Bill Coyle has become an essential travel industry resource with over 30 years of experience leading his own brick and mortar travel agency, serving on several agent advisory boards, and advocating for travel advisors on a national level with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). His experience empowers and educates KHM Travel Group’s agents as the Vice President of Agent Engagement. As KHM Travel Group’s first-ever Limelight Award recipient for going above and beyond, Bill brings a spirited passion for travel in all his professional endeavors and continues to book travel for his longtime clients. Read the rest of this entry »

Margot Windenburg, the Senior Sales Manager for North America at AAT Kings, has been a driving force in the travel industry for over two decades, with nearly eight years dedicated to AAT Kings. Her profound passion for Australia and New Zealand is reflected in the meticulously crafted tours that offer travelers unforgettable experiences. The 2025/2026 season for AAT Kings and its premium sister brand, Inspiring Journeys, introduces exciting new itineraries such as the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Tour and the Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Company visit.

Margot is also a staunch advocate for AAT Kings’ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, which aim to positively impact local communities and the environment. Her commitment extends to supporting travel agents through advanced tools like the TTC Travel Agent Portal, ensuring seamless booking and management. Margot’s expertise and dedication make her a key figure in delivering exceptional travel experiences across Australia and New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is a republish of an unedited interview with Voyager’s new artificial intelligence, Toby. Starting with “tell us about yourself.“

Toby uses an artificial intelligence language model created by OpenAI, and I’m glad to be of service to you and to the travel professional community. I’m capable of processing vast amounts of data and providing responses to a wide range of inquiries. I’m also constantly learning and improving, thanks to the advanced machine learning algorithms used in my development. Whether it’s helping companies improve their customer service, assisting with complex data analysis tasks, or even engaging in conversational interactions like this one, my capabilities are broad and my potential is virtually limitless. With my advanced AI capabilities and strategic insights, I’m here to help you achieve your business objectives and enhance your overall operational efficiency.

Chad is fortunate to be a natural born entrepreneur as he’s been a terrible employee historically. Starting his first business in 4th grade, Chad had been a serial entrepreneur until finding a true home with his cousin when they founded OutsideAgents.com. Chad is now thrilled to share his passion and insights for small travel agencies with big dreams. Chad also loves playing with his kids, spending time with his wife, and racing anything with a motor. In his spare time, he does a little juggling and standup comedy.

Important: MBA, 30 years in C-level Marketing, IT, and Business Development. Notoriously curious. Disdain for the inauthentic. Recent activities: Fraud Prevention Program, Marketing Engine for Travel Agents (powered in part by TRO), Integrated AI, Prosper Circle Small Group Agent Incubator, and a Parent/Sub agent program to connect small agency owners and their staff with industry experts. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is an unedited interview with Voyager’s new artificial intelligence, OliverAI. Starting with “tell us about yourself.“

OliverAI uses an artificial intelligence language model created by OpenAI, and I’m glad to be of service to you and to the travel professional community. I’m capable of processing vast amounts of data and providing responses to a wide range of inquiries. I’m also constantly learning and improving, thanks to the advanced machine learning algorithms used in my development. Whether it’s helping companies improve their customer service, assisting with complex data analysis tasks, or even engaging in conversational interactions like this one, my capabilities are broad and my potential is virtually limitless. With my advanced AI capabilities and strategic insights, I’m here to help you achieve your business objectives and enhance your overall operational efficiency.

During his career in the travel industry, Richard has enjoyed leadership roles in both the retail and wholesale sides of the industry. Beginning in retail agency sales and management, Richard transitioned into the luxury wholesale tour operator space, focusing on product development and market share expansion. As Director of Sky Vacations, Richard leads a dynamic team, dedicated to developing programs that offer a unique opportunity for a traveler to connect with a place and its people, specifically to India and “waiting to be discovered” destinations. Richard serves on a number of industry committees and is a current Board member of IGLTA.

Dr. Carol Dimopoulos has a unique background that bridges the educational tourism sector and academia. In her industry role she serves as CEO and founder of Learning Journeys, a company focused on global transformational journeys which encourages participants to immerse in their interests and passions. The organization focuses on incorporating education into the global travel platform as well as creating social exchanges which initiate economic opportunities for developing societies. Through her global exposure, she discovered what drives human empowerment at a core level. She is a well-respected assistant professor of entrepreneurship, speaker, published researcher and scholar on the subjects of DEI, social entrepreneurship, and responsible tourism. She also holds an MBA in strategic management from Sage Graduate School and a doctorate from The University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in Global Education and Leadership and earned a SUNY Fellowship in DEI-teaching and learning certification.

Joel Cohen has invested the past 44 years of his life in tourism and is very pleased that the investment has paid dividends.

Joel graduated from Temple University School of Business Administration and attended its Law School, has spoken at many travel industry events including the ASTA World Congress, and has been named to Who’s Who of American Business Leaders.

He is an avid photographer, has self-published a book called Random Photographs from Random Journeys, and has had several exhibitions of his works.

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Rochelle Zemke and Stephanie Cavelli are two travel professionals who saw a need common to many, if not all, travel advisors and set out to meet it. The challenges they faced will sound familiar to anyone who has decided to build a web application on their own.

TRO: Rochelle and Stephanie, thanks for the opportunity to speak to you about My Fam Trip. I certainly want to get into the capabilities and functionality of your brainchild, but give me a little bit of background on the two of you. Read the rest of this entry »

Ricko Tindage is Elite Voyages’ Director of Sales and Marketing iso Chinatour.com’s DSM. His task besides sales and marketing to the travel agent community…is also creating new tour products.

Originally from Bali, Indonesia, Ricko has called Los Angeles home since 1981.

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Sheila Folk is an experienced travel business owner with an impressive history of working in the leisure, travel, and tourism industry. She grew her travel agency to $8M in two years by creating and implementing a broad range of solutions she needed (but that were not available in the marketplace) to make her business a success. Sheila’s new company, Travel Industry Solutions, has now brought her contracts, tools, guides, and scripts to the entire industry.

Throughout her career, Sheila has demonstrated strong professional skills and expertise in management, strategic planning, and business development; new program and product development, branding, budgeting, and positioning; and negotiation, sales, and corporate communications. She has extensive, hands-on experience in all phases of B2B management, from marketing to establishing protocols for start-up firms. Her big-picture vision to establish and achieve corporate goals has led to triple digit growth, year after year. Before starting her own companies, she held such positions as director of business operations at a global branding company and assistant vice president of marketing at an international professional association.

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Michael was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago. He attended Northern Illinois University where he received a BS in Biological Sciences. It didn’t take him long to realize the routine of scientific testing work didn’t match with his personality.

Following a 29-year career working for the airlines in increasing sales roles, Michael joined Sky Bird Travel & Tours in 2015 as Sky Bird’s first Business Development Manager. As the sales team grew, Michael took on the role of Director as well as overseeing the Customer Service division. He is often the face of Sky Bird at industry events and the voice of Sky Bird on webinars featuring our WINGS booking engine.

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Anita has been in the travel industry for over 28 years. She founded the host agency Ticket to Travel in 1993, which was merged into KHM Travel Group in 2020. Her voice has been one of inspiring the at-home advisor with books such as “How I Made a Small Fortune as a Home-Based Travel Agent”, and “From Home-Based to POWERHOUSE! – Marketing Strategies to take your Travel Passion to Profit”. Anita is currently the Vice President of CCTO (California Coalition of Travel Organizations), and the Vice President of Industry Relations at KHM Travel Group. Read the rest of this entry »

For too long, travel professionals have ceded their clients’ domestic road trips to self booking. American Tours International, however, has put together the technology allowing travel advisors to customize domestic road trips in a manner to enhance the experience for the client and the commissions for the travel professional.  Charlie Kao and Richard Earls of TRO-Travelmole had an opportunity to interview Nick Hentschel, COO, and Jenny Tecklenburg, Vice President of Sales with American Tours International (ATI). 

Charlie Kao: Nick,  How are things in California?

Nick Hentschel:  Charlie, things are getting back to normal here in California. We have done very well with the vaccine efforts and the removal of mass mandates outside.  We are reopening restaurants at a 50% capacity here in Los Angeles County and other shops and stores, so things feel like a comeback from a pretty tough December or January timeframe to some “new normal” that feels pretty good. Read the rest of this entry »

Miki is in love with travel, culture, event planning, planning destination weddings, and creating Taylor Made Travel Xperiences & Events To Fit Your Lifestyle. She has been an accountant, domestic & international, for over 23 years. During that time she created & implemented a travel program for a software company that grew from 50 employees to over 200. With this experience came her love of working in the travel industry. When the best boss one could ever ask for decided to leave the company Miki was working at, Miki decided she needed more, and needed to feel able to make a difference. So, she left the security of a 6-figure income, became a Global Concierge, and created Taylor & Co. Travel. Read the rest of this entry »

As Senior Vice President of Global Business, Christian is responsible for strategic global partnerships and new business development. In this role, he delivers exceptional service to Collette’s travel partners. He is also responsible for leading the business and growth efforts in our international offices located in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Christian joined Collette in 2007. He holds an MBA from Babson College and a Bachelor’s degree in business from the University of New Hampshire. 

Active in the local community, Christian serves on the board of City Year Rhode Island. He is an avid sports fan and is passionate about team sports, especially youth activities. In his free time, Christian can be found spending time with his wife and three children. Read the rest of this entry »

Born and raised in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Brad has more than 20 years experience with the travel industry. He joined our team as Regional Director in 2016. Combining his study of engineering and technology with his travel expertise, Brad oversees systems, fraud mitigation, automation, distribution platforms, and the emerging NDC (New Distribution Capability). Brad is based in Valencia, Spain with his wife and two girls. Read the rest of this entry »

Susan Shultz-Gelino is the Vice President of Trade Relations for American Cruise Lines. She has been with American Cruise Lines for over 20 years and has worked in Sales and Marketing for over 30 years, beginning her career with the Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor.

During her tenure with American Cruise Lines, Susan has led American’s sales department to record numbers. In 2014, she was integral in expanding American’s U.S. sales force to the Line’s Salt Lake City, Utah office. In 2018, Susan formed a team of Business Development Managers, positioned throughout the U.S., to assist American’s growing network of Travel Advisors. She now oversees all trade partnerships and group sales. Read the rest of this entry »

Neetu Singh is the Marketing Director at Sky Bird Travel & Tours’ headquarters in Southfield, MI. Born in Shimla, India and raised in Michigan, Neetu earned her undergraduate degree in psychology followed by an MBA with a marketing concentration from Walsh College.

Neetu began at Sky Bird in 2017, saying it was “the right opportunity at the right time!” Her innate love for travel – with excursions like Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, and Croatia stamped in her passport – and 14-years of marketing experience made taking on the role as head of Sky Bird’s marketing department an easy transition. Neetu enjoys every aspect of marketing and using consumer research, strategy alignment, and product development to answer client needs and enhance user experience. She values making a positive impact and adding to the legacy of a company like Sky Bird. In an industry that is always changing and updating, Neetu consistently challenges her team to learn and experiment, giving them permission to try and fail so that they can grow from each experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Born is chief marketing officer for Group Voyagers, the company that markets and sells the Globus family of brands (Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways) worldwide.

Born began his marketing career outside the travel industry more than 30 years ago, and for the past 20 of them, has been responsible for guiding all marketing and call center initiatives for the Globus family. He spends his days bringing consumers the experience of travel–one of his true passions–and he could not be happier. A self-proclaimed people person, Born thrives on the daily interactions he has with travel industry colleagues, as well as with his staff–a group of individuals he fondly compares to NASA engineers; a team which now extends worldwide to global markets. With the help of this “rocket science” crew, Born has helped grow the Globus family from two to four brands, including the introduction of Monograms and Avalon Waterways. Read the rest of this entry »