, again, I thought And again, I thought they were just hotels, and I learned that they are oh, so much more. And I am so excited to sell them to you and talk about the experiences that they offer. They actually started with what I would call theme parks, but what they call adventure parks or just really experience parks, and there are 8 of them.

And now they have 3 hotels, which they call all inclusive fun because they're all inclusive resorts, but they also include they can go to any of the 8 different experiences. Actually, they just started a catamaran, which is another one, a 9th different experience. They have another one that they call which is like excitement and adventure on steroids. So there's 8 on my little flyer, but there's a few more. And the timing for this with saccara Saqqara. It's not French. It's Mexico. Hard tea.

Saqqara. I'm trying. Was incredible timing because I mentioned the Girl Scout troop that is on their way to Club Maine Cancun. Well, they also wanna visit Chachichen Itza and see the archeological ruins in Mexico as well as swimming in cenote? And Oh my god. I think I did it. Has a couple of different options that could work for them. They have one of their parks that's called a cenote, where you can visit all the different kinds of cenotes that exist, accompanied by a guide. You can repel, zip line, kayak, and swim in each of the cenotes.

It includes beverages, fruits, sweet bread, no alcoholic beverages, picnic lunch in a jungle setting, and then it's small groups for a much more comfortable experience. But they also have Sichan by Sikebeth, and this is where they take a group and they always provide transportation from Hotel Row in Cancun over to Chichen Itza, and they provide bottled water, sodas, and a little snack on the air conditioned bus, which has 2 bathrooms, by the way, one for men and one for women. And you women who prefer the bear, you know how important that is that we have our own restroom on the bus. Like, that's just next level luxury. They, at this time, with their Chichen Itza excursion, it has a light breakfast, as I said, and all those nonalcoholic beverages on board. You get to see Chichen Itza with a radio guide system with headphones, and then you get to tour Telotad town, which is a beautiful Mexican town. It's got great street vendors, great street shopping, bring your USD cash. Some of these vendors will not take your credit cards, and just a really fun way to spend an hour in a non Cancun touristy hotel zone type of town.

And then, of course, you also get to visit a cenote and swim in the cenote. And finally, when you're in the town, you get a buffet lunch of Yucatan specialties. So it's not like Tex Mex. It's like real interior Mexican food with unlimited house beverages. So really cool experience that these girl scouts are gonna get to do, because I learned about it in the absolute perfect time for them to go. So it's very cool. Now another park that Escare has is their first park, which is Escare by Mexico, and it is an adventure park. They also have one which has the Xplorer, and that really is an X by Esquarett, which is the most visited zipline park in the world.

They have Xplore at night, which has a lava river to swim or paddle and has a barbecue buffet. I mentioned the cenotes, but the one that I want to do the next time I am in Cancun, which will be in November, is called Xochimilco. And I think it just sounds like a love letter to Mexico. So it's like a floating dinner theater, and everyone has a boat. It would be perfect for, like, a galpow or a bachelorette party or even a rehearsal dinner. So if you are a small group, you can get your own boat. They do also do buyouts. But if you're a party of 1 or 2, you can go with just a party of 1 or 2.

And every boat has their own mariachi or type of Mexican band. And, of course, while you're floating, you're eating dinner, and they also do have the mega baritas. And then all the boats come together, and there's, like, this contest to see who can be the loudest. So all the different types of bands, we learned there's 3 different types of Mariachi bands. They all come together and they try and outdo each other. And it just sounds like so fun, and I cannot wait to experience that when I am there. And I'm sure the food is just phenomenal because one of them is right by one of these luxury resorts by Siqueret. And these restaurants are guided by a Michelin star awarded chef.

So I have no doubt that the food at Exo Milco for the dinner Mexican Fiesta. Now that night, being that we were learning about Mexico, we had some awesome fajitas. We did also have we could get Palomas or frozen or on the rocks margaritas. Michele had her diet coke. And I did actually post a picture because in addition to the fact that Liz and I were together, I saw some other friends, some fellow colleagues, some fellow travel allies. We've got a cute little picture. So my special thanks to Carla for allowing me to join and learn all about Sicare, and I cannot wait to work with you again. Now the real reason for the trip was the very next day, I had been invited to come to a full learning experience.

It was 10 to 2 by tourism Switzerland, Swiss tourism, however you wanna refer to it. Switzerland has 4 national languages, Italian, French, German, and one that I couldn't even begin to pronounce that means, like, mountain language and is, like, the local to the outer regions of Switzerland. So they actually go by tourism to Switzerland because of the French way, but I call it Swiss tourism. And there is so much for me to tell you about that it will be its own podcast. So I know if you've been listening, you may have heard me talk about the gig trip for some people who are going to see Taylor Swift in concert there. It came up a lot actually during the training because the town of Zurich is already sold out during the 2 days of the Taylor era's tour that will be there. And so I had done this very basic. I even said that on the podcast how basic it was.

And oh my gosh. I'm overwhelmed. I learned so much information, and so I'm just gonna give you a few tidbits, But then some of these amazing Swiss experts that I met are gonna come on, and we're all gonna do a podcast together. It's gonna be well worth it because I'm getting a professional yodeler on here, you know, like, yodelay. Oh. Okay. More on that in a second. I just have to say that Canadians are famous for being so polite and so nice, and they are.

That is the thing. But every single person I met there, I just I fell in love with each one more than the next. The Swiss people are so amazing. So it was set up like speed dating. There were 14 different experts who represented their own. Some of them were their own municipalities. Some of them were representing hotels or transportation, but it was set up like speed dating, and they each had presentations. A couple of them, it was their first time to Texas.

So the menu for this lunch was, like, inviting these Swiss people to Texas. We had full on mac and cheese, fried chicken, barbecue, pecan pie, and cobbler for dessert with some of the best hotel catering I've ever had, like the croutons and the cornbread, amazing, and the dessert was good. So there's clearly a really good baker at the Hyatt Regency Gallery. And so it was really fun to enjoy lunch with these people from Switzerland. And despite the fact that they are famous for cheese, they all loved our mac and cheese with the crust on the top. They were fans. As I said, for some of them, it was their first time to Texas, like Alex of Schacheruch, which overlooks 6 different countries, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and the surprise one that you wouldn't guess, and I didn't know until he told me, Luxembourg. So I told him that we had driven about 3 hours from Austin to come to Houston to meet with him and all of his colleagues.

And he said, 3 hours. You can drive through all of Switzerland in 3 hours. And I told him we could drive 9 hours in Texas and still be in Texas. And I also told him, you know, he was in Houston, his first time to Texas, and he was missing the lakes and the hills, aka mountains, that he has back home in his town of Shaseruk. I have no idea if I pronounced that right or not. It's probably German and more like. Anyway And I said he should come to Austin. We have lakes, and he said mountains, and I said hills.

And I said we are called the hill country, but then he asked how high those hills were. And so, yeah, to him, they're probably like little mounds. But what a cool place of the country that overlooks 6 different countries that you can see, and I did try and yodel. You can take a yodeling class there. Yes. You can take a half day excursion and get a private yodeling class. So I, of course, had to try and be like, you mean, like, The Sound of Music? To which he said, there are different types of yodeling. There is Swiss yodeling.

There's Australian yodeling, and there is German yodeling. So who knew? Right? Multiple types of yodeling. Very cool. And so when I do a full on podcast about everything I learned about Switzerland, do not fret my friends. There will be a yodeler. I also learned, and we will talk much more about this, that there's a cheese train. Yes. I did say a cheese train that's part of the Swiss travel system.

The Swiss travel system is generated almost completely by hydroelectricity. It's very green energy efficiency. There is culinary rafting where you can take either a Swiss chocolate experience in the morning, or if you're going in the afternoon, it's a Swiss cheese experience, and that's part of the Interlaken region. And, I mean, there is so much more, so please come back when I do my full on Swiss episode. And, for now, that's it, jetsetters. I will talk to you soon.