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San Francisco Travel Names Its First Female CEO

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San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization for the city and county, has named Anna Marie Presutti as its president and CEO – the first female to lead the organization.

Presutti took over on an interim basis in May after the abrupt resignation of Scott Beck, who left after only seven months on the job, citing ‘personal reasons.’ Beck had replaced Joe D’Alessandro, who held the role for 18 years.

Presutti said she aims to bring large-scale events and conferences back to the city. “My priority is to lean into the momentum building and return our convention business to a healthy level,” she said. “We will invest in marketing San Francisco’s great strengths, including its culinary scene and arts and culture, and collaborate with other organizations, such as the Bay Area Host Committee, to bring more world-class events here.”

Since the pandemic, San Francisco’s reputation as a meetings and conference host has struggled to make a full comeback due to the slow recovery of business travel and rise of remote and hybrid work, which hurt vibrancy and foot traffic downtown, Beck told Skift in February.

Last month, Presutti told the Wall Street Journal , “2024 is definitely a difficult year” and the city’s conference business likely won’t recover until 2028 or 2029.

Signs of Improvement

The city got some good news last week. On the third and final day of Dreamforce, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told KTVU-TV that he signed an agreement to keep the megaconference in San Francisco for three more years.

This isn’t the only sign of improvement in the city. There have been some improvement in its occupancy rates compared to last year, thanks in part to its rise as an AI tech epicenter. The city recently hosted a conference on AI organized by Databricks, which pushed its hotel occupancy rate to 79% between June 9 and June 15, making it one of the top hotel markets in the U.S. for that week.

The city has been taking steps to address downtown safety concerns, which has deterred some visitors and tour operators. ”You’re not seeing the crime and the open-air drug markets like you did a year ago,” Dylan David, founder of Dylan’s Tours and San Francisco native, told Skift in June .

In 2023, the city had 23.1 million visitors, a 5.2% rise from 2022, according to San Francisco Travel. Total 2023 visitor-related spending, including $494.6 million in meeting planner and exhibitor spending, increased by 20% to $9.3 billion.

In 2023, tourism accounted for $9.3 billion in total visitor spending and generated nearly $610 million in tax revenues, according to the San Francisco Travel Association.

Presutti Joins Several Other Women CVB Heads

Presutti joins several other women CEOs who head up CVBs, who include Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of Meet Boston; Kristen Adamo, president and CEO of Providence Warwick CVB; Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, Julie Calvert, president and CEO of Visit Cincy; and Tammy Canavan, president and CEO of Visit Seattle.

San Diego Tourism Authority also in California is headed up by a woman — Julie Coker who serves as president and CEO. 

There is also a female interim CEO at NYC Tourism + Conventions, Nancy Mammana who had been the organization’s chief marketing officer. 

Tags: Anna Marie Presutti , Dreamforce , Salesforce , San Francisco Travel Association , Scott Beck

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Frontier CEO urges crackdown on ‘rampant abuse’ of airport wheelchair service

The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to provide a wheelchair to passengers with disabilities at the airport. The problem: Many travelers are faking it,  Frontier Airlines  CEO Barry Biffle says.

“There is massive, rampant abuse of special services. There are people using wheelchair assistance who don’t need it at all,” Biffle said at a Wings Club luncheon on Thursday in New York.

He said he had seen Frontier flights where 20 people were brought to the plane with wheelchairs, but only three wheelchairs were used upon arrival.

“We are healing so many people,” he joked.

Biffle wasn’t talking about travelers’ personal wheelchairs but rather the service airlines provide when travelers arrive at the airport.

It costs the airline between $30 and $35 each time a customer requests a wheelchair, Biffle said, and abuse of the service leads to delays for travelers with genuine need for assistance.

“Everyone should be entitled to it who needs it, but you park in a handicapped space they will tow your car and fine you,” he told CNBC. “There should be the same penalty for abusing these services.”

Earlier this year, the Transportation Department proposed stricter rules  aimed at preventing wheelchair damage by airport ground handlers and ensuring “prompt assistance” to travelers with disabilities when getting on and off the plane.

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Twitter’s CEO says employees can return to the office starting March 15th

It’s reopening offices march 15th, and employees can come back if they want.

By Mitchell Clark

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Twitter will be fully re-opening its offices and bringing back business travel starting on March 15th, according to a post written by CEO Parag Agrawal . In his note (see the full text below), Agrawal reiterates the policy put into place by former Twitter lead Jack Dorsey, saying that employees will be allowed to work remotely full-time if that’s what they’re comfortable with.

While Agrawal says that he wants Twitter employees to work wherever they “feel most productive and creative” and that the company is committed to “truly flexible work,” his statement does lean a lot on the benefits of office work. It mentions how difficult distributed work is while also saying that “office visits, team meetings, and events all bring that culture to life in such a powerful way.”

Twitter is going for a hybrid remote work approach rather than a full embrace

This implies that Twitter’s remote work culture won’t quite be the same as a company like Dropbox, which announced in 2020 that it was going “virtual first.” To Dropbox, that means that remote work is the default, and offices are more like co-working spaces where employees can choose to hold meetings instead of places to work individually.

While Twitter does seem to be expressing some preference in its messaging, its policies are still looser than what some other tech companies have announced. Amazon, for instance, is leaving work-from-home policy decisions for its corporate workers up to individual teams rather than individual employees. Google and Microsoft have said they’ll be testing out hybrid policies where employees will come to the office some, but not all, days.

Here’s Agrawal’s full note to employees:

Team. There’s a lot happening in the world right now, but given the improving state of the pandemic, we have made an important decision that I wanted to share as it impacts all of us. It’s been almost two years since we closed our offices and travel, and I’m excited to announce that we’re ready to fully open up business travel and all our offices around the world! Business travel is back effective immediately, and office openings will start on March 15. Our culture is electric and palpable. Os’ffice visits, team meetings, and events all bring that culture to life in such a powerful way, and I can’t wait to see it all happen. Our top priority since the beginning of the pandemic has been to keep you all safe and this will continue. But we’re now at a stage where you’re living your lives, adjusting to local health guidelines, and deciding what works best for you. So too, the decisions about where you work, whether you feel safe traveling for business, and what events you attend, should be yours. As we open back up, our approach remains the same. Wherever you feel most productive and creative is where you will work and that includes working from home full-time forever. Office every day? That works too. Some days in office, some days from home? Of course. That’s actually how most of you feel. This brings me to my next point.. In 2020 we adjusted quickly to working virtually with resilience and agility, but almost all of us were working from home. Distributed working will be much, much harder. Anyone who has joined a meeting remotely while others are in a conference room knows this pain. There will be lots of challenges in the coming months, and we’ll need to be proactive, intentional, learn, and adapt. We’re in this together, and we each play a role in the open, inclusive, and productive culture we want to create. Details on logistics, dates, safety measures, and how we work will be coming soon from Pat and Tracy to whom I am deeply grateful, along with the amazing cross-functional team that carried us through the past two years. And thank you to the Tweeps who have in-office roles, like our data centers, who have been coming into work for the last two years and continue to show up for us and our customers every single day. We appreciate you. I look forward to seeing you all back at the office or perhaps at an event, somewhere in your home city, or mine? Can’t wait... Parag

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Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre will resign

The embattled health care executive will resign oct. 1, the company said..

Dr. Ralph de la Torre , a former heart surgeon who built and became the face of Steward Health Care and its network of neglected hospitals, is stepping down from the company Tuesday and will no longer serve as board chairman and CEO, the company said in a statement to the Globe Saturday.

With his affinity for luxury yachts and corporate jets , de la Torre became the symbol of greed in for-profit health care, amid mounting stories this year of patients harmed by staff and supply shortages at Steward hospitals. De la Torre is believed to hold a majority of shares in the private company, which is one of the nation’s largest for-profit, private health care systems.

A Steward spokesperson did not say on Saturday if de la Torre remains a major shareholder.

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De la Torre, through his personal spokesperson, confirmed he has amicably separated from Steward.

“Dr. de la Torre urges continued focus on this mission and believes Steward’s financial challenges put a much-needed spotlight on Massachusetts’s ongoing failure to fix its healthcare structure and the inequities in its state system,” read a statement from his spokesperson, Rebecca Kral.

The US Senate on Wednesday unanimously moved to refer a criminal contempt charge to the Justice Department after de la Torre ignored a congressional subpoena .

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Read more of the Globe’s coverage of the Steward Health crisis.

Hanna Krueger and Chris Serres of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Mark Arsenault can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @bostonglobemark . Jessica Bartlett can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her @ByJessBartlett .

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Parag Agrawal: India celebrates new Twitter CEO

India-born Parag Agrawal, who has been named the chief executive officer of Twitter, is making headlines in the country of his birth as many celebrate his appointment.

The 37-year-old succeeded Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who announced on Monday that he was stepping down.

Mr Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and rose through the ranks to become the firm's chief technology officer.

He's been described as a safe pair of hands, and has a huge job ahead of him.

But the news of his appointment has led to much celebration in India where the micro-blogging platform has more than 30 million users.

Many took to Twitter to applaud his appointment, pointing out that he is now the youngest CEO of an S&P 500 company. Some added him to the long list of Indian CEOs of global technology firms.

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In a statement on Twitter on Monday, Mr Dorsey wrote, "Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He's curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware and humble. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep."

Shortly after the announcement, Mr Agrawal tweeted a note, saying he was "excited for the future".

"Thank you, Jack. I'm honoured and humbled. And I'm grateful for your continued mentorship and friendship," he wrote. "I joined this company 10 years ago when there were fewer than 1,000 employees. While it was a decade ago, those days feel like yesterday to me."

A graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mr Agrawal has a PhD in computer science from Stanford University.

Before joining Twitter, he had worked at Microsoft, Yahoo and US telecoms giant AT&T in various research roles.

As the chief technology officer at Twitter, he was responsible for the company's technical strategy, leading work to "improve development velocity while advancing the state of machine learning across the company", the firm said .

All his previous assignments have been away from the prying eyes, but with his new appointment, Mr Agrawal has gone from relative obscurity to a major public figure overnight and every move he makes now will be carefully watched.

Already, a tweet that he published in 2010 - a quote from the Daily Show - is being used by some as evidence that he is left-leaning, with many describing him as racist. There has been no official statement from Mr Agrawal yet.

His appointment as Twitter's CEO comes at a time when the social media giant and the Indian government have been at odds over free speech and fake news on the platform.

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Best Travel Agency Software & Travel CRM

if you are looking for the travel agency crm software or software for travel agency to take your business to next level then Travel CEO is the best Travel software to manage your entire business online.

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Travel CEO is a Travel Agency Management Software & Best Travel CRM Software exclusively designed for Travel agents around the world.

What is the difference between other Software and Travel CEO ?

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If you feel something is missing, You can request us, We will evaluate your requirement and if that is required for many of our travel agents then we will keep implementing it. But there is no time commitment since we get a lot of requests.

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Travel CRM Software FAQ

Travel CEO is a leading Travel Agency Software which helps travel agents and tour operators to automate their day to activities. Travel CEO is built with 10+ modules such as Travel CRM, Travel invoice management, Booking Management, Visa Management, Itinerary Builder & etc.

How much should I invest to use Travel CEO ?

Travel CEO billing is based on subscription model. You can try for 1 month and if you like you can continue. If you feel that this software is not meeting your needs then you can discontinue any time.

What is Travel Agency Software ?

Travel agency software helps travel agents to manage their day to day activities to increase their profit margin and cut down their manual effort

What is Travel agency management software ?

Travel CEO is a complete travel agency management software which helps travel agents and tour operators around the world to completely manage their business online. They can access and manage their company anywhere from the world.

How Travel agency CRM Helps travel agents & Tour Operators ?

Travel agency crm impact.

For tour & travel operators, the process of booking, cancellation, refunds, and payments can become clumsy at times. To make things simple for agents,  travel agency CRM  adds exciting features to their operations.

Agents use CRMs to create packages, manage inventory, and group travel queries. These are designed for travel agencies to simplify the process of booking and handling tour and destination packages. Besides, you can also automate the booking process of tours by customers with such a tool through a web portal that supports the growth of your online business.

Why Agents use Travel Agency CRM?

Many travel agents have deployed CRM software at their place for multiple uses as listed below:

• To efficiently handle back-office accounting tasks
• For managing two or more channels & locations simultaneously
• For month on month revenue comparison
• To control the number of bookings per month as compared to traditional tools

Features of CRM for Travel Agency

A quality  tour agency CRM  is packed with various salient features which are as follows:

• One-stop solution for all the needs of an agency
• Simplified reservation system with interactive, easy-to-navigate, and use UI
• Offers all customer and package details accessible with ease
• Automatically adds group discounts wherever applicable
• Allows customers to book products simultaneously
• Simplifies selecting pickup/boarding locations for travel plans
• Keeps track of the balance module like credit and debit balance
• Allows customers to invite their friends using social media

How Tour Agency CRMHelps Travel Businesses?

Here are a few ways in which a  CRM for travel agency  helps operators and agents.

• Integration of Third-party Systems:  In addition to a CRM, a travel agency software can include payment gateways, legacy system, accounting system, and other business applications to connect customers and agents globally.
• Allows Customers to build their Packages : The software also helps customers to create their packages with an option to choose either pre-defined options or customize one as per their needs.
• For Organizations : It encourages the organization with easy deployment, supports business growth and productivity as well as enables the promotion of hotels, resorts, guest houses, & other products across the travel site.
• For Back office and Accounting : The software is used to manage bookings, cancellation, and other accounting functions like amount payable/receivable. It helps to keep track of booking and cost reports for agents.

In short, a  travel agency CRM  assists the company in increasing its business outreach, improving marketing, and customer satisfaction across online platforms.

What are all the Impacts of Travel Software in Tourism & Travel Industry ?

Travel agencies need to manage &promote a variety of services like flight & hotel booking, car rental, and tour packages. A  travel agency software  makes managing all these easy.

In addition to managing various services including lodging, flights, the software also assists managing other activities like packages, itineraries, payments processing, and tracking the financial state of the organization. It reduces operational costs as well as automates sales, marketing, and finances.

Features of Travel Agency Software

Every Tour operator software  is equipped with some salient features including:

• Ticketing module
• User management system
• Dynamic tour option
• Hotel agreement module
• Barcode scanner
• Shopping cart application
• Payment gateway and coupon code integration

The Need of Tour Operator Software

With technology affecting the lifestyle, more customers are opting to online platforms for ticket booking & travel management. Here,  travel software  helps:

• Address increasing number of queries/requests with simplified web-based portals.
• Simplifies management of tasks like reporting and billing as well as generates performance reports for agents
• Aids better interaction with options to add package-related videos, pictures, and documents
• Manage discounts, payment policies, and other promotions
• Set unit base pricing and range-based costing

How Travel Agency Software Impacts Business?

On the overall, the tool is designed to provide solutions for travel agencies for increasing bookings and business growth. Here are some benefits discussed in brief:

• For Industry : By automating manual tasks, it saves the time of the company and also speeds up the error correction process. This assists in faster growth for an agency while increasing their profits.
• For Customers : It allows customers to enjoy an efficient, fast, and easy ticket booking experience. Travellers can either chose to make bookings on their own or take the help of an agent.
• For promotion : An agency can promote packages, offers, & deals regarding hotels, villas, destinations, and others to encourage sales as well as revenue.
• Customer Relations:  With increased productivity and improved quality of the agency’s services, the software improves the customer service level. This, in addition to customer data for personalized targeting, promotes better customer relations and attracts more travellers.
• For Business :  Travel agency software  helps agents expand their business by allowing insight-based market research. It aids in making lucrative decisions for a tour operating business.
• Reduced Cost : Automating various tasks minimizes the need for human resources which, in turn, helps reduce the cost of operations.

From increasing the efficiency of travel agencies to reducing the cost of operations, the software helps a business boost sales while putting the industry on a fast-track with improved quality of services.

Is Travel Agency Management Software Must for an Agency?

End Ticket Booking woes for Your Customers with Travel Management Software

Today, thousands of people book their tickets online & due to this, a booking portal gets a high amount of traffic. However, when people face difficulty booking tickets on a particular site, the agency starts losing customers as well as business. Such a problem can be overcome with quality  travel management software .

An online ticket booking tool provides users with a platform to plan and manage travel as well as expenses. It simplifies purchasing decisions and record travel expenses, allowing users to book tickets on their own, records of which are shared with accountants and managers.

Features of Travel Management Software:

• The software is fast, mobile responsive, and secure.
• It is compatible with different types of portals used by agencies
• The tool is dynamic as well as flexible to meet evolving business needs

Why an Agency Should Invest in a Tourism Management Software:

• Integrated Multilingual System:  A quality booking software offers travel management services in several different languages. This allows an agency to cater to a wide range of audiences from various regions and language preferences.
• To do list : The tool generates a to-do list as per your priorities that you can use to plan on what to do and how to complete all tasks while saving time.
• Mobile CRM : Accessible anytime and from anywhere, the CRM works on a mobile device with the help of an internet connection. You can update your data from any corner of the world.
• Database Management : It helps to manage the complete data of customers like personal information, pre- and post-sales, records of interactions, and experience, etc.
• Manage Daily Offers, Packages, and Deals:  You can easily manage and promote various offers as well as discounts. It also makes the booking process and managing service history easier. Besides, you can also gather the required information and manage details of business insight reports.
• Follow-up Management : With efficient tourism management software, you can manage records of interactions between customers and agents. It allows you to set automated reminders to send welcome & thank you emails, supporting profit growth for your business.
• Customer Satisfaction:  A combination of customer-oriented features, the tool helps promote customer loyalty, improve brand image, and attract new customers. This, in turn, helps increases the profit and revenue of your agency.

In short, travel management software optimizes the productivity of agents and removes difficulties faced by customers while booking tickets. Thus, an agency must invest in such a tool to meet varying customer demands & priorities and attract more business.

What is Travel back office or Travel mid-office solution ?

Operations like booking management, reservation management, credit control, accounting, and customer support are a travel agency’s significant concerns.  Travel back office system  links supplier and sales channels allowing agents to manage inquiries, bookings, customer management, and agent management.

The software allows an agency to administrate the online portal. For this, it collects and arranges all the booking, reservation, and account management data in a readily accessible & understandable back-office system. This data can be used to enhance customer satisfaction as well as employee productivity.

Features of Travel Back Office System

Some of the critical features of a  travel back-office software  are listed here:

• General office management
• Reporting system
• Quality control
• Stock system
• Booking management
• Customer relationship management
• Human resources
• Supplier connectivity
• Auto cancellation
• Travel front desk interface
• Single view booking

Functionalities of Travel Back Office Software :

• Automates post-sales reporting and business rules
• Defines markup, commission schemes, and other discounts
• Creates user administration profile

Uses of Travel MidOffice Software :

There are numerous ways in which  travel mid-office software  can be useful.

• Simplify manual booking management for travel companies
• Helps monitor an agency online booking portal
• It helps efficiently manage daily reports and business operations with booking engines and other tools
• Can be used as markup for multiple sales channels

Benefits of Travel Back Office System

• Business Process Management : A back-office software supports multi-location, multi-user, multi-department, and multi-currency views easing reporting and management of the business process.
• Reduce Sale Complexities : It makes the process of selecting and buying the desired package with easy supported by secure payment methods.
• Client Management System : It stores data, documents, and user preferences. Besides, it also defines user roles and provides easy access to functions adding, updating, deleting, printing, etc.
• Supports Multiple Payment Methods : It supports multiple payment methods which include credit card and cash payment, among others. It helps buyers to make payments instantly while booking their tour packages, enhancing business sales.
• User-friendly:  The back-office system comes with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that includes a dashboard, discount, and user profile administration. Automating manual processes like reporting and management supports the analysis that aids the growth of sales as well as business. With an online administrator portal, it helps manage the company network and sales process as well.

To conclude, a back-office system collects and organizes and arranges all the booking data that can be accessed easily by agents for lucrative decision making.

What is Best Travel Software ?

From land-based agencies to web portals and in-person agents to  travel software , technology has significantly transformed how travellers book their journeys today. While only a few agents had a complete package of services available, travel software combines a variety of products on a single platform including flights, hotels, car rental, packages, and more.

Tourism software  offers additional benefits by combining salient features, including:

• Payment gateway and coupon code
• Reservation management
• Customized tour packaging

How Travel Software Impacts the Industry?

Travel agent CRM system  combines several advanced tech-based features to empower the tourism industry to deliver customer-oriented services.

• Internet Booking Engine : Internet Booking Engine is an online reservation system that makes the booking process more accessible and straightforward. Customers can view details of their ticket booking and availability. It also helps agencies maintain records of their customers, which can be used to promote special offers and deals.
• Mobile Travel Technology : Mobility is in trend today, and customers have various travel apps available today that help them plan every step of the journey from planning to ticket booking, hotel booking, looking for popular shopping places, nearby restaurants, and more, etc.
• Content Management System : It helps travel companies to control all data, information, and content related to their services and customers. It enables an agency to monitor the performance of their website, track and report real-time data, and deliver better services with time.
• Cashless Payment Option : Online ticket booking  software used by the travel agents  provides cashless payment options like card-based or UPI-based payments allowing clients to pay as per their convenience and priority.
• Hotel Bookings : There are a lot of accommodation options available in every city, which makes it difficult for a customer to choose the best option. Availability of web-based guides helps customers to select the best accommodation according to their need and budget.
• Chatbots : Chatbots are the computerized programs that enable delivering instant and personalized customer service. Besides, chatbots also provide fast and accurate replies which are not possible with human staff. This immediate messaging application helps agents enable 24*7 support service for their customers.
• Data Analysis :  Travel software  gathers customer information, needs, and preferences allowing agents to strategize according to their target audience’s needs and demands. Agencies can decide their pricing, improve their delivery, and attract more profitable business with insight-based action.

In short, digitization using various software and tools has added numerous technological features to the tourism industry. Using internet-based booking portals available over mobile devices and advanced support solutions like chatbots, travel agencies can significantly improve on service delivery and business growth.

How Travel itinerary planner Software helps travel & tour Operators ?

Itinerary refers to the arrangement of a travel plan covering step by step information related to transportation, sightseeing, and accommodation.  Itinerary maker software  is designed to assist travellers in planning their travel for business with a virtual agent. The tool provides a pre-planned list of itineraries to enable customers to choose the desired journey according to their requirements.

Features of Itinerary Maker Software :

• Automatic Booking Process: Itinerary planner software  helps customers book their journey to a destined place within minutes.
• Dynamic And Pre-defined Packages:  All the pre-defined packages listed on the tool are dynamic to fulfil the varied requirements of customers.
• Supports Offline Content:  In addition to online service, the software also creates & offers an offline list of packages that can be used by users as per their convenience.

Importance of Itinerary Planner Software

• Enabling Geo-tracking:  The software can be combined with GPS-based location services, making it easier for travellers to locate hotels, cafés, and other locations of interest. It works by tracking the location of the user and shows available popular destinations nearby.
• Calendar Setup and Synchronization : With this, users can easily sync schedules and travel plans with a calendar app. Thus, with all their travel plans collated in one place, travellers can have peace of mind as they won’t miss any.
• Push Notifications and Alerts : It sends alerts to the customers regarding trips planned, flights booked, hotels check-in time, delay, cancellation, and other essential details.
• In-App language translator : To avoid any problems arising out of a non-native language, in-app translator solves their problems by translating messages into a known language of choice.
• Automated Itinerary Suggestions :  Travel itinerary app  automatically retrieves past travel details from traveller’s history and offers automated suggestions, saving their time alongside simplifying the booking process.
• Easy Access to Documents : With a  trip itinerary planner , customers can get rid of the mess of handling document like ID card, passport, photos, and tickets. It allows the user to access the digital copies of all their essential documents in one place.
• Complete Lead History : It helps track the history of activities like itineraries, documents, notes, flight status, and hotel book in chronological order.
• 3 rd  Party Service Integration : Services providers like Uber, Ola, and other apps can also be integrated into this tool, enabling users to get an all-in-one solution for their travel needs.

Thus, travel itinerary planner software comes as an excellent tool for travellers, making their trips more interesting with features like geo-tracking, calendar sync, alert notification, and more. Besides, it also helps travel agents add more value to their business.

Travel CRM Software Articles

Why should you opt for travel agency software or online travel crm software .

The global travel industry has transformed significantly due to a shift in consumer behavior caused by the emergence of new technologies. Travelers, nowadays, prefer booking their tickets online through a web based travel CRM Software   with/without the help of a travel agent. Though this has affected the business returns for agencies on the high street, it has also created a new opportunity for agents to multiply their income.

Some of the immediate benefits of booking a journey online include instant service, lesser hassles, and time-saving, among others. Besides, travelers also get access to a higher number of options for airlines and accommodation providers to choose from, which could be available with better deals than what traditional agents can offer.

Cloud CRM Software for Travel Agent

A Cloud based travel CRM Software  can be accessed remotely via a web browser. It means the CRM can be accessed anytime and from any device with the help of an internet connection. With instant access, it helps to manage the relationship between customers and agents, saves time, and also demonstrates organizational skills.

Benefits of Online Travel Agency CRM Software

online travel agency software  gives agents an upper hand in the industry by offering several advantages including.

Business Growth : It helps to promote business growth by allowing agents to offer instant access to real-time services. Since customers can find multiple options, verify all the details, and book their journey without much hassle, deploying a cloud-based CRM helps increase sales as well. Reduce Operational Cost : Cutting down on investment required to set up & maintain a land-based agency everywhere, online portals help reduce costs by a significant margin. And, this combined with a more straightforward process attracts more customers, leading to a better business. Customization and individualization : With a web-based CRM for travel agency , agents can offer customized travel packages & plans to customers, personalized to their requirements. Knowledge and Expertise : One can find a myriad of information online across diverse topics covering travel tips, destinations, and more. With such massive data at disposal, online agents can attain expertise over a particular area of interest.

Thus, investing in a web travel CRM Software is the need of the hour for travel agents to sustain in today’s highly competitive market.

Top 10 Features of CRM for Travel Agency

Travel business is different from others with its business models, approaches, and dedicated Best travel agency software . However, if you are a travel agent, would you select a random tool? Obviously no!

Here are some of the vital parameters and features that you should consider before investing in a tour agency software

• Fast and Mobile Responsive:  Today, the world is on a fast-track where everyone is in a hurry and connected through smart mobile devices. So, CRM for a travel agency needs to be fast as well as mobile-friendly. It should be optimized for all types of devices that a user is likely to use for booking on-the-go.
• Travel Portal Compatibility:  With a variety of travel agency management software available, you should choose the one compatible with your booking portal.
• Booking Management System:   The software should allow your agency to manage different booking system types including domestic and international flight booking, domestic car booking, local and international hotel booking.
• Secured Payment Gateway Integration:  With the increasing use of online transactions, security risks have also risen. It calls for a secure gateway integration if you are allowing customers to book tickets & pay online on your site.
• Multi-lingual System: When you take your travel agency online, you expand its outreach to people from different regions with different native languages. A multi-lingual system allows agencies to cater to the entire target audience with ease.
• Integrated Hotel Mapping & Destination Tools: CRM must have the feature to integrate the destination and hotel mapping to your site. It helps users to track their destinations and hotel easily.
• Easy, Anytime and Anywhere Access: CRM that uses cloud application is easily accessible from anywhere in the world at any time.
• Guest Management: CRM for travel agency must have guest management features. Customer information, including contact details, visa details, and accommodation preferences helps travellers keep track of their bookings. Besides, agencies can also use the data to promote offers as per customer preference.
• Flexibility: Travel agency software should be flexible to accommodate the varying needs of the business with time.
• Data Security: With a considerable amount of user data stored online, the tool should have strong security preventing any unauthorized access as well as leakage of the same.

How to choose the best Travel agency CRM Software ?

Travel agencies need to manage &promote a variety of services like flight & hotel booking, car rental, and tour packages. A travel agency CRM software makes managing all these easy.

Features of Travel Agency CRM Software

Every Tour operator software is equipped with some salient features including:

The Need of Software for Travel Agency

With technology affecting the lifestyle, more customers are opting to online platforms for ticket booking & travel management. Here, travel software helps:

How Travel CRM Software Impacts Business?

• For Industry: By automating manual tasks, it saves the time of the company and also speeds up the error correction process. This assists in faster growth for an agency while increasing their profits.
• For Customers: It allows customers to enjoy an efficient, fast, and easy ticket booking experience. Travellers can either chose to make bookings on their own or take the help of an agent.
• For promotion: An agency can promote packages, offers, & deals regarding hotels, villas, destinations, and others to encourage sales as well as revenue.
• Customer Relations: With increased productivity and improved quality of the agency’s services, the software improves the customer service level. This, in addition to customer data for personalized targeting, promotes better customer relations and attracts more travellers.
• For Business Travel agency software helps agents expand their business by allowing insight-based market research. It aids in making lucrative decisions for a tour operating business.
• Reduced Cost: Automating various tasks minimizes the need for human resources which, in turn, helps reduce the cost of operations.

Travel CEO is a complete Travel agency software which manage your travel business online and it is 100% cloud based. You can manage your business anywhere from the world.

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Jack Dorsey Hits the Road

He’s leaving his successor at Twitter some big challenges.

By Andrew Ross Sorkin Jason Karaian Sarah Kessler Stephen Gandel Michael J. de la Merced Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat Livni

A founder exits

Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s C.E.O., said yesterday that he was stepping down from the social media company 15 years after founding it. His replacement is Parag Agrawal , Twitter’s 37-year-old chief technology officer. The move comes about a year and a half after the activist hedge fund Elliott Management pushed for Dorsey’s ouster, saying that he couldn’t effectively run both Twitter and Square, the payments firm he founded and where he remains C.E.O.

Dorsey stressed that the decision to leave was his alone, and has said he wants to focus on cryptocurrency and philanthropy . Where does this leave Twitter, whose large cultural influence has often overshadowed its patchy financial performance?

Dorsey’s departure raises questions about founder-led companies. Though entrepreneurs and investors have exalted the founder-C.E.O. as the best person to run a world-beating business, Twitter has always tested that theory: Under co-founders Ev Williams and Dorsey, the company has faced criticism for its financial performance, technological innovation and ability to clamp down on misinformation. (Dorsey was pushed out of Twitter in 2008 over concerns about his management, and returned in 2015.)

Dorsey himself has criticized the obsession with founder-C.E.O.s. “I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of failure,” he said yesterday . “I believe it’s critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder’s influence or direction.” (Might he be referring to another social media founder who is also facing calls to go ?) Dorsey has leaned on Agrawal for everything from overhauling Twitter’s infrastructure to retrofitting the company for decentralization . Twitter’s new chief will hope to follow the example of Apple’s Tim Cook in showing how to build on a founder’s legacy — and not, say, Dick Costolo of … Twitter, who took over from Williams in 2010 before making way for Dorsey’s return after a period of underperformance.

Twitter’s succession plan was updated last year, with Elliott’s input. As a settlement with the activist investor, Twitter added Elliott’s Jesse Cohn and Silver Lake’s Egon Durban to a five-member board committee that reviewed the company’s corporate governance and succession plans. The committee completed its review last year, and DealBook hears that it had identified Agrawal as a potential successor, though it is unclear whether a formal plan was put in motion then.

“It’s big shoes to fill,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. But investors seem unsure whether Agrawal is the right choice to fill them: Twitter’s shares jumped on the news of Dorsey’s departure, but closed down about 2.7 percent after his replacement was named. Still, many analysts agreed it was time for a change, given the attention Twitter needs to keep pace with its peers.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Regulators order a redo of an Amazon unionization vote. A regional office of the National Labor Relations Board said that workers at an Alabama warehouse must vote again on whether to form a union, after organizers said the election wasn’t fair. Amazon, which had won decisively, could appeal to the board’s top office in Washington.

The F.T.C. seeks more information on companies’ supply chains. The agency polled Amazon, Walmart and others about their practices, to help determine whether shortages are leading to anticompetitive behavior. Meanwhile, President Biden told top retail leaders he was committed to making sure their shelves were stocked for the holidays , and smaller stores are hoarding far more inventory than usual .

Inflation in the eurozone hits a new high. New data out this morning showed inflation reaching 4.9 percent for November, exceeding analysts’ expectations. The news will add pressure on the European Central Bank to outline how it plans to combat persistently rising prices.

Elizabeth Holmes accused her ex-boyfriend and business partner of abuse. In her fourth day of testimony, the Theranos founder said that Sunny Balwani, who was the company’s president, had sexually abused her and pushed her to work punishingly long days. (A lawyer for Balwani denied the allegations.)

Goldman Sachs adds new benefits to address worker complaints. The Wall Street giant is offering paid leave for pregnancy loss, larger matching contributions to retirement funds and more. The move comes amid complaints by junior employees about onerous working conditions leading to burnout.

The scramble to contain Omicron

Markets rebounded yesterday amid hope that the newest coronavirus “variant of concern” may not pose as big a risk as initially thought. But investors were spooked again today, as public health officials, pharmaceutical executives and analysts warned that Omicron shouldn’t be written off just yet.

U.S. futures and European and Asian markets are down this morning, as investors react to headlines:

Stéphane Bancel, the C.E.O. of Moderna, told The Financial Times that he expected a “material drop” in current vaccines’ effectiveness against the variant, and Regeneron said that tests showed its antibody drug was less effective against the new strain. (But Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s C.E.O., said his company’s new Covid pill should work against Omicron .)

Jay Powell, the Fed chair, will tell lawmakers today that the new variant could prolong a period of high inflation .

Retailers in Britain told the government that Omicron could stifle Christmas sales and called for greater clarity on renewed pandemic restrictions.

Governments are responding in different ways, and finger-pointing, lack of coordination, sparse information and fear are once again influencing policy, The Times’s Jason Horowitz writes . President Biden said the new variant was a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” and he is relying on a travel ban to buy time to devise a response. The C.D.C. urged all American adults to get booster shots . New York City urged people to wear masks indoors , regardless of their vaccination status.

“Ever since Eve was tempting Adam with the apple, women have been blamed for the bad behavior of men.”

—Bobbi Sternheim, a lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell, in the opening arguments of her trial on sex trafficking and other charges related to her ties with Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was “filling an empty chair” left by the death of Epstein in 2019, the lawyer told the jury, describing her as a scapegoat for his actions.

“The defendant and Epstein made young girls believe that their dreams could come true. They made them feel special, but that was a cover.”

—Lara Pomerantz, a federal prosecutor, arguing to the jury that Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls over a decade. “Behind closed doors,” Pomerantz said, “the defendant and Epstein were committing heinous crimes.”

A financial crisis case gets a court date, finally

More than a decade later, financiers are still fighting over who should cover billions in losses from the 2008 financial crisis. Last week, a judge presiding over a long-running dispute between the insurer Ambac and the former mortgage broker Countrywide, which was bought by Bank of America in 2008, finally set a court date for the trial: September 2022.

Ambac v. Countrywide is one of the last significant court battles still lingering from the housing bust. A study in late 2013 found that 927 cases had been filed that were related to the financial crisis. In 2018, analysts at KBW calculated that banks had paid out about $250 billion in crisis-related fines and settlements. Of those, about three dozen were between lenders and insurers. Earlier this year, Credit Suisse agreed to pay MBIA $600 million to settle a case the insurer filed in 2009.

Ambac is seeking $2 billion in damages. The case relates to thousands of negative amortization, or pay option, home loans that Countrywide made, and Ambac insured, going back as far as 2004. By 2010, Ambac was paying out about $120 million a month on claims tied to mortgages that borrowers were no longer paying. A year later, Ambac sued Countrywide, accusing the lender of misrepresenting the loans as safer than they actually were. Bank of America countered, in a reply in 2015, that the Ambac case was a “hindsight effort to shift blame for its own recklessness.”

The Ambac case has lingered because the insurer claimed that Countrywide had committed fraud , as well as breach of contract. The fraud claim has since been dismissed. And an initial ruling that Ambac had missed its window to sue was overturned. The final delay came last year when the bank and the insurance firm sparred over whether the case needed to be tried in person. A judge said yes, siding with Ambac, paving the way for the 2022 court date.

The prolonged timeline of financial crisis cases has some lawyers worried that pandemic-related insurance cases could be litigated into the 2030s. Hundreds of cases have been brought by companies whose insurers denied business interruption claims tied to the coronavirus. But David Zaring, a professor of legal studies and ethics at the Wharton School, said that those fears don’t seem to be playing out — at least for now. Earlier this year, a judge dismissed one of the most prominent cases, a $700 million suit from Ralph Lauren against its insurer. “The cases are getting resolved,” Zaring said.

THE SPEED READ

Edgewell, the parent of Schick, will buy the women’s razor maker Billie, months after federal antitrust regulators blocked Procter & Gamble from buying the smaller brand. ( WSJ )

The activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners urged the mining giant Glencore to spin off its coal assets to lift its stock price. ( FT )

The Brazilian fintech Nubank reportedly may cut its I.P.O. valuation. ( Bloomberg )

Fenway Sports, the owner of the Boston Red Sox and other teams, agreed to buy the N.H.L.’s Pittsburgh Penguins. ( CNBC )

Britain’s antitrust regulator formally ordered Meta , Facebook’s parent, to sell the online image platform Giphy, while the country’s privacy watchdog fined the facial recognition company Clearview AI for breaching data protection laws . (CNBC, NYT)

Concerns about corruption in Congo’s state-owned mining company are threatening to slow a global push toward electric vehicles. ( NYT )

Disney+ recently premiered in Hong Kong — minus an episode of “The Simpsons” that satirized Chinese efforts to suppress public memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre. ( NYT )

Here’s how the new infrastructure law raises taxes on crypto investors. ( CNBC )

Best of the rest

Data from shipping vessels in Chinese waters has largely disappeared, posing a new headache for global supply chains. ( CNN Business )

New documents show the CNN anchor Chris Cuomo used his contacts to keep tabs on media investigations into his brother, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. ( NYT )

Movie theaters must “urgently” rethink their business to survive the pandemic, a new study finds. ( NYT )

In his first in-depth interview since a February car crash, Tiger Woods discussed his potential return to golf and other plans. ( Golf Digest )

AMC and Sony offered 86,000 nonfungible tokens to people who booked advance tickets for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” while Budweiser unveiled a line of retro-themed NFTs . (CNBC, Insider)

We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected] .

Andrew Ross Sorkin is a columnist and the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook. He is a co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box and the author of “Too Big to Fail.” He is also the co-creator of the Showtime drama series Billions. More about Andrew Ross Sorkin

Jason Karaian is the editor of DealBook, based in London. He joined The Times in 2020 from Quartz, where he was senior Europe correspondent and later global finance and economics editor. More about Jason Karaian

Sarah Kessler is a senior staff editor for DealBook and the author of “Gigged,” a book about workers in the gig economy. More about Sarah Kessler

Stephen Gandel is a news editor for DealBook. He was previously a senior reporter for CBS News, and a columnist at Bloomberg. He has covered Wall Street and financial firms for most of his career. More about Stephen Gandel

Michael de la Merced joined The Times as a reporter in 2006, covering Wall Street and finance. Among his main coverage areas are mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and the private equity industry. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Lauren Hirsch joined the New York Times from CNBC in 2020, covering business, policy and mergers and acquisitions.  Ms. Hirsch studied comparative literature at Cornell University and has an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. More about Lauren Hirsch

Ephrat Livni reports from Washington on the intersection of business and policy for DealBook. Previously, she was a senior reporter at Quartz, covering law and politics, and has practiced law in the public and private sectors.   More about Ephrat Livni

Explore Our Business and Tech Coverage

Dive deeper into the people, issues and trends shaping the worlds of business and technology..

Mark Zuckerberg’s Political Evolution: Meta’s chief executive, once a backer of liberal causes, wants to stay away from politics , and his company has de-emphasized political content  on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

Chasing Readers on WhatsApp: News outlets are experimenting with a feature in the world’s most popular messaging app that allows them to send links and headlines directly to followers .

Jony Ive After Apple: Five years after leaving the company, the iPhone designer is forging a new life in San Francisco , one imaginative building at a time.

The Birkin Bag of the Book World: Assouline has made its name publishing tomes that sell for $1,000 or more . But that’s just the beginning of this family-run company’s ambitions.

The Crackup of Red Lobster : Here’s how missed opportunities, a $1.5 billion real estate deal, all-you-can-eat shrimp and the global pandemic sank America’s largest seafood chain .

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Jack Dorsey steps down as Twitter CEO; Parag Agrawal succeeds him

Shannon Bond

Jack Dorsey is stepping down as the CEO of Twitter, which he co-founded. Here he's shown at a bitcoin convention in June. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

Jack Dorsey is stepping down as the CEO of Twitter, which he co-founded. Here he's shown at a bitcoin convention in June.

Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO of Twitter, the social media company he co-founded in 2006. He will be replaced by Twitter's chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal, a 10-year veteran of the company.

Twitter stock rose on the news, which was first reported by CNBC.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," Dorsey said in a statement. "My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead."

Dorsey will remain on the company's board of directors until May of next year. He was Twitter's founding CEO but left the company once before after a falling out with a fellow co-founder. He returned to the top job in 2015.

Dorsey is also CEO of Square, the financial payments company he founded in 2009, and has been criticized by some investors for leading two public companies at once. The hedge fund Elliot Management, a major shareholder, sought to replace Dorsey last year. It argued that Twitter should have a CEO solely focused on running the company. The hedge fund backed off its demand, however, after striking a deal with Twitter management.

Beyond running the two companies, Dorsey is known to have many passions, including the cryptocurrency bitcoin and meditation. He told Wired Magazine in 2020 that he eats just one meal a day and tries to spend two hours a day meditating.

Jack Dorsey, Twitter's Eccentric CEO, Could Be Looking For A Job Soon

While Twitter is popular among celebrities, politicians and the media, it has been slow to innovate compared with top competitors such as Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. The microblogging platform has stayed largely the same for years. Only recently has it introduced new features , such as Twitter Blue, a subscription service for frequent users, and Twitter Spaces for audio chats, as part of an ambitious effort to more than double annual revenue and attract new users.

"I believe that strategy to be bold and right," Agrawal wrote in a note to Twitter employees on Monday. "But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and deliver results — that's how we'll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders, and for each of you."

Dorsey shared an email to staff members announcing his departure on Twitter, describing it as "a tough one" but as his own decision.

"There aren't many companies that get to this level. And there aren't many founders that choose their company over their own ego," he wrote. "I know we'll prove this was the right move."

• Jack Dorsey

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Kevin Pietersen hails Indian-origin CEO as the ‘GOAT’. Internet calls it the crossover no one expected

Kevin pietersen hails ceo of palo alto networks nikesh arora as the ‘goat’ after arora’s witty comeback to an online troll..

In an unexpected intersection of sports and technology, Indian-American business executive Nikesh Arora has found himself at the centre of social media buzz after a witty exchange on X (formerly Twitter) with a user who attempted to mock him. The incident has not only drawn attention to Arora’s impressive achievements as CEO of Palo Alto Networks but also caught the eye of former England cricket star Kevin Pietersen, who has dubbed him the “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time).

(Also read: Kevin Pietersen stunned by Bengaluru airport's T2: ‘Absolutely world class’ )

Arora, who has led Palo Alto Networks since 2018, has been instrumental in the company's remarkable performance. Under his stewardship, the cybersecurity firm has seen its stock price surge fivefold, positioning it as a key player in the rapidly evolving landscape of Cloud, Application, and Network security. An appreciation post on X highlighted his impressive track record, stating, “When @nikesharora took over as CEO of Palo Alto Networks, I remember thinking 'head of sales business guy taking over a deep tech company in a space with lots of existing competitors and new entrants. Good luck!' ... Stock is up 5x since he became CEO, and they've aggressively kept pace with internal development and M&A. Impressive!”

A witty comeback

However, the admiration wasn’t without controversy. A user named Sandeep Lakhina tried to undermine Arora’s qualifications by referring to him as an “untrained engineer.” This prompted Arora to respond with humour, clarifying, “Lol and he actually happens to be a trained engineer from IT-BHU (IIT-Varanasi).” His reply not only defended his credentials but also showcased his ability to engage with detractors in a light-hearted manner.

Check out the post here:

Pietersen joins the conversation.

Kevin Pietersen, known for his outspoken nature, couldn’t resist joining the conversation. In a succinct reply to the appreciation post, he stated, “Quite simple—Nikesh is the GOAT!”

(Also read: Kevin Pietersen’s surprised reaction to South African schoolboy’s kick on rugby field: ‘Is this real?’ )

Take a look at Pietersen's reply here:

Educational background and experience.

Arora holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering and has an impressive educational background that includes an MBA in Marketing from Northeastern University, as well as a Master of Science (MS) in Finance from Boston College. His LinkedIn profile reveals a robust career, having previously worked at industry giants such as Google, T-Mobile, and SoftBank.

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Executive Team

Michael D. Brown

President and Chief Executive Officer, Travel + Leisure Co.

Michael D. Brown serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Travel + Leisure Co., and is a member of its Board of Directors. Brown is responsible for the performance, growth, and strategic direction of the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year. 

Brown joined the company in 2017, and in June 2018 led its subsequent evolution to Wyndham Destinations as an independent public company, globally headquartered in Orlando, FL, after spinning off Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. In 2021, Wyndham Destinations acquired the iconic Travel + Leisure brand and became Travel + Leisure Co., aligned with its strategy to be the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company.

Previously, Brown served as Chief Operating Officer at Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV). Prior to being appointed as COO for HGV in 2014, he held the role of Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing – Mainland U.S. and Europe. Prior to joining HGV in 2008, Brown served in a series of leadership roles throughout the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean during his more than 16 years at Marriott International and Marriott Vacation Club International.

A leisure travel industry veteran of more than 30 years, Brown’s leadership is infused with a combination of strategic vision, operational expertise, authentic engagement, and industry knowledge. He drives the company’s commitment to be responsive and engaged through socially conscious initiatives, and fosters its global spirit of hospitality and responsible tourism. Aligned with the culture of inclusion and diversity, Brown leads the company’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Council. 

Brown earned a bachelor’s degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. He currently serves as a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council, The Travel and Tourism Council - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, The Real Estate Roundtable, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Executive Committee. He served as Chair of the ARDA Board of Directors from 2021-2024. He is also a member of the Orlando Economic Partnership Governor’s Council, an Advisory Council Member of the Enzian Theatre, and serves on the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Metro Orlando Board of Directors. In 2023, for the fifth consecutive year, Brown was named to the Florida Trend 500 List as a top business leader in Florida. He was also recognized by Junior Achievement of Central Florida and named to their Hall of Fame, receiving the Spirit of Achievement Award.

Inspired by the pages of Travel + Leisure magazine, the company puts the world on vacation through vacation club and membership travel businesses for some of the world’s leading leisure travel brands, including Club Wyndham, WorldMark by Wyndham, Margaritaville Vacation Club, Accor Vacation Club, and Sports Illustrated Resorts, and timeshare exchange network, RCI. With hospitality and responsible tourism at its heart, the company employs 19,000+ dedicated associates around the globe.

Sy Esfahani

Chief Technology Officer, Travel + Leisure Co.

Sy Esfahani serves as Chief Technology Officer of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year.

As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, he is responsible for integrating innovative new technologies and data analytics capabilities to deliver a dynamic, flexible, and integrated modern IT environment. Esfahani also serves as the executive sponsor of the company’s Asian and Pacific Islander diversity resource group.

Esfahani joined the company in 2021 after serving as Chief Information Officer at Qatar Airways Group, where he led the technology transformation to deliver exponential digital capabilities as part of delivering “5 Star” customer touch points. Prior to that he was Global Chief Information Officer for MGM Resorts International, where he focused on improving operations and customer experience within various lines of business across the 20 resort brands. With his team, he launched the first fully operational mobile and kiosk check-ins capable of offering digital keys to guest rooms.  

Earlier in his career, Esfahani led the CIO and key technology leadership function for financial services companies Fiserv, ACI, and tradeshow production company GES. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University.  

Michael Hug

Chief Financial Officer, Travel + Leisure Co.

Mike Hug serves as Chief Financial Officer of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year. 

As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s accounting and financial reporting activities including budget, forecasting, consumer finance, audit, treasury, and investor relations as well as oversight of mergers and acquisitions. 

Having served more than 25 years with the company, Hug was instrumental in its evolution to Wyndham Destinations as an independent public company after spinning off Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in June 2018. In 2021, Wyndham Destinations acquired the iconic Travel + Leisure brand and became Travel + Leisure Co., aligned with its strategy to be the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company.

Prior to his current role, Hug served as Chief Financial Officer for Wyndham’s timeshare business where he led all financial services teams, information technology operations and oversaw Wyndham Consumer Finance operations, with a North American portfolio valued at more than $3 billion. Previously, Hug served as Senior Vice President and Controller. He joined the company in 1999 as Vice President of Finance for the Hospitality Services Group. Before joining Wyndham, he spent 11 years in public accounting at one of the Big Four public accounting firms.

Hug holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and regularly serves on industry panels relating to the Asset Backed Securities (ABS) markets and other trends in the travel industry.

Kimberly A. Marshall

Chief Human Resources Officer, Travel + Leisure Co.

Kimberly A. Marshall serves as Chief Human Resources Officer of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year.

As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, Marshall is responsible for leading the company’s overall human resources strategy, global talent acquisition, and HR business partner team. She also oversees leadership development, associate education and training, diversity and inclusion, social responsibility, organizational design, compensation and benefits, Human Resources Information Systems, HR Operations, the Associate Service Center, business continuity planning, and corporate events. A champion of the Travel + Leisure Co. culture, Marshall also serves as an executive sponsor of the company’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Council, and the diversity resource group for women. She also serves as Chair of the Travel + Leisure Charitable Foundation Board of Directors. 

Marshall joined the company in 2012, and was instrumental in its evolution to Wyndham Destinations as an independent public company after spinning off Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in June 2018. In 2021, Wyndham Destinations acquired the iconic Travel + Leisure brand and became Travel + Leisure Co., aligned with its strategy to be the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company.

Previously, Marshall served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources, for Wyndham’s timeshare business where she led the human resources engagement of all employees. When she first joined the organization, she held the role of Senior Vice President of Human Resources, overseeing the comprehensive development and implementation of the human resources strategy across all sales, marketing and operational divisions.

Prior to joining Wyndham, Marshall led Human Resources for PSS World Medical, a publicly traded $3B company in the healthcare industry. Marshall has also served as SVP, Human Resources for CHEP Americas and VP, Human Resources for Centex Corporation.  A Certified Public Accountant, Marshall began her career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co. and later PricewaterhouseCoopers. She spent 11 years with The Walt Disney Company in Finance and Human Resources.

Marshall holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in accounting from Texas State University. She attended leadership development programs at INSEAD, New York University, and West Point. She also serves on the Orlando Economic Partnership Board of Directors and is a member of the governing body of the Florida CHRO Community and the HR Policy Association.

Chief Sales and Marketing Officer – Vacation Ownership, Travel + Leisure Co.

Jeff Myers serves as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for the Vacation Ownership business line of Travel + Leisure Co. He is also a member of the Travel + Leisure Co. Executive Committee. In this capacity, Myers oversees the development and delivery of sales and marketing strategies, programs, and sales training and development across all of the company’s Vacation Ownership brands in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. 

Under his direction, in 2023, a dedicated sales and marketing force of more than 4,400 associates generated over $2.1 billion in annual gross vacation ownership interest sales at 90 sales locations and produced over 590,000 tours at 240 local marketing locations. In addition, Myers works closely with business development, operations, and finance to drive innovation and business strategy 

The company’s extensive Vacation Ownership portfolio includes trusted and iconic vacation club brands with a combined 270+ resorts worldwide, offering quality, flexibility, and value to more than 800,000 timeshare owners.

With more than 30 years of industry experience, Myers joined the company in 1991, and earned progressive leadership roles, serving as site leader, vice president for multiple regions and Executive Vice President of Sales for Club Wyndham and WorldMark by Wyndham. His proven ability to drive industry leading sales and marketing results for onsite, regional and corporate operations led to his 2009 appointment as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. Aligned with the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, Myers serves as executive sponsor of the company’s diversity resource group for LGBTQIA+ associates and allies. 

He has earned various industry honors including Fairfield Resorts’ Rookie of the Year Award in 1991 and the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Gold Award in 1996. Myers was also previously part of an ARDA Gold Award-winning task force that helped develop the ARDA Leadership-Education-Action-Service (LEAPS) program.

Myers attended Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and is a graduate of the CEO Academy at the Wharton School of Business. He also holds a certificate from the Global Institute of Leadership Development (GILD).

Travel + Leisure Co. is the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year.

Geoff Richards

Chief Operating Officer – Vacation Ownership, Travel + Leisure Co.

Geoff Richards serves as Chief Operating Officer for the Vacation Ownership business line of Travel + Leisure Co. He is also a member of the Travel + Leisure Co. Executive Committee. In this capacity, Richards oversees core business operations, product development and integration, process excellence and quality, strategic operations, as well as enterprise-level growth initiatives for the company’s vacation ownership business. Richards also leads the hospitality, real estate, and development divisions of the company, along with the Sports Illustrated Resorts-related ventures.

With the company since 1996, Richards began his career as a Sales Program Manager, and subsequently held several leadership positions within sales and marketing operations, including Senior Vice President of Sales Development, Vice President of Sales and Site Marketing Programs, and Executive Vice President of Global Sales Operations. 

Richards has extensive business operations experience, having held executive leadership positions in sales development, site marketing, hospitality, human resources, and global sales operations during his tenure. In addition, he served as the executive sponsor of a multi-year technology initiative designed to enhance the company’s inventory management and reservation systems. Aligned with the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, Richards serves as executive sponsor of the company’s diversity resource group for Black associates and allies.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from North Carolina State University and holds real estate licenses in North Carolina and Florida.

Amandine Robin-Caplan

Chief Brand & Communications Officer, Travel + Leisure Co.

Amandine Robin-Caplan serves as the Chief Brand & Communications Officer of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year.

As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, Robin-Caplan champions global strategic branding and communications, enabling a unified voice to enhance the recognition and reputation of Travel + Leisure Co. She leads the teams responsible for the company’s global brands, internal and external communications, digital marketing, consumer insights, and social media.

Prior to joining Travel + Leisure Co., Robin-Caplan spent 11 years at Pernod Ricard, the world’s No. 1 premium wine and spirits organization, where her tenure culminated in the role of Chief Communications Officer for the North America region. She also fueled the communications, brand, training, marketing, and business development priorities at McCarthy Tétrault and GE Capital in Canada.

Robin-Caplan holds a dual Bachelor of Commerce degree in Strategic Marketing and International Business from NEOMA Business School in France and the University of Ottawa in Canada and completed the Pernod Ricard Executive Leadership Program at Institut European d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD). She also served as a board member with Columbia University Maison Française and Keep America Beautiful, among other organizations.

Barry Robinson

President and Managing Director, International Operations – Vacation Ownership, Travel + Leisure Co.

Barry Robinson serves as President and Managing Director, International Operations for the Vacation Ownership business line of Travel + Leisure Co. He is a member of the Travel + Leisure Co. global Executive Committee. Robinson is based in the Asia Pacific region, in Singapore, and oversees markets including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and South Korea. 

Robinson leads the international growth strategy for the largest timeshare operation outside of North America and oversees three vacation clubs: Accor Vacation Club, Club Wyndham South Pacific, and Club Wyndham Asia – catering to a collective membership exceeding 100,000 members. The business is also a mixed-use manager and hotel management development agent in the Asia Pacific region. Under Robinson’s stewardship, the company has solidified its position as a leader in resort development, construction and asset management, with a consumer finance portfolio valued at over US$218 million. 

Since joining the business in 2003, Robinson has grown the Asia Pacific operation to a club asset portfolio in excess of US$1 billion with some 89 hotel and vacation club properties either open or under development. Previously, he drove immense growth in the Wyndham Hotel Group presence in Asia Pacific as President and Managing Director for the region, entering new markets including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Vanuatu, and Guam.

For more than 28 years, Robinson has driven growth for international hospitality brands in Asia, overseeing the acquisitions for Accor Vacation Club in Australia and Resort Frontier (manger of Sundance Resort Club) in Japan for Travel + Leisure Co. He also forged a partnership between Greens Company Ltd and Choice Hotels in 2000 that enabled the hotel giant to enter and expand its portfolio in Japan. 

Robinson’s contributions to the hospitality industry in Asia Pacific were recognized in 2022 when he was named Asia Pacific Hotelier of the Year at the 2022 HM Awards and Entrepreneur of the Year at the GNEX Industry Awards. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC) awards in 2017. A committed philanthropist, Robinson has been a Director of the Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) Global Research Foundation Board since 2007. 

With more than 30 years of hospitality experience, Robinson has served in leading industry roles covering management, operations, development, branding and franchising. He has held senior leadership positions for some of the world’s largest hospitality companies, including Swiss-Belhotel International, Swissôtel Worldwide Partner Hotels, and Choice Hotels International, in markets including Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China and Singapore. 

In the Asia Pacific region, he is also President of the Asia Pacific Resort Development Organisation (APRDO), the industry body for vacation ownership in Asia, and Deputy President of the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC), the industry body for vacation ownership in Australia.

Robinson has completed several post-graduate programs including the Global Leaders Program with the Wharton School through the University of Pennsylvania, an Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School, and the WPO Harvard President’s Program – where he has retained his affiliation as a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

James Savina

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Travel + Leisure Co.

Jim Savina serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers every year. As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, Savina leads the company’s legal function.

Savina joined the company in 2018 and was instrumental in establishing Wyndham Destinations as an independent public company after spinning off Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. In 2021, Wyndham Destinations acquired the iconic Travel + Leisure brand and became Travel + Leisure Co., aligned with its strategy to be the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company.

Prior to joining Travel + Leisure Co., Savina served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at The Kraft Heinz Company, where he played a central role in the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H. J. Heinz Company and led the combined company’s legal department. Previously, Savina served as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer for Kraft Foods Group. His prior experience includes roles as Executive Director, Global Legal Investigations & Legal Operations for Avon Products; Senior Counsel and Director of Claims and Legal Administration for Energy Future Holdings; and Associate for Jones Day.

Savina earned his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Twitter is getting a new CEO: Elon Musk's likely successor is NBCUniversal's Linda Yaccarino

Elon Musk says he has picked the new leader of Twitter and plans to step down as CEO.

“Excited to announce that I’ve a new CEO for X/Twitter . She will be starting in ~6 weeks!,” Musk tweeted Thursday.

X refers to the new legal entity that includes Twitter as well as Musk’s ambitions to morph Twitter into a “super app.”

He did not identify the new CEO but citing people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported that NBCUniversal’s advertising chief Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become CEO of Twitter.

Yaccarino, who joined NBCUniversal in 2011, resigned from her position Friday. She was scheduled to make a sales presentation to the advertising industry Monday.

Linda Yaccarino is Twitter's new CEO What to know about Elon Musk's pick

A former Trump political appointee, she is respected in the advertising world and would bring connections to Twitter which has lost advertisers since Musk bought the social media platform six months ago.

“While overseeing billions in annual ad revenue and keeping tight relationships with marketers and ad agencies globally, we believe that this would be a homerun hire for Twitter and fit in very well to the overall Twitter strategy and monetization looking ahead,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a research report.

During his tenure, Musk has overseen mass layoffs, loosened content moderation and changed the blue-check verification system.

Last month Musk was interviewed onstage by Yaccarino at a conference hosted by digital marketing trade group MMA Global.

“It’s a train wreck sometimes,” Musk said of running Twitter.

Speaking at an AdAge conference in November, Yaccarino said she wouldn't bet against Musk. “You’ve got to give the guy a minute,” she said.

Pressure has increased on Musk to turn his attention back to Tesla. In December, he tweeted that he was looking to hire his successor at Twitter.

"I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Musk wrote on Twitter.

Even after his successor takes over, Musk will still call the shots. Musk said Thursday that he would transition to executive chairman and chief technology officer, and would still oversee products and software.

Musk said early on that he didn’t plan to remain at the helm of Twitter and reducing his time commitment was his plan all along.

“There’s an initial burst of activity needed post acquisition to reorganize the company,” Musk said in November during a trial over his compensation at Tesla. “I’d find someone else to run Twitter over time.”

USA TODAY reached out to Twitter for comment. The company's press email automatically replied with ⁠ the poop emoji .

Contributing: Bailey Schulz

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Our Executive Leadership Team

Leadership en intro.

CWT’s executive leadership team features more than 200 years’ combined experience in all facets of global travel, hospitality, logistics, technology, and the law. They have set a winning strategy that our clients and their employees can count on to help them keep moving and deliver travel management services that drive bottom line results.

Patrick Andersen

President & Chief Executive Officer

He joined CWT in 2008 and has over 30 years’ experience in global travel & logistics, with various international leadership roles at Deutsche Post Worldwide and DHL.

Patrick also serves as a Non-Executive Member of the Board at Global Minnesota, and MNSNAP, and is on the Board of Overseers for the Carlson School of Management.He studied management at the London Business School.

Doug Anderson

Chief Operating Officer

His history with CWT runs deep, having served as the company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2016. During this time, he played a crucial role in steering the company's strategy and financial operations and more recently he joined as a Board member.

Doug is a former Chief Executive Officer of American Express Global Business Travel, a Chief Financial Officer for United Parcel Service (UPS) Supply Chain Solutions, as well as CFO for UPS's European and Asia Pacific businesses. Additionally, Doug has been a Non-Executive Director on the board of Wings Travel Management, Board Chairman of the Global Business Travel Association Foundation, and a Board Director of the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Lauren Aste

Chief Legal Officer

She joined CWT in 2007 and has more than 20 years’ experience global travel and law, having previously served in private practice at international law firms Dechert LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP. Lauren also serves as Board Chair of the World Childhood Foundation, Inc.

She received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, holds an MA from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science, and a BA from Wellesley College. She is admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of England and Wales and is a member of the New York and Connecticut State Bars.

Chief Strategy Officer

Julia graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations and East Asian Studies, and holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Brian Mogler

Chief Partnership Officer

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.

John Pelant

Chief Experience & Technology Officer

He joined CWT in 1991 and has held various leadership positions, with both global and Americas remits, most recently leading the Product and Technology organization as Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. He is responsible for delivering on the company’s strategy for our external and internal product capabilities servicing our customers.

John is also a board member for the Orphaned Starfish Foundation, a member of the Defenders Circle at Thorn, and leads the CWT Responsible Business program in the Americas. 

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St John’s University in Minnesota.

James Shepherd

Chief Financial Officer

Immediately prior to this, James was Senior VP Corporate Finance responsible for the delivery of analysis, decision support, and leadership of Financial Planning and Analysis as well as the Finance Business partnerships to the global operating functions of CWT.

James brings more than 20 years senior leadership experience in the areas of finance, strategy, and operational excellence, delivering shareholder value and strategic impact for Fortune 500 companies. He joined CWT via Medtronic, where he served as the VP of Strategy and Transformation for Global Operations and Supply Chain.

Before Medtronic, James held leadership roles at Deloitte, Navigant Capital Advisors, and IBM where he led global mergers & acquisitions, and transformed operating models within investment banking, and corporate restructuring and strategy consulting.

Nick Vournakis

Chief Customer Officer

Nick spent four years with EY Global Consulting services having been awarded a BA in Economics at Miami University.

Laura Watterson

Chief Human Resources Officer

She holds a Master’s in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts in French from Washington and Lee University.

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