Destination On The Left

Sarah attended Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and worked at a 5-star-5-diamond resort in Colorado, a 4,000+ all-suite hotel in Las Vegas, and an international restaurant company in New York City, all before graduating. At age 22, she was the Director of Sales and Marketing for a private resort in Florida. During a brief career in Boston, she managed a 220-seat jazz club in Harvard Square. She then moved back to Vermont and started working with her mom and uncle as the fifth generation of her family to manage Basin Harbor Club. As the Director of Sales, she now describes her role as helping people enjoy all that Basin Harbor has to offer, whether that’s a family reunion, a wedding, a group retreat, or a day spent on the Lake. Sarah was also chosen as one of VBM’s Rising Stars in Vermont. In her free time, Sarah is a lover of the great outdoors, a gastronome, and a world traveler, and she is also certified as a Wilderness First Responder. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Sarah Morris, who is passionate about keeping pace with evolving customer expectations while staying true to her 136yr old Vermont resort’s brand. She shares her insights on gearing up for each new summer season and why a spirit of collaboration with resorts with opposite seasons helps when successfully hiring new staff. What You Will Learn in this Episode: What it means to Sarah to be the fifth generation host at basin Harbour How the Basin Harbor Resort prepares to crescendo into the summer season and add more than 100 staff to their family How Sarah fosters a sense of creativity and collaboration to stand out from the crowd and differentiate the resort from others Why Sarah is still so passionate about creating a guest experience that allows her visitors to relax and recharge in nature How the Basin Harbor Resort stays actively involved in the tourism and business community Why creativity surges when we’re facing adversity and some of the creative ways that Sarah and her team have been able to solve recent problems How a family-focused mindset builds trust with guests and staff Exciting projects that Sarah has planned for the next year or two Sarah’s experience of participating in successful collaborations with others in the travel and tourism industry How Guest Expectations Have Evolved What guests are looking for changes as much from year to year as generationally. So in a resort that has been operating for over 100 years, there have been changes over time. Sarah describes the themes that the Basin Harbor Club has carried forward over the years, including being actively involved in the tourism community, as well as the general business community in Vermont, and how that has helped them maintain their family-centered ethos. We discuss the personality of a truly rural campus resort and how the Basin Harbor Club has stayed true to a product that they want to deliver upon experientially for their guests. Of course, it’s also important for tourist destinations to keep up with modern sensibilities, so Sarah describes how she has married online accessibility with an atmosphere of allowing people to disconnect from their home life, their work-life, and be very present during their vacation time. Creative Solutions to Challenges When times are tough, as they have been in our industry over the last two years, we have to find creative solutions to help you overcome challenges. Sarah and I dig into some of the ways that she has leveraged the resort’s history to understand how to grow through adversity. We also discuss the importance of fostering a sense of ‘coopetition,’ where perceived competitors come together to do something bigger together than they can do on their own. At Basin Harbor Club, they want to provide an experience that their guests love, and that includes recommending other resorts that might be more suitable for their needs. Sarah dives into what she loves about the willingness to share in the industry and why they love to work with local artisans and food and beverage producers, so they can highlight the region’s growers and producers and incorporate that Vermont flavor into their products too. Recruiting New Staff We also take the conversation in the direction of managing a seasonal property and the challenges of scaling from 20 employees in the winter to north of 150 employees in the summer months. Sarah lends her expertise on hiring seasonal staff strategies for scaling up and how she recruits new employees in collaboration with resorts and their current staff. The joy of being a seasonal destination is that you can seek out opportunities to connect with properties that are in opposite seasons and make sure that you are keeping good staff in well-supported roles. Recruiting staff is such a critical part of creating an amazing guest experience, especially in a resort that prides itself on its family feel and counts guests and staff as part of that extended family. Resources: Website: www.basinharbor.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-morris-027541b/ Biz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/basin-harbor-club/

This episode of Destination on the Left is a little different from the norm, and that’s because today I’m talking with Tom Ritter, Product Development Lead for the Niche Podcast Network. Tom shares why he is so passionate about podcasting as a marketing tool and why your podcast can help you build an exceptional professional network. We explore the importance of finding your niche, building an engaged audience, and how to offer value to your audience with your unique perspective. Tom also gives his insight into creating an exceptional guest experience so that you get the most out of the conversation. What You Will Learn in this Episode: How Tom got hooked into innovative ways to market The importance of niching down as a podcaster and gaining authority as an expert in your industry How Tom and Nicole connected and why they wanted to share their conversation on how podcasts work as a marketing tool Why it’s essential to have a system in place that sets someone up to be successful on a podcast How to make the guest experience positive, so you have a productive conversation Why having an outline for your show helps you stay focused and get the most out of an interview The digital equity of profiting from the podcast How to leverage your podcast as a sales and referral marketing tool Niching Down as a Podcaster Podcasting is a quicker path to trust-building when you can really niche down and be that subject matter expert. My guest on the show this week is Tom Ritter, who owns and operates Niche Podcast Network, and I’m excited to share out conversation. The show this week is a little different as we’re discussing how to set up and host a successful podcast, and Tom’s advice on gaining digital equity with your show is so valuable. We dive deep into the idea of niching down with your podcast and moving from serving a broad audience to a much narrower yet more engaged one. Tom shares how to identify and build authority in a niche and why focusing on a particular topic within your umbrella helps you earn trust and become a legitimate subject matter expert quicker. We also discuss how a podcast can act as a signpost back to your brand when you focus your show on a consistent and frequent message that builds listeners’ trust. Creating a Positive Guest Experience In terms of having a productive conversation with your guest, comfort is key. As a podcaster, you have the ability to set the scene for a great interview, but you also have to have processes in place. Let your guest know what to expect ahead of time and give them an idea of the show’s format and outline what you want to talk about. Having enough information to be comfortable goes a long way in creating an environment where an authentic conversation that genuinely serves your customers can flourish. You might envision your podcast as a candid chat as if you were having an off-air coffee, but the reality is that a great podcast takes preparation. Having an outline helps the host, guest, and audience stay focused during the show itself. Guests often feel calmer and more prepared when they can make notes before they get on the show. But, if you have an outline or questions you want to ask, give yourself the flexibility to deviate from the plan, should the guest take you in a different direction. Relaxed spontaneity often offers up great opportunities to dig deep into the juicy subjects. Delivering Value Your podcast delivers value to your listeners as you delve into some of those fascinating subjects, but how does it offer value for your guests? Appearing on a podcast as a subject matter expert gives people excellent visibility in their field. The more focus you put on your guest, the more value your guest perceives, and the more value you receive as a host because you’re going to be found for your name and your brand. Create social media artwork, send snippets of the show for their LinkedIn profile, and link to guests’ social media channels so your listeners can find out more. Because what you’re also doing when you grow visibility for your guest is growing it for your show and your business. Resources: Podcast: https://breaktheicemedia.com/podcasts/karolina-guilcapi/ Website: www.nichepodcast.net Email: tom@nichepodcast.net

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Todd Stallbaumer. He shares his experience working to promote tourism in Oklahoma as the Consumer and Trade Marketing Director for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. We discuss the importance of finding your claims and how determining them can help you stand out. Todd also discusses the importance of culture and diversity and how recognizing and respecting that can open travelers up to a new and unique experience. Lastly, we cover the importance of finding commonality and how that can lead to meaningful connections and lasting partnerships. What You Will Learn in this Episode: The importance of finding your claims and how doing so can help your destination stand out and attract the right audience Understanding the big picture and how that can lead to success How to use anniversaries and the attention they garner to launch ongoing opportunities for attraction instead Todd’s view on diversity and exploring community and how they are highlighting that in Oklahoma to create new tourism opportunities How Todd found his “Dynamic Destination” group and why it’s so important to find commonality with others What makes Oklahoman excellent spot for tourists and how you can learn more about the state and all it has to offer Finding Your Claims Have you ever traveled somewhere and expected one thing based on what you’d seen on TV or heard about the place and experienced something completely different? So many travelers have preconceived notions about destinations and what they expect to see when they get there. This week, my guest on the Destination on the Left podcast is Todd Stallbaumer, Consumer and Trade Marketing Director for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. Todd learned very quickly that many people had stereotypes for what they expected Oklahoma to look like. In the episode, we dive into how he tries to reimagine those stereotypes to create an entirely different experience for travelers. We dive into how Todd found Oklahoma’s claim. In other words, he explains how he came to find what sets Oklahoma apart from other places. What you’ll be interested to know is that it’s the state’s diversity and culture that make it a unique place to visit. Todd explains how he is utilizing the state’s culture to drive new and exciting tourism opportunities for visitors to dive into the various communities found in Oklahoma. Finding Commonality Toward the end of the podcast, we dive into Todd’s ability to find commonality with a really unique set of people. While this group of people lives all across America in very different states, they have found very specific criteria that put them in the same circle. It was so interesting to hear from Todd how they came to form this group and how he was able to find these very niche commonalities that have led to such a resourceful and helpful partnership. Todd and I dive into the details of his dynamic group and how they use their commonalities to help each other. From sharing connections, resources, problems, and sales pitches, this team has helped each other’s states and cities find new ways to draw tourism. And, through these commonalities, they are able to refer travelers to each other and make connections with other similar travel destinations as they grow. Resources: www.travelok.com

Rhonda Carges is VP Operations & Senior Consultant at Break the Ice Media. Rhonda brings more than 25 years of sales, new business development, and travel trade experience to the table. This translates into great partnership strategies and creative thinking for our clients. Rhonda is a master at creating relationships, and her deep understanding of the industry helps her create win-win opportunities for her clients. Rhonda and her team often act as a much-needed sales and marketing arm for Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), providing travel trade marketing, program management, partnership development, tracking, and reporting to the mix. She’s a forward-thinker who always knows where the market is headed – and how best to capitalize on those trends in the moment. Adena Miller is a Consultant for Break the Ice Media. Adena brings the art of storytelling to her role as Consultant at Break the Ice Media. As a young child, her parents’ art gallery often set the scene for her creative writing, and she later went on to develop her craft as a college newspaper reporter. Weber Shandwick Chicago allowed her to hone her public relations skills across several national food and beverage accounts, and she has the windy city to thank for being transformed into a self-proclaimed foodie. A grant recipient to pursue a travel, food, and wine writing seminar in Saint-Émilion, France, further ignited her passion for wine and travel. She brings more than 15 years of public relations expertise to Break the Ice Media, where she develops media, blog, newsletter, and social content and executes event planning. Lisa Doerner is a Senior Consultant for Break the Ice Media and the Executive Director of Travel Alliance Partners. Lisa’s background is in marketing and operations, but her path into the travel and tourism industry is an unusual one. She started her career working for a large corporation in product marketing and then working as the Executive Director for a technology association. These roles set the groundwork for her current position as Executive Director for Travel Alliance Partners (TAP), a corporation focused on connecting tour operators, travel buyers, and suppliers. Lisa leads the TAP management team in developing operational and marketing strategies to help Travel Alliance Partners strengthen their partnerships, increase their businesses and expand their company tour portfolios. The past couple of years have found Lisa and her team reimagining how they can deliver a quality travel industry conference and marketing initiatives to TAP’s audiences despite the challenges facing the travel industry. On this episode of Destination on the Left this week, I have a slightly different show format for you. I have been reflecting on how much the travel and tourism industry has been through in the last two years. Different destinations and industry segments have had markedly different challenges; for some, 2021 was a bumper year but for others. 2021 was another year of struggle and record low numbers. The changing state of the pandemic is felt quickly in our industry, and 2021 has seen unprecedented highs and lows. So, today, I decided to invite three team members from the Break the Ice Media team onto the show to share their perspectives and experiences as we enter into the subsequent recovery phase. I’m so excited to be joined on the show by Adena Miller, Lisa Doerner, and Rhonda Carges as we ponder both what the future holds and how we can take lessons learned during difficult times forward to serve and support the travel and tourism industry. What You Will Learn in This Episode: How the tour and travel segment have kept up their forward momentum, even with so many obstacles in their path Rhonda shares her perspective as a supplier on how to be a good partner our tour operator partners How Adena has seen travel buyers, advisors and agents respond during this challenging time Where we should focus in 2022, as the travel and tourism segment continues to recover from the point of suppliers, travel buyers, and tour operators How to tap into your local tourism office or destination marketing organization for support and collaboration The importance of leveraging technology to streamline processes and make travelers’ experiences stress-free Ways the Break the Ice team are working to help with recovery and the projects that Rhonda, Adena, and Lisa are involved in to support the travel and tourism industry What the Bookable Product Programme offers to clients and how it can help with recovery Lessons Learned in 2021 On speaking to the team, both during this discussion and more widely over the past few months, the importance of staying connected with people has been highlighted again and again. Talking with Adena Miller, a Consultant for Break the Ice Media, reminded me why it is essential to foster a deeper connection, even when we can’t meet in person by sharing pictures or stories. Within the Break the Ice Media team and with our clients and partners, we found that the willingness to be open, vulnerable, and honest made a huge difference in staying positive and looking to the future. In 2021 we saw some amazing and successful out-of-the-box thinking; Rhonda Carges, VP Operations & Senior Consultant at Break the Ice Media, joined me on the podcast this week to share her experience of embracing new ideas over the last few months. We discuss how travel and tour operators pivoted to provide online events and conferences that allowed people to ‘meet’ and make connections in a new way. The past two years’ uncertainty and adversity have embedded the mindset of growing when times are tough and seeing opportunity in difficulty. Moving Forward in 2022 Lisa Doerner, a Senior Consultant at Break the Ice Media and the Executive Director of Travel Alliance Partners, also joined me this week on the show. We really dug into the role of a leader in the travel sector and why all of us have learned and developed more than we ever imagined possible. Lisa describes how one of the things that stood out to her was that negativity and discouragement could spread across an organization quickly and why the leadership must stay positive, despite uncertainty about the future. Our industry is resilient, and people will continue to travel, but going forward, we will have to embrace change with open arms to be successful. Rhonda describes why suppliers need to be flexible and communicative and look for opportunities to collaborate as we move into recovery in 2022. It’s all about thinking about how we can work together; rather than working in silos, seek out the competition because your neighbor can end up being your biggest asset. People are so ready to get back out there in 2022, and wherever we fit in the travel and tourism industry we can be a continued source of inspiration for our clients and get creative with the types of trips and experiences that travelers are craving. Resources https://www.tapintotravel.com/ https://www.onlinetraveltraining.com/us/ Bookable Product Creation Lisa Doerner – Lisa@travelalliancepartners.com Rhonda Carges – Rhonda@breaktheicemedia.com Adena Miller – Adena@breaktheicemedia.com

Cheryl Kilday, President & CEO, Destination North Myrtle Beach, CDME, has contributed to the communities where she has lived through destination development, tourism promotion, and economic development initiatives. And she has an extensive background working with not-for-profit membership-based organizations that affect a positive impact on the local economy and quality of life. Cheryl joined the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau in October 2018. She previously led Visit Spokane from 2010 until October 2018 after living in the Washington DC region in Northern Virginia for several years. She launched Visit Loudoun in 1996 and was the President and CEO for nearly 15 years. She began her tourism adventure in the Willamette Valley in Oregon after graduating from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Cheryl also earned the prestigious Certified Destination Marketing Executive (CDME) designation through Destinations International in 2011 and has achieved Destination Management Accreditation in both Spokane, Washington, Loudoun, Virginia, and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Cheryl is a Trustee for Destinations International Travel Foundation and serves on committees for Destinations International Foundation and Association boards. Her career honors include recognition for leadership in the meetings industry by Smart Meetings Magazine, and awards for marketing and public relations programs from US Travel, HSMAI, and an Emmy®. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Cheryl Kilday, who shares why she believes that working for a tourism office that is part of a Chamber of Commerce gives her office a considerable advantage. We discuss how Cheryl sees the future of tourism evolving and why the curation of destinations’ stories is likely to focus more on creating a connection between places and their visitors by positioning them where potential guests are searching. Cheryl also dives into what she loves about working in the travel industry and why a huge part of the joy she finds in her job lies in the connections she builds with the local community. What You Will Learn: Different funding models that tourist organizations can leverage and why working with the Chamber gives Cheryl a better budget How Cheryl helps the North Myrtle Beach residents understand and appreciate that their restaurants, retail, and entertainment options improve because they’re outnumbered by visitors on any given day Cheryl’s advice for having a successful relationship with your team Creative projects that Cheryl and her team have been working on to make their destination stand out Why accountability and transparency feature highly in how North Myrtle Beach put together their messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they differentiated the messaging for residents, workers, and visitors, to the destination Why Cheryl and her team did a series of commercials for social media, local television, and radio to personify how their businesses missed their customers and what they were doing to make it safer for visitors to return Some examples of how coopetition has worked for Cheryl and her team The co-op program and how it world to differentiate their positioning for North Myrtle Beach compared to the larger Myrtle Beach area as a destination How Cheryl has seen destination marketing organizations role evolve over her career Creative Ways to Connect with Your Community Over the last couple of years, times have been challenging in the travel and tourism industry, and DMOs have had to get clever and creative. COVID-19 has required them to try new approaches and behave differently while we figured out how our world would evolve. This week, my guest on the Destination on the Left podcast is Cheryl Kilday, President & CEO of Destination North Myrtle Beach. She joins me to share what she and her team did to let their residents and visitors know how they were going to keep them safe. We discuss the creative ways that North Mrytle Beach developed media campaigns that kept them accountable and transparent with their community to demonstrate that they were being sensitive to the needs of both the workforce and the visitors. We dive into the fun ways that Cheryl and her team brought North Myrtle Beach to their visitors when the visitors couldn’t come to them — including putting together a Spotify radio channel of beach music, sending videos of dance lessons to learn how to do the South Carolina shag dance, and setting up cooking classes. They also developed a road trip toolkit so that people would have a fun way to connect with them on their way to North Myrtle Beach when they were ready to return. Collaboration with Regional DMOs We dig into Cheryl’s experience of North Myrtle Beach’s collaboration with the regional DMO and how the spirit of partnership helped them move forward. I often talk about ‘coopetition,’ the idea of competitors coming together to cooperate and create bigger wins together than they can achieve independently. Cheryl shares some examples of how her small community works to differentiate itself from its larger neighbor to the south — including setting up a co-op. The co-op is a voluntary organization that contributes money to help guide the destination marketing that differentiates its brand positioning. They also have a collaborative program called Momentum that helps them raise funds for specific projects or initiatives that go beyond what the co-op dues would support. Cheryl and I also dive into the details of her destination master plan, when the destination plans to launch it and how they have been able to fund the project through creative coopetition. She describes the ultimate goals of North Myrtle Beach to brand itself as somewhere that partners with residents to go through an inclusive community-based planning process on how they want their destination to be in the long term. I loved Cheryl’s take on how opportunities for cooperation advance the common good by allowing everyone to buy into a common goal and work together to achieve spectacular results. Resources: Website: www.ExploreNorthMyrtleBeach.com Learn about South Carolina Shag Dance here: https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/celebrating-the-shag-south-carolinas-state-dance LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylykilday/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyktourism

With a talent for creating special events that blossomed while working for my dad’s car stereo shop, I got my start in marketing at Frontier Field in Rochester and began serving as the executive director of the internationally known Lilac Festival. Later on, I headed the Canandaigua, New York Business Improvement District while also performing projects for the tourism promotion agency Visit Rochester. In 2009, I founded Break the Ice Media, with more than 20 years of experience in tourism marketing. I now host “Destination on the Left,” a highly successful tourism marketing podcast. As a business owner, I know what it takes to be successful. I founded BTI to help businesses tell their brand story through public relations, digital and traditional channels. I have the ability to uncover unique marketing opportunities and develop marketing and public relations initiatives that help clients build long-term success. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I discuss why I’m starting 2022 with a sense of reflection, renewal, and anticipation for what is ahead. Since 2020 I have been on a journey to understand the world in a broader sense, which has led to a search for greater meaning and a focus on intentionality in my actions. This week I want to share what I have done to understand differences, identify opportunities for personal growth, and take action to help make my world more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. What You Will Learn in This Episode: How the Break the Ice Media team explored the topic of what diversity, equity, and inclusion meant to them and defined the actions they could take to make a difference How Nicole became the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the New York State Tourism Industry Association How the 2021 Travel Unity Summit helped the industry focus on the importance of increasing diversity The difference between equity and equality and why it is important How to take your own incremental action by taking the Travel Unity Individual Pledge, which is for all who believe the world of travel should be welcoming to people of all backgrounds and abilities What the Break the Ice Media team identified when they dug into their core value of equity and how they sought more diverse perspectives How rounding out the team led to an invitation for Break the Ice Media to pitch to Cayuga County and Auburn, New York, for their Harriet Tubman Equal Rights Heritage Campaign to commemorate the 200th Birthday of Harriet Tubman in 2022 Reflecting on Our Journey in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Over the last two years, my small company has been grappling with how we fit within the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conversation, and we have really committed to educating ourselves around the topic. I was very candid in Solocast 16 about the team’s journey to live out the ‘equitable’ core value within our company, and we have recently reflected on our most recent client work to see how it is significantly impacting our collective worldview. When examining how we aligned with our values, we found that we needed to work on developing more diverse partner, freelance, and subcontractor relationships to ensure we represent a wide range of viewpoints. Being Intentional Big things will happen when you set your intentions and start to take action. You may feel as if you are taking baby steps at first, but time will pass, and you will realize that all those incremental moves have led to a monumental shift and change in your organization. I’m grateful that we took this journey and for the lessons we learned along the way, particularly the importance of humility and vulnerability when addressing biases and issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Resources: Websites: https://travelunity.org/ https://www.nystia.org/ https://www.tourcayuga.com/ https://plimoth.org/ https://breaktheicemedia.com/podcasts/solocast-16/ Additional Resources: Email: nicole@breaktheicemedia.com Website: www.destinationontheleft.com/ Website: https://breaktheicemedia.com/ Twitter: @Break_TheIce Facebook: @BreakTheIceMedia

For this second episode in a special two-part series of Destination on the Left episodes, my team visited the Vermont Tourism Summit (without me!) to interview attendees about their experiences working in the travel and tourism industry, especially during the outbreak of and our gradual emergence from the global pandemic. The Vermont Tourism Summit draws one of the largest gatherings of tourism professionals in the state including owners, managers, and employees of the many businesses connected to this important segment of the economy. This year’s Summit was the 37th annual event and was held from November 17-18 at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel in Killington, VT. I’m delighted to share the insights and experiences that the Vermont Tourism Summit attendees my team spoke with were willing to offer during their interviews. In this second episode of a special two-part Destination On The Left series, you’ll hear from these eight extraordinary travel and tourism leaders and experts: Julie Basol, Coordinator of Marketing & Development at Vergennes Partnership Kim Jackson, PR & Communications Strategist at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports Lisa Chase, Natural Resources Specialist at University of Vermont Extension Parker Riehle, President of Get On Snow Peter MacLaren, Co-Owner of West Hill House Bed & Breakfast Rick Sokoloff and Marina Meerburg, Owners of 4 Points VT Sarah Howe, Director of Business Development at Lake Morey Resort Sarah Morris, Fifth-Generation Host at Basin Harbor Discussing Challenges and Opportunities at the Vermont Tourism Summit The Vermont Tourism Summit is an annual event that brings together area travel and tourism professionals, businesses, and destinations. This year’s event offered a one-of-a-kind opportunity to discuss the many challenges and opportunities Vermont area destinations are navigating in this uniquely challenging time. My team traveled to the Vermont Tourism Summit for this year’s gathering and were able to speak with eight incredible experts and business leader attendees, and here are the inspiring insights they had to share. Julie Basol from Vergennes Partnership Julie shares how Vergennes is the ideal destination for anyone who loves the outdoors, and she shares how her goal for 2022 is keeping the small city, its residents, and visitors safe as life begins to move back toward normal. She highlights some of the charming, family-friendly area destinations and attractions that make Vergennes an ideal place for people to visit or relocate to, and she explains why staying positive in this transition period is critical. Kim Jackson from Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports Kim shares why inclusion is foremost in her mind as we close out the year and enter 2022. In her role at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, inclusion is critical to their mission. Kim explains why serving people with all sorts of physical and cognitive disabilities. She discusses how the programs Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports offers are designed to make it possible for anyone to enjoy the beautiful mountains and winter activities. She describes the kind of marketing her organization does to get the word out. Lisa Chase from University of Vermont Extension Lisa explains why she is so excited to be hosting the upcoming 2022 International Workshop on Agritourism being held in Burlington, VT from August 30-September 1, 2022. She shares how she got started at UVM twenty years ago, and she shares how she first became aware of the term “agritourism”. She discusses how Vermont is one of the true agritourism capitols of the world. She shares how she saw a call for proposals to present at the first World Congress on Agritourism in Italy in 2018, and what she learned from the concert. She describes how Vermont won the right to host the 2020 conference but had to postpone when the pandemic started, and she discusses how the 2022 International Workshop on Agritourism is the culmination of all the hard work and false starts. Parker Riehle from Get On Snow Parker shares how is organization was founded two years ago to promote outdoor winter recreation. He describes how Get On Snow isn’t just focused on bringing skiers and snowboarders to slopes but how the organization also highlights any winter sport people enjoy, including “gateway sports” such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. He describes how the outbreak of the global pandemic increased people’s desire to get out and enjoy nature even more than before. He shares how optimism and excitement are the prevailing feelings as people begin to become more comfortable with travel again. Peter MacLaren from West Hill Bed & Breakfast Peter shares how Vermont has led the way in vaccinations, and he shares how that commitment to public health has made it easier for destinations such as his West hill Bed & Breakfast to offer safer environments for travelers. He also describes how Vermont’s reputation for being one of the safest destinations has brought new people to Vermont who might never have discovered its wonders otherwise. He shares how he believes these newcomers will help offset visitor loss as long-distance travel begins to become more prevalent. He shares how the new presence of big name organizations from the ski industry is creating even more opportunities for the state and for local businesses like his. Rick Sokoloff and Marina Meerburg from 4 Points VT Rick and Marina share how 4 Points VT started as a mountain biking school before integrating brewery tours, and Rick talks about how a key collaborative partnership with the Trapp Family Lodge has become core to the mountain biking experience 4 Points VT offers. The pair discuss adding a third arm to their business, adding customized artisan tours for corporate groups and others. Marina explains how they’ve even begun requesting family reunions and foliage tours, and she describes how easing pandemic restrictions have helped their business grow dramatically in recent months. Rick and Marina share plans for keeping the pace of their growth while maintaining the high quality they’re known for, and they discuss their strategy for continuing to grow to the point that they can be ready to take on full-time employees. Marina describes the personnel challenges the organization has faced in filling roles to keep up with the work, and Rick shares how great training leads to happy return workers season after season. Sarah Howe from Lake Morey Resort Sarah describes her excitement for 2022 and the many new opportunities it is presenting for her resort. She talks about resuming paused programs and starting new ones to attract visitors. Sarah talks about expanding the outdoor activities her resort can offer for visitors and the local community, throughout the year. She explains how collaborating with local businesses and organizations has helped make both her business and the entire area stronger, and she shares how Lake Morey Resort reaches out to area businesses for partnership opportunities. Sarah Morris from Basin Harbor Sarah talks about how Basin Harbor, established in 1886, will be celebrating its 136th birthday in 2022. She discusses some of the challenges her organization has faced through the pandemic, including staffing shortages, and she talks about some of the exciting opportunities she is looking forward to in the coming year. She shares how Basin Harbor has experienced robust demand throughout 2021 that the organization is using to expand their offerings and renovate their facilities. She shares how her property’s staff swells from just 25 employees in the winter to over 200+ through the summer season, and she shares how bringing in international workers will be instrumental in Basin Harbor’s continued recovery as we emerge from the pandemic. Enthusiasm for a New Beginning As each of these Vermont area travel and tourism leaders discussed, there’s an abiding sense of optimism for 2022 as life continues to move beyond the pandemic. Through key collaborations with area partners and through developing a better understanding of travelers’ safety needs and entertainment expectations, these organizations are each positioning themselves for a stellar new year! I hope you enjoyed this second episode of our special two-part series from the Vermont Tourism Summit. I hope the positivity and optimism these leaders have shared with us inspire you as we wrap up 2021 and turn the page for a bright new year! The pandemic has been hard for anyone in the travel and tourism industry, but the lessons we’ve learned and strategies we have developed will help us roar into the coming year! We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes! https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

For this first episode in a special two-part series of Destination on the Left episodes, my team visited the Vermont Tourism Summit (without me!) to interview attendees about their experiences working in the travel and tourism industry, especially during the outbreak of and our gradual emergence from the global pandemic. The Vermont Tourism Summit draws one of the largest gatherings of tourism professionals in the state including owners, managers, and employees of the many businesses connected to this important segment of the economy. This year’s Summit was the 37th annual event and was held from November 17-18 at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel in Killington, VT. I’m delighted to share the insights and experiences that the Vermont Tourism Summit attendees my team spoke with were willing to offer during their interviews. In this first episode of a special two-part Destination On The Left series, you’ll hear from these seven extraordinary travel and tourism leaders and experts: Ana Dan, Owner and General Manager of the Hyde Away Inn & Restaurant Bob Schwartz, Director of Marketing & Sales at the Trapp Family Lodge Carrie Simmons, Executive Director of the Stowe Area Association Diane Stockton-Breese, Director of Member Services at Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce Fred Cercena, CEO and Founder of GetAway Vacations Jenny Dewar, Owner of Karin’s Place Josh Palace, Sales Manager at Spirit of Ethan Allen Discussing Challenges and Opportunities at the Vermont Tourism Summit The Vermont Tourism Summit is an annual event that brings together area travel and tourism professionals, businesses and destinations. This year’s event offered a one-of-a-kind opportunity to discuss the many challenges and opportunities Vermont area destinations are navigating in this uniquely challenging time. My team travelled to the Vermont Tourism Summit for this year’s gathering and were able to speak with seven brilliant leaders, and here are the inspiring insights they had to share. Ana Dan from Hyde Away Inn & Restaurant Ana discusses the properties she owns and shares how her properties are navigating the challenge of the global pandemic by investing in technologies such as air filtration to restore traveler confidence as we emerge from the crisis. She shares how the flux of people entering and leaving travel and tourism work has created hiring challenges that her businesses are navigating by hiring foreign workers to fill vital positions. She talks about creating a welcoming community for these incoming workers, and she discusses the critical need for affordable housing for these incoming workers. She discusses allocating a few of the rooms in her inn for workers as a stopgap measure until housing accommodations are made available on a permanent basis. Bob Schwartz from the Trapp Family Lodge Bob shares what excites him most about the coming year and the opportunities it presents. He discusses how people’s increasing comfort with international travel is building toward a potentially great year for his organization. He explains why creating the best experience possible for visitors is an important key to attracting international travelers. Carrie Simmons from Stowe Area Association Carrie shares why Stowe, Vermont is excited about the coming ski season and the events her town will be able to offer in 2022 as we continue to move out of the pandemic over the course of the coming year. She also discusses how her team is ramping up for this expected coming increase in area travel. Diane Stockton-Breese from Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce Diane shares some of the highlights the Okemo Valley area offers across the twelve towns and villages her organization represents. She discusses a unique, pandemic-safe event her organization offered over the summer of 2021, and she shares how the event showcased many of the area’s visitor offerings. She talks about some of the key lessons her organization was able to draw from the festival that they will be able to take forward as the pandemic eases, and she shares her optimism for how the event will continue to grow in the future. Fred Cercena from GetAway Vacations Fred discusses why his main focus going into 2022 is the increasing amount of reservations that have been coming in from online travel agents rather than through direct reservations on their website. He shares how relying on sites like Airbnb and Expedia has created new challenges that need to be navigated. He highlights some of the programs and campaigns his organization has developed to increase the number of direct bookings. He also discusses how visitor loyalty to the area is a key concern he will be focusing on throughout the coming year. Jenny Dewar from Karin’s Place Jenny shares what excites her about her position as a short-term rental destination owner going into 2022, and she describes how government programs such as the PPP loan helped her businesses stay afloat through the challenges of 2020, and she shares how 2021 became a watershed year for her businesses. She describes why she is excited about her new position as the Executive Director of the Better Bennington Corporation and the opportunity the position presents for her to help in revitalizing downtown Bennington and in bringing new and returning events to the area. Jenny explains how hiring a “social media genius” has helped get the word out about the exciting things the Better Bennington Corporation is doing in the area. Josh Palace from Spirit of Ethan Allen Josh discusses how business boomed for his organization in 2021, even without access to travellers from Canada and other international locations, thanks to the outstanding job the state of Vermont has done in navigating the pandemic. He shares why he expects 2022 to be even bigger once international borders are fully reopened. He shares how digital partnerships have become cornerstones of his organization’s success, and he shares how the area’s more than 200 attractions have worked collaboratively to support each other through the pandemic crisis. He describes feeling like an ambassador for Vermont when encouraging travelers to take a closer look at the area’s other offerings. He explains why a strong sense of collaboration has been instrumental to his own success in his position. Great Excitement for the Coming New Year As each of these Vermont area travel and tourism leaders discussed, there’s an abiding sense of optimism for 2022 as life continues to move beyond the pandemic. Through key collaborations with area partners and through developing a better understanding of traveller’s safety needs and entertainment expectations, these organizations are each positioning themselves for a stellar new year! I hope you enjoyed this first episode of our special two-part series from the Vermont Tourism Summit. I hope the positivity and optimism these leaders have shared with us inspire you as we wrap up 2021 and turn the page for a bright new year. Next week, we’ll hear from eight more remarkable Vermont travel and tourism experts, so I hope you’ll join the conversation! We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes! https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Nasya Kamrat is the Co-founder and CEO of FACULTY, a certified women-owned spatial storytelling agency that creates human-centric experiences for global brands. Passionate about innovative storytelling, Nasya constantly searches for unique opportunities to create an authentic experience that people can connect with, whether in real life or online. As an award-winning creative strategist, she has been creating content that spans traditional, interactive, experiential, and digital media for nearly 20 years. Nasya is also dedicated to empowering women and people of color in business. Before starting FACULTY, Nasya had the pleasure of working at some of New York’s leading global ad agencies as a creative producer and strategist. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and English from Florida State University. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Nasya Kamrat about how storytelling can connect people to places in a more meaningful way. Nastya shares her inspirational story of collaboration amid adversity and challenge and how it inspired her to start FACULTY, which she designed as a co-op for underrepresented agencies. She shares some creative ways for your destination to stand out from the crowd by helping potential visitors experience a holistic journey. Nasya also discusses her favorite case studies that exemplify how creating a brand experience can elevate destination marketing. What You Will Learn: How to use spatial storytelling in your destination marketing Finding the right story for your destination to tell How to create a connection between a place and a guest through narrative How the COVID-19 pandemic allowed Nasya to prompt a little bit of wanderlust in people in preparation for when we could travel again Moments over the last 18 months when Nasya was faced with a challenge and how she moved through it creatively How Nasya took the big agency model of gathering several boutique agencies under one umbrella but put a whole new spin on it to serve a more diverse range of people Nasya’s advice for listeners about finding those right-fit partners with the same interests as you Finding Your Story Brand storytelling is something that everyone talks about. But how do you create a world in which people can immerse themselves and experience stories that follow them wherever they go? Whether you’re marketing a town, a local event, or a visitor experience, you have to keep your brand story at the forefront of your mind and reference it at every single touchpoint when the guests walk in the door. Nasya Kamrat explains the importance of defining and identifying the narrative and how to uncover the real human story behind a place — then delivering it uniquely. Collaborating with Like-Minded Founders As destination marketers, we’re all trying to figure out what travel looks like in the post-pandemic world. The idea of collaborating and finding like-minded founders and figuring out how to work together is more attractive than ever before. This week, my guest on the podcast, Nasya Kamrat, describes why she was inspired to band together and build a co-op of other women-owned, Black-owned, and Latinx-owned businesses. We explore why, by teaming up as destinations, we can create value and efficiencies for our clients and better support independent agencies who are underrepresented. To learn more about Nasya and her company, FACULTY, please check out the contact links below: Website: https://komuna.agency/ https://www.wearefaculty.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasyakamrat/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/faculty/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FacultyNY/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/facultyny

Greg was previously the CMO at LifeLock. He is a seasoned executive with a unique knowledge of start-ups and how to create an innovative strategy and align it with practical execution to achieve exceptional results. Greg possesses a progressive and diverse background in Marketing (brand management, digital and traditional marketing, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing), Finance (budgeting, planning, debt & equity raise, IPO), and Operations (process improvement, risk management, call centers, and reporting & analytics). He has over 17 years of experience, ranging from Chief Marketing Officer of a $1B+ public company to the financial lead of a start-up that went public. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Greg Lim, who gives his actionable tips on ways you can create meaningful connections with prospective customers through personalization and data. He demystifies how to incorporate personalization into your marketing by sharing his crawl, walk, run approach to implementing new marketing tactics. Greg also highlights the importance of collaboration between destination marketing organizations and how personalization can boost the success of co-op programs. What You Will Learn: How to deliver different personalized experiences to help a wide range of audiences and potential visitors in their trip planning Why differentiate landing pages according to interest then extend the customer experience to your core website How we’ve normalized bad communication and bad behavior in marketing through the historical limitations of technology Using touchpoints to personalize a consumer experience to engage and delight virtual visitors Approaching marketing personalization from a crawl, walk, run perspective with regards to technology Technical solutions that allow marketers to take control of their campaigns and integrate their social media channels Prioritize Your Website Marketing Invest in your website — because that’s where all of your social channels and your marketing are sending everyone. So, if you invest in your website, your website performs better, and you’ll get a better conversion rate and return on your investment. You can also build new partnerships and add value to your existing partners with your destination marketing site. Personalization can empower your team to go out and find collaboration opportunities. With your destination marketing site, you can create an exciting way to expand your partnership inventory and serve the different audiences coming to your website. Personalization Shouldn’t Be Overwhelming Gregory shares the common-sense middle ground in marketing personalization. He gives his insights on how to deliver meaningful experiences to your consumers that delight them and do it in a way that is not invasive. You want to create a powerful experience for them that will ultimately drive your business results. The most significant opportunity for the travel and tourism industry is to take all the micro conversations and engagements that we already have with our visitors then carry that same conversation through to the website. To learn more about Gregory and his company, Persosa, please check out the contact links below: Website: https://www.persosa.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorylim/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/persosa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teampersosa/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/teampersosa