Trade Secrets Podcast
by Travel Weekly
Latest episode
There is always a way: Navigating the world of high-risk travel…
There is always a way: Navigating the world of high-risk travel…
About this podcast
Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at travelweekly.com/podcasts.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:
Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
Emma Weissmann brings more than a decade of reporting and editing experience to her role as Features Editor at Travel Weekly, where she covers destinations and retail travel and contributes to social media, podcast and multimedia initiatives. Before joining Travel Weekly, Emma served as Editor-in-Chief of AGENTatHOME and Executive Editor of TravelAge West and hosted the Humans of Travel podcast. She also helped create and produce the Future Leaders in Travel event for early-career travel advisors.
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
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Episodes
The newest 20 of 100 episodes
- There is always a way: Navigating the world of high-risk travel (feat. Michael and Joshua Beagelman) · 53 min · Season 7 Episode 19What happens when a client’s trip is met with a geopolitical crisis, a natural disaster or unexpected danger on the ground? This week, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada…
- Mastering supplier relations with ‘the travel advisor’s travel advisor’ (feat. NoteWorthy’s Nicola Butler) · 34 min · Season 7 Episode 18What does it take to build and maintain a thriving and mutually beneficial relationship with travel suppliers? In this episode, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada break…
- The newbie travel advisor’s playbook: Education, organization and selling the unknown (feat. Fora’s Henley Vazquez) · 35 min · Season 7 Episode 17Starting a career as a travel advisor is exciting, but it can also feel like drinking from a fire hose. From picking the right education programs and mastering daily organization…
- Trade Secrets on the road: Ask a lawyer at Future Leaders in Travel (feat. Stephanie Hankins of Ment Law Group) · 41 min · Season 7 Episode 16As a travel advisor or supplier, what are your most pressing legal questions? That was the question posed to attendees at Future Leaders in Travel, an event for young travel…
- To niche, or not to niche? Finding your agency’s sweet spot (feat. Mickey McBride and Dana Dziegiel) · 36 min · Season 7 Episode 15Picking a niche – or two – is a solid strategy for any agency business. This week on Trade Secrets, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada break down the benefits of…
- Is fall the new summer? Unpacking luxury travel trends with Virtuoso (feat. David Kolner & Misty Belles) · 36 min · Season 7 Episode 14This week, Trade Secrets is coming to you from the halls of the Aria Resort & Casino at Virtuoso Travel Week. Co-host Jamie Biesiada is joined by guest host Johanna Jainchill…
- “Breaking the glass:” From family-owned Valerie Wilson Travel to a new homegrown initiative (feat: Kimberly Wilson Wetty) · 56 min · Season 7 Episode 13This week on Trade Secrets, Kimberly Wilson Wetty discusses her transition from being the longtime co-owner and co-president of Valerie Wilson Travel (VWT) to her newest venture…
- Are travel bookings slowing down right now? (feat. Michelle Fee and Ryan Ranahan) · 42 min · Season 7 Episode 12Inspired by a listener question from travel advisor Megan Vatnsdal, owner of Onyx & Evergreen Travel, Trade Secrets explores what’s going on with travel agency bookings. Join…
- When the answer is never ‘no’: The world of entertainment travel (Global Travel Collection, part 2) · 47 min · Season 7 Episode 11The world of entertainment travel can be similar to both luxury leisure and corporate travel, but don’t be fooled: it’s really a beast of its own. This week on Trade Secrets…
- An inside look at Global Travel Collection, the $2.4 billion powerhouse host agency (part 1, feat. Angie Licea) · 57 min · Season 7 Episode 14In this episode of Trade Secrets, recorded in person at Global Travel Collection’s Arrive conference at the Fairmont Austin in June, get an update on all things GTC from…
- Checking in on 2026’s top travel trends · 38 min · Season 7 Episode 9Six months into the year, Trade Secrets co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada look at the trends dominating 2026 so far, including shorter booking windows, a younger…
- Should travel advisors be worried about hantavirus? (Feat. Urvshi Marwah) · 29 min · Season 7 Episode 8The hantavirus outbreak onboard MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, has been in the headlines for the past few weeks. Should travel advisors be talking to their…
- Trade Secrets After Dark: Growing up in travel and AI competition with Mr. Honeymoon (feat. Jim Augerinos) · 56 min · Season 7 Episode 7In this episode, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada chat with Jim Augerinos of Perfect Honeymoons (aka Mr. Honeymoon) about his start in travel, keeping up with the…
- Why make $5 when you can make $500? Breaking into the world of ultra-high-net-worth travel (feat. Jack Ezon) · 1 h 4 min · Season 7 Episode 6How can advisors break into the world of ultra-high-net-worth travel? Embark Beyond’s Jack Ezon addresses the connection economy, how to speak to this discerning group of clients…
- Encore: Trading social media for Substack: Using content to build a brand (Feat. SmartFlyer’s Kayla Douglas) · 42 minTrade Secrets is on a quick break this week, so please enjoy this encore episode. Here’s the article Jamie mentions in her updated intro, “How Substack became the hottest social…
- Honest to blog: How one agency turned blogging into river cruise gold (feat. Hank Schrader) · 33 min · Season 7 Episode 5River cruising is one of the fastest-growing verticals for many travel agencies. In this episode, listeners will hear from Hank Schrader, who owns Dream Destinations with his…
- Trade Secrets After Dark: Bourbon, editorial strategy and cross-border incidents (feat. Johanna Jainchill) · 56 min · Season 7 Episode 1This week on Trade Secrets After Dark, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada welcome Travel Weekly’s own Johanna Jainchill, the publication’s newly minted editor in chief…
- Succession planning for travel agencies, part 2 (feat. attorney Tom Carpenter) · 38 min · Season 7 Episode 3What’s your plan for your business when you retire, or you’re unable to run it anymore? In this episode, the second in a two-part series on succession planning, hear from…
- Succession planning for travel agencies, part 1 (feat. Stacey and Sami Ray) · 51 min · Season 7 Episode 2What’s your plan for your business when you retire, or you’re unable to run it anymore? In this episode, hear from mother-and-daughter duo Stacey and Sami Ray of Sisterhood…
- Don’t get burned: Navigating host agency red flags (feat. Marcie Muensterman) · 56 min · Season 7 Episode 1How closely have you read your contract with your host agency? Does it have a non-compete clause? How about a detailed plan for termination? In the season seven premiere of Trade…
