The Travel Leader

Gary Jamison is a highly skilled and guest-oriented Concierge with a remarkable career spanning over 20 years in the hospitality and tourism industry. Gary is known for his exceptional service to clients and tourists, always striving to exceed expectations. His track record includes mentoring newly hired personnel to improve their customer service focus on guests and visitors. In recognition of hi...

Sara joined Olympia in 2006 and spent several years at the property level, including the award winning Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, before joining the Home Office in 2013 as Vice President of Olympia Hotel Management, leading the company’s growing portfolio of independent hotels and restaurants. In 2019 Sara was promoted to President of Olympia Hotel Management, responsible for maximiz...

In May 2023 Dylan Beaumont was a guest on the Travel Leader Podcast. Dylan sadly passed away suddenly on June 24, 2023. In place of a new episode we are re-leasing his recent episode in his memory. For full details about Dylan's memorial service see information from his cousin Kristine Smith https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7079149215163035648?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%2...

A former Hotelier of the Year, Jeff David has a pedigree that spans over twenty-five years and is a leader in the hospitality industry in opening luxury properties.  Jeff’s expertise in the hotel start-up space credits him in opening $1.7 billion dollars worth of high-profile luxury assets in Aspen, Anguilla, Times Square, Nantucket, Washington DC, and most recently Los Angeles. In 2017, he founde...

Emily is a 15-yearveteran of the hospitality industry with extensive experience in operations and marketing with particular skill in branding, marketing, and communications. She has worked with major brands and independent hotels. Much of her focus has been on full-service, lifestyle properties. In the boutique and lifestyle space, Emily has developed branding, written service training programs, a...

Welcome to the travel leader podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Vandenberg. On our show, I interview and connect with leaders in our industry, what has shaped them, successes, failures, and everything in between. On today's show, I'm celebrating our first 10 episodes and reflecting on the leadership lessons from our first interviews. Before we start, I want to let you know about the travel...

Sheree is an accomplished and well-respected business owner who has devoted her entire career to hospitality and food management. She received a degree in Business from Merrimack College and her Culinary Arts degree from Newbury College. Sheree worked for the Marriott Corporation from 1978 to 1998, ultimately serving as Vice President of Quality Control in their New York headquarters. In 1981, she...

Dylan Beaumont has been a 23 year tenured worker in Hospitality. He has worked in the midscale, select service and luxury hotel tiers in California and Oregon. He prides himself in being a dedicated manager, and giving his best to better his employer and his colleagues. He is currently the General Manager of Fairfield by Marriott Eugene. Dylan enjoys his roles as an advocate for Hospitality and me...

Dr. Bryan K. Williams is a keynote speaker, consultant, and author, who is a noted authority on service excellence and leadership effectiveness. His passion is to serve others so they may better serve the world. Over the past several years, Bryan has provided training and consulting expertise to hundreds of organizations in over 20 industries ranging from Healthcare to Luxury Hotels. His work with...

For 15 years, up until 2019, Elaine was Executive VP of Preferred Hotels and Resorts. She built the sales team in 5 years from $32 million to $100 million in group sales. She worked in development and hotel retention as well as major events. During her time at Preferred she managed the events team and the sales team. In 2020 Elaine and Penny Wing joined forces and opened Reiimagine to provide sale...

Elle Rustique is the founder of Tip Brightly, a cashless tipping platform. Learn more about Elle at https://www.linkedin.com/in/erustique/ and her company https://tipbrightly.com/.  The Travel Leader Podcast is brought to you by The Travel Leader, a travel content, leadership and coaching initiative for leaders in hospitality, travel and tourism.  Learn more at www.thetravelleadercoach.c...

Michael Maxwell joined Blue Orbit as a Partner in 2014 and has worked with Ray Camillo on various projects and in other businesses since 1994. Michael has over 36 years of hospitality operations and senior management level experience at some of America’s most celebrated and successful restaurant companies. Michael graduated from Southern Polytechnic State University in 1981 with a degree in Indust...

Evan is an award-winning Hospitality Headhunter with Gecko Hospitality and specializes in full-service, permanent placement recruiting for hotels, resorts, private clubs, event management companies, and private estates in the New England, New York, and New Jersey Metro markets. Evan’s award-winning Northeast Recruiting Team creates a strategic partnership with clients and a personalized relationsh...

Ana Connolly is a Senior Director of Revenue and Costing for Vantage Deluxe World Travel.  She has over 18 years of hospitality experience, including Panama and multiple U.S. markets. Obtaining her B.A. in Tourism from Universidad de Panama, and a Master’s of Science in Management from Emmanuel College. Currently obtaining a certificate on Google Data Analytics. She started her career at Gamb...

Leah recently founded the Jane Hotel Group, a dedicated hospitality investment company based out of  the Midwest focusing on limited-service and extended-stay hotel acquisitions. Prior to forming Jane Hotel Group, Leah held executive and senior leadership roles with Cushman & Wakefield's Hospitality and Gaming Valuation and Advisory Group and HVS. Over a 14-year consulting career she valu...

In this first full length episode of the Travel Leader Podcast, I asked fellow coach and consultant Debby Jewesson to interview me to introduce the podcast and talk about why I started it. Debby was the perfect choice as she has a history in the hospitality space as the founder of Branching Out Events a floral design and event production company.  Today, Debby is a Personal Coach & Busine...

In this short trailer episode we introduce the Travel Leader Podcast.  I’ve caught the podcast bug! After being a guest on several wonderful travel industry podcasts, I’m starting my own podcast dedicated to leadership in the travel industry. Starting this podcast comes from a genuine place of building relationships and learning from the industry’s top leaders while also providing space for t...