Demystifying the Travel Industry: A Deep Dive into Virtuoso Travel Week and the Art of Luxurious Adventure Planning

Join us as we pull back the curtain on the travel industry, revealing the significance of trust-building and the rewards of attending Virtuoso Travel Week. Ever met someone who looks nothing like how you pictured them? That's what makes face-to-face meetings during these events so fascinating – familiar voices finally match faces. Guest Ashish Sanghrajka, a dear friend and travel enthusiast, shares his valuable insights into these networking opportunities, demystifying the ways we use emails and personal interactions to foster long-lasting relationships with both clients and suppliers.

Ever been caught between packing too much and too little for your travels? We've got you covered. Ashish and Robin spill the secrets on how to pack light, from the magic of one carry-on bag and a backpack to the power of rubber bands and Velcro wrap cords. Never again leave behind that crucial prescription medication or, heaven forbid, your passport. But travel is more than just packing and trust-building; it's an intricate art of planning, timing, and experiencing. We wrap up with a look into the meticulous world of luxury adventure planning with Cline & Co Travel Consulting, known for crafting un-Googleable experiences. Buckle up, this episode is packed with useful insights to transform your travel game.

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show to help us reach even more aspiring travelers. Don’t forget to check out our website, visit us on Facebook, Instagram or follow

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TRAVEL INSURED INTERNATIONAL

MEDJET

VIRTUOSO

PROJECT EXPEDITION

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Have you ever wondered how the pros put together epic tailor-made travel adventures? Welcome to the Intrepid Traveler Podcast. I'm your host, robin Klein, and I'm going to explain to you just how that is done during my conversation with today's guest. When it comes to luxury adventure and expedition travel, the possibilities are endless. In each episode, you'll hear from an expert in his or her field about how these experiences, and more, are created.

Speaker 1: 0:37

This episode of the Intrepid Traveler is brought to you by Klein Co Travel Consultinga luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-Googleable experiences. You can find us on the web at Kleinandcoattravelcom. On Instagram, at Klein Co Travel, we have a private Facebook group you are welcome to join. You can find us on LinkedIn or catch the video version on YouTube. With that said, let's welcome today's guest. So Ashish and I have decided we're having so much fun doing these episodes together that we're going to do it somewhat regularly, and I hope that you'll enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoy recording them. We'll have one of these about once a month, and the subject matter will be what not to worry about in travel. Enjoy, okay, we are recording and we are live from Las Vegas and we are in person today and I am Robin Klein. My podcast is the Intrepid Traveler, and my friend here is I'm Ashish Senghachika.

Speaker 2: 1:44

My podcast is a state of sustainable voice.

Speaker 1: 1:46

Okay so we've never done this in person before, but this is a lot of fun because we obviously have a lot of fun when we're together, and now we're not limited by the Miles between us and separate screens and all that. So so anyway, the reason we are here in Las Vegas, we're worried. Why don't we each give our version of why we're here? Because we're here for Kind of the same and different reasons all at the same time. So okay, first off, what is virtuoso travel week.

Speaker 2: 2:14

It's chaos. Okay, it's nine days of chaos and this I've been doing this us 2006, 2007 sorry. Yeah so I'm used to this chaos, but it is nine days I'm supposed to have a voice until Friday. My voice is already gone.

Speaker 1: 2:27

So okay, other than chaos, but why, like? What's the purpose of it, for you, for your company? Why do you come here every year and have been doing it for that many years?

Speaker 2: 2:35

You know, we work hard all year to earn people's trust and and to we deal, and we deal in trust. Right, we talk about dealing in travel. We deal in trust, yeah, and and this is here to reinforce our trust to To ask for ways that we can make that trust that bonds stronger. Mm-hmm, it's also, this is a place we come in, just to you know, there's lifelong friends that we've made absolutely people that I have made Friends with since 2006 seven, some of them before and those relationships are still intact.

Speaker 2: 3:04

Yeah, still there. I mean I don't have family that I get along with that long. Come on.

Speaker 1: 3:09

Well, you get to choose your friends. Yes you know, okay, well, good, no, I like that. That's. That's very true and for me. So just to be clear. So a few issues on what we call the supplier or partner side of things. So I Come to his company very often when I have a client with a request that that fits like the client profile, fits what his company does that profiles crazy, by the way.

Speaker 1: 3:33

They big five does do an amazing job at finding those out of the box which, you know, I kind of like that term. I got to come up this little box difference. No, there is no box. I'm a box and you're really good at that.

Speaker 2: 3:44

I mean, your company is really good at it. You're finding clients that actually don't even ask about a box, they just see. They see things that you can't find, they just want to do. You're really good at finding that stuff because you do that.

Speaker 1: 3:55

So yeah, so that's kind of my my forte, I would say so that's why and one of the reasons we get along so well. Yeah, that's right, that's right, um, anyway. So the reason that I am here is to meet with these supplier partners, such as Ashish and many, many others. I think there's like 5000 people here this way Actually goes to a six. Yeah it's just a 6000 and I don't know exactly what the split is between travel advisors and between Suppliers partners and there's more other.

Speaker 2: 4:23

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 4:25

So it's a great opportunity for us to actually meet with people in person that we might not get to know Otherwise. Like a lot of times, it's a little bit like the old days, you know, when you used to talk to people on the phone and you know, you would kind of imagine what they look like and stuff. Well, now it's, you know it's the other side of the email. That's right, you know. You know you don't even know sometimes, unless they put a picture you know in their email signature what they might look like. Um, but you sort of develop these relationships over email. It's really interesting.

Speaker 2: 4:55

And then it's like you get here and it's as if you already know yeah, yeah absolutely.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Or, you know, over the last few years we all sort of know each other from one. You know this angle up from zoom boxes. And then you know, you see, this whole person is like oh man, I thought you were really tall and you're not. Or I thought you were really short, you're not, you know. So You're not what I pictured you to be.

Speaker 2: 5:14

I literally had somebody my first few years ago. You're a lot younger than I thought you'd be. I'm like, don't let the gray hair fool you. I'm pretty old, you're right.

Speaker 1: 5:22

That's funny, that's funny, so anyway. So it's really wonderful for me to meet people and talk to people and, you know, get to. We get our little speed dating. You know eight minutes together, and but you know it's. It's enough to Give you a good picture. And for those that we don't already know, we're introduced to so many that I didn't know about before. Yesterday we were at Globetrotting, which is, you know, the speed dating in a group, though, so your group moves from booth to booth and you get an introduction to certain places and we get to be creative with that.

Speaker 2: 6:00

And that's not just the table.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:03

You said you were saying putting a face to it. I mean, we had a guide from Peru here and oh, you were the one that was with my clients. Oh, you're the one that, oh, exactly, exactly, that was a face there. It's pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 6:13

Yeah, no, and we've talked about it before this industry is all about relationships. That's right, and so this is an event that really helps us form stronger bonds in those relationships, and so so, yeah, so it's a lot of fun, it is chaos and it is exhausting as well.

Speaker 2: 6:30

It is Well. So I have a routine in the office Every time I come back from Globetrot from this week, from Travel Week, and I get to the office on Monday. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so my golem voice comes out.

Speaker 1: 6:44

I leave saying.

Speaker 2: 6:45

I'm ready for Travel Week and I come back saying my precious it's great.

Speaker 1: 6:52

So that's what we're doing here. That's why we're here. We had actually hoped we'd have a few people that might stop by and say hi, but you know we're up early and we're both early birds. Given all of that, what are we not worrying about here? And you want to go first. You want me to go first.

Speaker 2: 7:09

I think for me look, I've been doing these meetings since 2007. And for me, it's just taking each moment in. You know, I remember my first weeks when I was here, my first years when I was here, and people would dread coming here. Oh, this is just that this weekend big, it's going to be so tough. I don't, I'm not going to go this year, I'm not going to go that year, or they would bring an army of five people all taking turns. I actually look forward to it. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I look forward to it Because, as you said earlier, you're putting a face to everything you have dealt in over email, by messaging by WhatsApp, and at one point I was getting all three simultaneously and for the same person.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Then you get here and you're hugging each other because you've been through something chaotic or you've been through something, and it's as if you've met, known that person for 25 years, as if you, you, you're literally. You don't see the madness of them for a year or two years, but you see them again. You pick up every letter.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Yes, absolutely yeah, yeah. So it's like not getting too stressed over the meetings and things like that. I mean, what's going to transpire is going to transpire. You've got to be prepared, but at the same time, it's not it's not life threatening.

Speaker 2: 8:18

No, and the flip side of that's also true, which is, you know, in trouble things can happen once in a while right Things can go wrong here and there, and if they do, it's rare. But when you're in these meetings you may run into the person that maybe you let down.

Speaker 1: 8:32

It doesn't happen.

Speaker 2: 8:32

often it's rare, and I've talked to other companies who they'll, they'll skirt the meeting and whatnot. Right, I will. And again, it's only happened a handful of times in 20 years. But I'll go up to that person and just say, look, I'm coming to you face to face. I messed up, I apologize, but our friendship is worth more than this and our and the relationship that we have forced is worth more than one failure. Right, right, when you're ready to forgive me, then we can go through. And it works every time because it's genuine, yeah, you know, so it's not stressing about that as well.

Speaker 2: 9:04

It's so, that's just it. It's taking in each moment Because you never know, yeah, what that moment's gonna change. Yeah, even if we, the same person every you know, five years in a row, it's a different moment. Right, it's not, it's not the same moment. They're all great meetings, mm-hmm, but there's a new discussion. Somebody has had a child or a grandchild, or gotten married, or the kids have gotten married, or there's something else that's happened in their life, and and it's now. There's a new discussion.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Hmm, interesting. Yeah, well, you know, and I've thought about this before, but, you know, coming listening to that and being on the other side of that sometimes, you know, I don't like to use these meetings as the like okay, we got it, I got a beef, and there's you. You know that I've had some things happen with that. I do want to, you know, have a conversation about, but I'm looking at more like I'm gonna get to meet this person face to face. We're gonna talk about whatever and then, you know, toward the end of the conversation, I'm gonna say, hey, after this week, can we pick up and talk about blah, blah, blah and you know that just kind of it, rather than sitting down at the table and being like I never got my commission from blah, blah, blah and you know that, because that's just wrong.

Speaker 2: 10:14

Yeah, yeah, over eight minutes right.

Speaker 1: 10:18

Long time, it really is I mean it doesn't sound like that long when you're doing the whole speed dating thing, but, it's an eternity. Yeah, it's well, especially for you, because it's like Groundhog Day.

Speaker 2: 10:27

Oh, my god. Well, we have the same thing over and over, say. You said that it used to be that way. I, my first show. Tell you a quick story. My first year I had a hotel your in front of me and a hotel your behind me. Mm-hmm hotel your in front of me was was from Peru, was amazing. Mm-hmm hotel You're behind me was from Argentina.

Speaker 2: 10:45

She was new as well and was just getting flustered and stressed and whatnot, and she kept pushing, pushing, pushing, they'll tell you in front of me, pulls her aside. So what are you doing? Can I see your presentation? She showed she's talking about the new bathrooms in her hotel. Oh, and the one. Okay, you have X number of minutes and you want to talk about a bathroom, a number of things one would do in a bathroom. It's not one we really want to talk about and why would you bring it up here? Right, and the view that you're talking about? Nobody cares. Yeah, it's just relax and just be you. Yeah, we became friends.

Speaker 1: 11:19

Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna tell you from Argentina, I'll tell you we became friends because we just relax, and I think that was and that's like a mentoring moment. Yeah, yeah you just relax and just roll with it yeah.

Speaker 1: 11:29

Yeah, that's good, that's good, I like it. So my thing not to worry about and this week in particular, or in travel in general, is Underpacking. Like people think that they have to bring everything. You know, no disrespect. I mean like if you really like a super clothes horse and you just got to have those, you know Three suitcases full of I'm not sure what, okay. But and there are a lot of outfit changes this week there's a lot of different events. So you know, we have our daytime events and then you usually have some sort of maybe a Cocktail event or something, and then you'll have a dinner and then there's a gala at the end and all of that. Now I Managed to come. Now I am skipping out two days early, so oh, oh I don't think you can say that on there I know.

Speaker 2: 12:25

I know where you're from. Okay, yeah exactly um. All right you know.

Speaker 1: 12:34

Okay, so I I came with one carry on and my backpack, so basically one of my offices in my backpack and I have like I have something like six or eight dresses with me, I have three pairs of shoes and you know just kind of the usual stuff that I need stuff to work out it. I mean I just put it all in the carry on.

Speaker 2: 12:54

Do you use tiles? Do you use tiles with me?

Speaker 1: 12:56

I usually do. I didn't this time, although sometimes I use rubber bands. I'll roll things and all the rubber bands around them, and that's what I did like with all my workout clothes. Oh, that's a really good idea. You can also do that with your shoes, like a lot of people use shoe bags. But you can even use Like those sort of Velcro wrap cords or like little bungee cords, and it just compresses everything.

Speaker 2: 13:16

You learn something's new every time stuff things in your shoes.

Speaker 1: 13:20

You know small things put in your shoes.

Speaker 2: 13:24

Is there something new every time?

Speaker 1: 13:26

I'm impressed. Okay, I'm waiting for what I'm gonna learn from you today, all right, so anyway. So, yeah, we've established and I mean, I have to say I love to go, I love to travel, I hate to pack, I really hate to pack. So my thing not to worry about is you can buy, you know, almost anything. When you get there that you need, will it be yours and exactly? Will it match the output exactly and all of that? Probably not, but you know, again, it's not life-threatening. The two things you absolutely have to have and cannot forget are your medications, your prescription medications and your passport.

Speaker 1: 14:06

Other than that like you can pretty much manage. I mean people do it when their luggage gets lost. They don't have any choice.

Speaker 2: 14:14

Exactly. I mean it's easier to pack for guys. I mean that. I'll say I mean it is. I know, whenever I see some of the, some of the people that come here and they're talking about like 13 pairs of shoes and whatnot, and holy cow, I find myself I've got three or four pairs of shoes in my even that's too many.

Speaker 1: 14:29

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 14:30

I don't never take four pairs of shoes anywhere. Yeah, but it's exactly right. I mean, you've got. This is probably the only week where all color code went up, but you're right. You know what? I stopped wearing ties. I used to come here with a full tie and everything.

Speaker 1: 14:44

I said no, no more, I'm not doing it.

Speaker 2: 14:47

That's not me.

Speaker 1: 14:48

Yeah Well, I think in general, the world is getting more casual too, but you know you still want to look professional and you know you look at my breaks this morning, thank you. So you know, packing light to me is like the best thing you can do for yourself when you travel, whether it's for meetings or whether it is for, you know, a leisure trip. Honestly, like nobody really cares if you have a different pair of shoes on every day. I mean you want to. Your feet are on this kind of situation. We are walking a ton, so you want to make sure that you're wearing something that is sensible, sensible shoes. If you've seen some of the heels here.

Speaker 1: 15:30

That's crazy. I can, I mean I would break my neck.

Speaker 2: 15:32

I mean because you're averaging what 2021, 25,000 steps a day. I can and I've seen some of these. You know the.

Speaker 1: 15:39

You've noticed them more than me. I don't really look at those heels.

Speaker 2: 15:41

No, I only only reason I notice them is because I see these heels like it's not even this. It's like this You're just astounded and you're just looking, going how are you? And they're owning it yeah.

Speaker 1: 15:51

They're owning it.

Speaker 2: 15:51

I, god, love them, I give them credit. I mean they're owning it.

Speaker 1: 15:55

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So you know, but it's still on those things, it's really important to you and you need the 13 pairs of shoes. And then the reason with 13 is the number we're talking about is that in my own group so I'm I have a host agency and we have a host agency and we have a WhatsApp going with the whole group and I think there's 40 of us here or something in that group, and somehow we got on this. You know WhatsApp, you know about who was packing what. And somebody said you know they had 13 pairs of shoes. And I was like what? I'm like, yeah, I know I own 13 pairs of shoes, but you know, some of those are like, you know, uggs and winter boots.

Speaker 2: 16:31

That's right. That's right. Some of them would be appropriate. You know that pops the shoes down.

Speaker 1: 16:38

Yeah, I guess you may protect your feet. It's a half. No, no, that's a shoe. Oh, come on, it's a half, it's never mind Exactly. Exactly so. Anyway, I think that there would be a lot of things we could worry about this week but if you go, into it with the attitude of you know we're going to enjoy it and we're going to see our friends make connections, relationships, have some good food and know that we won't have any voices by the end of it. It's all great.

Speaker 2: 17:10

I mean, listen, it's exactly right. I mean I get to sound like precious when we're back. It's going to be awesome. It's going to sound like gollum when I'm back. It's going to be great. Yeah, I had somebody tell me this about 10 years ago and he was right on. He said think about this week for a second. If you're worrying about shoes or your notepad or this, or did you forget something from work, or a certain report or this or whatever the case, you are going to be here for about eight days.

Speaker 2: 17:40

In my case, it's going to be nine days You're sleep deprived because how early you got to wake up. This is late for you and I both. This is late, we're up earlier than this, but you're sleep deprived. You've got a lot of actionable items that are here. It's a sensory overload. And I'm not even getting into Vegas atmosphere itself, with the shows and everything else, and just the over exuberance of Vegas as it all. Out of all those things and he said this because forgetting something at home is that really the worry you want to really?

Speaker 1: 18:10

talk about.

Speaker 2: 18:11

It's the least of your problems when you think about it. I calculated it out because on Thursday, when you talk about that ending party, our days yours and mine our day starts at like 4.35 on Thursday. And then you're cutting out early. My day starts then, and then you go straight through. And then Friday I have a 6 am flight.

Speaker 2: 18:32

So I just go straight through. I leave at 2 am from that closing party, go upstairs, shower, get ready, go straight to the airport. So I haven't actually gone to sleep and I won't actually go to sleep when I wake up Thursday morning. I will not go back to sleep until Friday evening, so it's straight shot You're going to sleep on the plane. I don't sleep on planes.

Speaker 1: 18:50

Yes, you do. I've seen you. I have a picture of you sleeping on? A plane. Okay, hang on In Columbia.

Speaker 2: 18:56

Wait, hang on. Hang on. That's because I will sleep there too, but hang on a second I know, but I'm just calling you out.

Speaker 2: 19:01

Oh, wait, wait, out of all the things that you could take a photo of on a plane, you take me sleeping on the plane. Yeah, it's because of the rare occurrence. Yes, All right, fair enough, fair enough, Fair enough, I'll give you that. Okay, but still, we're talking about like an hour. Yeah, you know, whatever the case, and I remember I would come back and this guy said he goes, you're going to be sleep deprived, and a lot of people think I'll come home and rest when I sleep.

Speaker 2: 19:24

It's not actually true. When you get home, your family responsibilities take over, and so you don't actually, you're basically thrown back into your normal schedule without any kind of catch up. So you said you need to think about that. Yeah, yeah, and not the little things, because the little things, as you said, you can pick up anything here. Yeah, I mean the trip that I was on to Columbia. Before our trip, my phone stopped working. I had went and picked up a new phone, download everything. So if that could be fixed, then forgetting a pair of shoes is not going to be a problem.

Speaker 1: 19:54

No, it's not going to be a problem. And again, we're fortunate to live in a day and a time when it used to be. If you left your paper, presentation or whatever at home, somebody was going to have to FedEx it to you, or something like that. Now everything is in the cloud. You go to Kinkos, you get a printed again and you're off and running.

Speaker 2: 20:13

Well, we even fine-tuned our globetrotting process in terms of because we have to set up the booth and everything else. So you have to focus on costs because it's an expensive week, but focus on costs.

Speaker 1: 20:24

It's an investment.

Speaker 2: 20:24

Yes, absolutely, and it was great because this year we've now figured out a model where everything can be left, meaning it gets just torn down but nothing comes back with us except for just the frame. So taking our booth down it used to take hours, Now it literally takes 10 minutes. Efficiency is the thing that you have to think about the most, Not worry about it you have to think about it, and that's why, stressing out about small things, your eye gets taken off that ball.

Speaker 1: 20:55

Which is key, and I think that that is okay, so we can apply that to leisure travel as well. So, like you're traveling with your family, let's say going on just a trip for you know, a family trip you enjoy. You apply all the same rules to that. That's right. That's right.

Speaker 2: 21:11

Efficiency is there. Don't sweat the small stuff and it will all fall in place, and if it doesn't, you're going to have one hell of a story to talk about the following year. So there's that.

Speaker 1: 21:22

I think that kind of does it right.

Speaker 2: 21:24

Wow, we're right on schedule too.

Speaker 1: 21:25

I know we have time to go have coffee. We do this is impressive All right, so we're going to go have coffee now and thank you all again for joining us.

Speaker 2: 21:33

I need to change my shoes before we go, though.

Speaker 1: 21:35

Well, I'm, I don't, and I'm going to assume that you're going to be the rest of the week going. Are you still wearing those shoes? Well, so here's to the rest of Virtuoso Travel Week, and we're going to let all the rest of the people get on with their day. The noise is getting to be more and the props are getting to be more interesting, so we're going to sign off.

Speaker 2: 21:53

That's right. I'm going to clean myself up.

Speaker 1: 21:57

That wraps up today's episode of the Intrepid Traveler. Thank you for tuning in and thank you to today's guests for joining me. I'll be back again in two weeks with another exciting episode featuring another guest with a story that is sure to pique your interest. Please subscribe to the Intrepid Traveler on your favorite listening channel and give us a review. Once again, today's episode has been brought to you by Clining Co Travel Consulting, a luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-Google-global experiences.