Podcasts about Tripadvisor

On this episode, we chat about some news involving some new 2026 hotel and vacation package discounts that are available, and ways that Disney is gearing up of the holidays with merchandise, sold out parties, and refurbs. We also discuss the top rated and reviewed restaurants at Disney Springs, and whether we agree with the rankings, pulling ratings from Google Reviews, Trip Advisor, and Touring Plans.Join Club 32Help us to fund & grow the show by becoming part of Club 32! You'll get more additional content, CTM Apparel discounts, 1901 Candle Company discounts, private Facebook Group, private podcast & more! - head to ctmvip.com1901 Candle CompanyWe're excited to launch our brand new Disney Scented Candles & You Can Learn More at 1901candleco.com.CTM ApparelGet the best Disney, Universal and/or Pop Culture apparel that is hand made in our shop - shop at ctmshirts.comSubscribe To The Show & Leave Us A ReviewApple Podcasts - Click HereStitcher - Click HereSpotify - Click HereFollow Us on Social MediaCTM Facebook Group: @capthemagicTwitter: @capthemagicInstagram: @capthemagicVisit Us OnlineSubscribe to our YouTube Channel!Capture the Magic Podcast – find the latest episodes!Capture The Magic Apparel – you can find a great Disney-inspired t-shirt collection!Join Club 32! Our private group with access to exclusive livestreams, podcasts, and MORE! Visit ctmvip.comOur SponsorsZip Travel - visit vacationwithzip.com to see how they can help you have the vacation of a lifetime!

In der heutigen Folge sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Anja Ettel und Holger Zschäpitz über die großen Verschiebungen im 3. Quartal, Trumps wirren Deal mit Pfizer und Wolfspeed, die wie Phoenix aus der Asche steigen. Außerdem geht es um Applovin, Western Digital Corp, Warner Bros, Seagate Technologies, Intel, Tesla, Charter Communications, Trade Desk, Lululemon, FactSheet, Molina Healthcare, Gartner, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, BMW, Airbus, Fresenius, Bayer, Deutsche Börse, Symrise, Beiersdorf, Lithium America, Berkshire Hathaway, Occidental Petroleum, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Electronic Arts, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, Insmed Incorporated, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Krystal Biotech, Mineralys Therapeutics, Vera Therapeutics, Summit Therapeutics, TripAdvisor, Zoom Communications, Unity Software, Workiva, Trimble, Take-Two Interactive Software, Avepoint, Groupon, Magnolia Oil, Kinetik Holdings, Kosmos Energy, Parsons Corporation, Hexcel Corporation, Science Applications International, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Scout24, Brenntag, Hugo Boss, Nordex, Temenos, Avolta, Burberry, Remy Cointreau, Whitbread, Reckitt Benckiser, Amadeus IT Group, Moncler, Signify, Iveco Group, EDP Renovaveis, Solaria Energia, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (WKN: A2PKXG). Wir freuen uns über Feedback an aaa@welt.de. Noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" findet Ihr bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts und AAA-Newsletter. Hier bei WELT: https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html. Der Börsen-Podcast Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte! https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article104636888/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

Send us a textLinking the Travel Industry is a business travel podcast where we review the top travel industry stories that are posted on LinkedIn by LinkedIn members.  We curate the top posts and discuss with them with travel industry veterans in a live session with audience members.  You can join the live recording session by visiting BusinessTravel360.comYour Hosts are Riaan van Schoor, Ann Cederhall and Aash ShravahStories covered on this podcast episode include -The U.S. Department of Transportation orders Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico to end their 8-year long joint venture.Amadeus and Lufthansa start tests with the EU Digital Identity Wallet. Michael J. Goldrich's post about Tripadvisor's AI strategy attracts a lot of comments.American Express (card/financial services) launches a travel app. Corporate Travel Management (CTM) UK/EU has again postponed releasing its 2025 full year accounts, following last month's trading suspension on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) due to financial accounting errors.Dohop and Citilink Indonesia team up with a new alternative interline platform that opens up 47 new destinations and 86 unique connections for travellers through partnerships with Scoot and Air India Express.Kirill Stati's post about the sad state of corporate OBTs sparks plenty of discussion.Extra StoriesYou can subscribe to this podcast by searching 'BusinessTravel360' on your favorite podcast player or visiting BusinessTravel360.comThis podcast was created, edited and distributed by BusinessTravel360.  Be sure to sign up for regular updates at BusinessTravel360.com - Enjoy!Support the show

3 Limited-Time Travel Deals: Beaches Family Fun, Atlas Expeditions & Viking's Christmas on the Rhine 1. Beaches Resorts – Caribbean Sale Save up to 65% off room rates at Beaches Turks & Caicos or Beaches Negril, plus enjoy:

This week, two new cast members are given a big role, skip waiting for A Christmas Fantasy Parade this holiday season, a new experience is coming to Downtown Disney, behind the scenes with the new Oogie Boogie at Haunted Mansion Holiday, a preview of Mr. Lincoln returning next year, a construction update, we talk about our time at this year's Dreaming Tree Gala in Marceline, Missouri, and more! Please support the show if you can by going to https://www.dlweekly.net/support/. Check out all of our current partners and exclusive discounts at https://www.dlweekly.net/promos. News: Just a few days ago, two cast members were selected for a very important role at the Disneyland Resort. Michele Mary and Oralia Neria Felix will represent thousands of cast members as the 2026-2027 Disneyland Ambassador Team. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Ambassador program, which was started by Walt Disney himself for the 10th anniversary of Disneyland. Since the start, nearly 250 cast members have been part of Ambassador teams all around the world. In addition to the parks, Aulani, the Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii also has an ambassador. – https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/2026-2027-disney-ambassadors-celebrate-cast-community-disney-spirit/ https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-parks/disneyland-resort-reveals-2026-27-ambassadors/ This holiday season, there is no need to wait for the perfect spot to see The Christmas Fantasy Parade. The Plaza Inn will offer a dining package starting November 16th that includes reserved parade viewing. The package is priced at $58 per adult and $32 per child. The package includes a creamy potato leek soup, herb-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, buttered haricots verts served with a caramelized onion sauce, a holiday yule log, and a fountain drink. The childs meal includes chicken tenders served with creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, and chicken gravy with a Hawaiian roll, holiday yule log, and botttled water or milk. Booking starts on September 25th. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2025/09/20/disney-confirms-full-menu-and-prices-for-exclusive-holiday-dining-package-in-disneyland/#more-1069412 We have talked before about wages at the Disneyland Resort and all the struggles that cast and the company have had coming to a mutually beneficial agreement. Disneyland has agreed to pay $233 million dollars to settle a 2019 class-action lawsuit that alleged Disney was not adjusting wages to match the higher requirements that Anaheim had passed. In addition to the settlement, four unions representing over 14,000 employees struck a deal to raise the base pay to $24 an hour, including back pay with interest to 2019. – https://www.micechat.com/423670-disneyland-news-most-stressful-record-settlement-ceo-succession/ A new experience is coming to Naples Ristorante e Bar in Downtown Disney this Halloween season. Pumpkins & Pancakes is a 90 minute experience that includes a family-style breakfast with hot cocoa and cider, pumpkin picking and decorating, a photo opportunity, take-home treats, and bottomless momosas for guests 21+. Tickets are $75, plus tax and gratuity, for adults, and $39 for kids age 3-10. To reserve a place, check out the link in our show notes. – https://www.micechat.com/423670-disneyland-news-most-stressful-record-settlement-ceo-succession/ https://www.exploretock.com/naples-ristorante-e-bar-anaheim/experience/494937/pumpkins-pancakes?date=2025-10-05&size=2&time=10%3A00 Walt Disney Imagineering is at it again showing off their skills online! This time, they posted a video on Instagram showing off the behind-the-scenes that resulted in the updated Oogie Boogie for Haunted Mansion Holiday. Imagineers show off how they did it and what is new this time – https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-parks/haunted-mansion-holiday-oogie-boogie-update/ Weeklyteers who watched the special edition of 20/20 for the Disneyland 70th Anniversary may have seen a preview of Mr. Lincoln, which will be premiering after the 70th anniversary in 2026, in rotation with Walt Disney – A Magical Life. The Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show will be largely the same, except for the setting. Lincoln now sits in a space similar to the Oval Office, flanked by US and State of Illinois flags. If you missed it on ABC, you can stream The Happiest Story on Earth: 70 Years of Disneyland on Disney+ and Hulu. – https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-parks/reimagined-great-moments-with-mr-lincoln-first-look/ Not a ton is going on construction-wise in the parks, but there is quite a bit going on in Downtown Disney. The security checkpoint between the Disneyland Hotel and the shopping district is under construction to add a new, permanent gate. The new location for Earl of Sandwich continues to take shape, while work still continues on Lullemon in the old ESPN Zone building, and exterior work on the LEGO store. – https://www.micechat.com/423670-disneyland-news-most-stressful-record-settlement-ceo-succession/ A recent study of TripAdvisor reviews found that some of the places we like to visit the most are also the most stressful. Theme parks dominate the results, with 6 Disney locations in the top 20 worldwide. Disneyland ranks #5 globally, but #1 in the US, followed by the Las Vegas Strip, and the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. Some reasons for theme parks to rank so highly include a combination of massive crowds, long wait times, and high expectations. To see all the results, check out the link in our show notes. – https://www.micechat.com/423670-disneyland-news-most-stressful-record-settlement-ceo-succession/ SnackChat: Downtown Disney – Earl of Sandwich Main – https://earlofsandwichusa.com/menu/downtown-disney-at-the-tavern/ Trailer – https://www.earlofsandwichusa.com/menu/downtown-disney/ Discussion Topic: 2025 Dreaming Tree Gala Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is EQ more important than IQ when it comes to hospitality?Today, Manish Puri, General Manager of the Regent Hotels and Resorts Bali, joins Dan to dive into key topics in the industry, such as sustainability, community, and leadership. They discuss the essence of hospitality, differentiating it from mere service, and delve into the concept of regenerative hospitality and sustainability. Manish shares insights from his career at prestigious hotel brands like Oberoi, Burj Al Arab, Six Senses, and Regent Bali. They explore how sustainability initiatives can transform the industry, turning cost centers into investment centers, and the importance of heartfelt service. The conversation also covers the challenges of opening and managing new hotels and the impact of leadership and open-heartedness in inspiring younger generations in the hospitality industry.Takeaways: Embrace regenerative practices by viewing waste as an opportunity to create value, turning sustainability efforts into investments rather than costs.Lead by example and integrity. Your actions are always being observed, so inspire others by consistently doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.Pay attention to the small details in your work. Excellence is built on thousands of thoughtful, consistent actions rather than a single grand gesture.Foster a culture of genuine care and positivity. Small acts of kindness and authentic smiles can create a powerful ripple effect throughout your organization.Design guest programs that encourage visitors to give back to the local community, such as volunteering or sharing their expertise, creating a positive impact beyond their stay.Treat sustainability initiatives as opportunities for investment and growth, not just as expenses. Find ways to turn environmental responsibility into tangible value.Quote of the Show:“ A luxury brand has to have that caring side of it. Caring for the environment, caring for all stakeholders, caring for the community. Without it, you are not a complete hotel.” - Manish PuriLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-puri-36241231/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manpuri/ Website: https://www.ihg.com/regent/hotels/us/en/reservation Shout Outs:1:15 - Oberoi Hotels and Resorts https://www.oberoihotels.com/ 1:16 - Burj Al Arab https://www.jumeirah.com/en/Stay/Dubai/Burj-Al-Arab-Jumeirah 1:17 - Potato Head https://seminyak.potatohead.co/ 1:22 - Six Senses https://www.sixsenses.com/en/ 2:28 - IHG https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/reservation 2:30 - Kimpton https://www.ihg.com/kimptonhotels/hotels/us/en/reservation 2:33 - Intercontinental https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/reservation 5:10 - Beverly Wilshire https://www.fourseasons.com/beverlywilshire/ 5:12 - Pretty Woman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Woman 5:48 - Four Seasons https://www.fourseasons.com/ 5:49 - Jim Brown https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-brown-718240a/ 22:42 - TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/ 28:45 - Tom Cruise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cruise 28:52 - Grand Hyatt https://www.hyatt.com/grand-hyatt/en-US 28: 53 - Kempinski Palace https://www.kempinski.com/en/palace-portoroz 29:02 - University of Oxford https://www.ox.ac.uk/ 29:02 - Cornell University https://www.cornell.edu/ 

We're taking you to the incredible country of Georgia, one of the most underrated countries in the world where wine, history, and culture come together in the most magical way in the main city of Tbilisi and beyond. We explore historic spas, wine baths, local nightlife, cultural sites, natural wonders in the Caucasus Mountains.We also dive deep into our experience at WINECAST, a five-day festival celebrating cinema, wine, and Georgian culture with film screenings, wine tastings and masterclasses, live music, and more!Highlights of Georgia:The rich history of Georgia as the birthplace of wine

Let's take a walk down Essex Street, Salem's oldest and perhaps most iconic street, it didn't always play host to millions of visitors in October. It is lined with over 400 years of history: architecture, maritime, farming, industry, banking, murder, and so much more. Join Jeffrey and Sarah, your favorite Salem tour guides, for a stroll down Witch City's main drag, recounting buildings and people long gone along the way. From Collins Cove and unmarked graves, to homes that predate the Witch trials, and merchants in between. Let's see what this first part of Essex St holds.  Feel free to open google maps and walk with us as we start our journey. Google Maps. “Directions to 42.5261979,-70.8841083.” Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/dir//42.5261979,-70.8841083/@42.5249201,-70.8860927,17.1z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDkxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D. Streets of Salem. “Essex Street.” https://streetsofsalem.com/?s=Essex+Street. Tripadvisor. “Essex Street Pedestrian Mall.” https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60954-d285562-Reviews-Essex_Street_Pedestrian_Mall-Salem_Massachusetts.html. Salem State University Archives and Special Collections. “Paramount Theatre.” Salem State University LibGuides. https://libguides.salemstate.edu/home/archives/blog/Paramount-Theatre. Patch. “History of Salem Movie Houses.” Salem Patch. https://patch.com/massachusetts/salem/history-of-salem-movie-houses. Salem News. “Salem Eyes Two Options for Essex St. Pedestrian Mall.” https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/salem-eyes-two-options-for-essex-st-pedestrian-mall/article_0d257e61-5b54-5bac-ac50-9e881a5ba46d.html. Salem State Archives. “Salem State Archives Flickr Collection.” Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/salemstatearchives/albums/72157712998829238/with/49497726697. History by the Sea. “Almshouse and Hospital for Contagious.” https://www.historybythesea.com/almshouse-and-hospital-for-contagious. Salem State University. “Local Historian and Salem State Alumna Jen Ratliff Discovers Burial Site at Collins Cove.” Salem State University News. January 28, 2020. https://www.salemstate.edu/news/local-historian-and-salem-state-alumna-jen-ratliff-discovers-burial-site-collins-cove-jan-28-2020. Hart, Donna Seger. “Evolving Essex Street.” Streets of Salem, June 22, 2015. https://streetsofsalem.com/2015/06/22/evolving-essex-street/. Hart, Donna Seger. “On the Tavern Trail.” Streets of Salem, August 20, 2019. https://streetsofsalem.com/2019/08/20/on-the-tavern-trail/. Salem Witch Museum. “Thomas Beadle's Tavern (Site Of).” https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/thomas-beadles-tavern-site-of/. National Park Service. “Narbonne House.” Last modified March 30, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/places/narbonne-house.htm. The Naumkeag District Directory for Salem No. 3, 1886–1887. Salem, MA: Henry M. Meek, 1887.   Interested in Salem The Podcast Merch!?  CLICK HERE! Interested in supporting the Podcast? Looking for more Salem content? CLICK HERE! www.salemthepodcast.com NEW INSTAGRAM - @salemthepod Email - hello@salemthepodcast.com   Book a tour with Sarah at Bewitched Historical Tours   www.bewitchedtours.com Book a tour with Jeffrey at Salem Uncovered Tours  www.salemuncoveredtours.com    Intro/Outro Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/unfamiliar-faces License code: NGSBY7LA1HTVAUJE

Let's take a walk down Essex Street, Salem's oldest and perhaps most iconic street, it didn't always play host to millions of visitors in October. It is lined with over 400 years of history: architecture, maritime, farming, industry, banking, murder, and so much more. Join Jeffrey and Sarah, your favorite Salem tour guides, for a stroll down Witch City's main drag, recounting buildings and people long gone along the way. From Collins Cove and unmarked graves, to homes that predate the Witch trials, and merchants in between. Let's see what this first part of Essex St holds.  Feel free to open google maps and walk with us as we start our journey. Google Maps. “Directions to 42.5261979,-70.8841083.” Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/dir//42.5261979,-70.8841083/@42.5249201,-70.8860927,17.1z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDkxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D. Streets of Salem. “Essex Street.” https://streetsofsalem.com/?s=Essex+Street. Tripadvisor. “Essex Street Pedestrian Mall.” https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60954-d285562-Reviews-Essex_Street_Pedestrian_Mall-Salem_Massachusetts.html. Salem State University Archives and Special Collections. “Paramount Theatre.” Salem State University LibGuides. https://libguides.salemstate.edu/home/archives/blog/Paramount-Theatre. Patch. “History of Salem Movie Houses.” Salem Patch. https://patch.com/massachusetts/salem/history-of-salem-movie-houses. Salem News. “Salem Eyes Two Options for Essex St. Pedestrian Mall.” https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/salem-eyes-two-options-for-essex-st-pedestrian-mall/article_0d257e61-5b54-5bac-ac50-9e881a5ba46d.html. Salem State Archives. “Salem State Archives Flickr Collection.” Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/salemstatearchives/albums/72157712998829238/with/49497726697. History by the Sea. “Almshouse and Hospital for Contagious.” https://www.historybythesea.com/almshouse-and-hospital-for-contagious. Salem State University. “Local Historian and Salem State Alumna Jen Ratliff Discovers Burial Site at Collins Cove.” Salem State University News. January 28, 2020. https://www.salemstate.edu/news/local-historian-and-salem-state-alumna-jen-ratliff-discovers-burial-site-collins-cove-jan-28-2020. Hart, Donna Seger. “Evolving Essex Street.” Streets of Salem, June 22, 2015. https://streetsofsalem.com/2015/06/22/evolving-essex-street/. Hart, Donna Seger. “On the Tavern Trail.” Streets of Salem, August 20, 2019. https://streetsofsalem.com/2019/08/20/on-the-tavern-trail/. Salem Witch Museum. “Thomas Beadle's Tavern (Site Of).” https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/thomas-beadles-tavern-site-of/. National Park Service. “Narbonne House.” Last modified March 30, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/places/narbonne-house.htm. The Naumkeag District Directory for Salem No. 3, 1886–1887. Salem, MA: Henry M. Meek, 1887.   Interested in Salem The Podcast Merch!?  CLICK HERE! Interested in supporting the Podcast? Looking for more Salem content? CLICK HERE! www.salemthepodcast.com NEW INSTAGRAM - @salemthepod Email - hello@salemthepodcast.com   Book a tour with Sarah at Bewitched Historical Tours   www.bewitchedtours.com Book a tour with Jeffrey at Salem Uncovered Tours  www.salemuncoveredtours.com    Intro/Outro Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/unfamiliar-faces License code: NGSBY7LA1HTVAUJE

We've well and truly kicked off season 7 in style as we welcome our first guest onto the show - IAAPA Board Chairman, Massimiliano Freddi. In this episode, Paul sits down with Massimiliano Freddi, the first Italian to ever hold the role of IAAPA Chairman in the association's 107-year history. From his early dream of running a theme park to founding Wonderwood and shaping Italy's unique attractions landscape, Massi shares how passion, storytelling, and a people-first mindset continue to drive his vision for the industry. Skip The Queue is back for Season 7 and we're announcing some big changes! Get ready for new hosts, a fresh new look, weekly content and find out where you can catch us live at events to be part of the action.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn, or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 24th September 2025. The winner will be contacted via LinkedIn or Bluesky. Show references:  https://iaapa.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/freddi/Massimiliano Freddi  a leading figure in the amusement and entertainment industry, has been appointed president of the steering committee of IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the leading international association for attractions and theme parks) for 2025. This is the first time since the foundation of the World Association of Attractions (1918) that this position has been entrusted to an Italian.The appointment underscores his extensive experience and significant contribution to the global industry. Freddi brings a wealth of experience gained at some of the industry's most prominent companies. His career began in marketing and press office for the Italian market at Disneyland Paris. He subsequently joined Leolandia.A visionary entrepreneur, in 2018, Massimiliano Freddi founded Wonderwood, an adventure and amusement park for all ages, of which he is currently CEO, in his hometown of Trarego Viggiona, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola region on Lake Maggiore. This growing business has redeveloped several local facilities and provided employment to several young residents of the small towns in the area. His passion for the sector also extends to academia. Since 2016, he has been a member of the coaching staff of Seth Godin's Altmba and is a professor of marketing and experience design at IULM University in Milan. At the same university, where Italy's first course in theme park and attraction management was introduced, he teaches subjects such as consumer experience, marketing, and soft skills as an adjunct professor. Freddi was also one of the original founders of Parksmania, the first newspaper dedicated to amusement parks.Freddi will continue to bring his innovative vision and deep industry knowledge to the global association, helping shape the future of attractions internationally. Regarding Italy, he commented that he sees great potential and wants to help realise it. Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about the world's best visitor attractions and the people that work in them. I'm Paul Marden, along with my co-hosts Andy Povey and Sinead Kimberley, I spend my days working with ambitious attractions like theme parks, museums, galleries, and science centres to help them to attract more guests. Paul Marden: Today on Skip the Queue, I'm joined by someone who has been shaping the attractions industry in truly remarkable ways. Massimiliano Freddi is the first Italian ever to hold the role of chairman in IAAPA's 107-year history. A milestone that not only celebrates his career, but also shines a light on Italy's growing influence in the global attractions landscape. Massimiliano has worn many hats across his journey, from fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a Theme Park Managing Director at just 28, where he grew guest numbers from 300,000 to over 800,000, to founding his own destinations like Wonderwood on Lake Maggiore and Wonderwood Spina Verde, overlooking Lake Como. Along the way, he's pioneered inclusive and eco-conscious practices, championing the power of storytelling and shown how attractions can thrive by creating meaningful experiences for every guest.Paul Marden: Beyond his leadership roles, Massimiliano is also a Professor of Marketing and Experience Design at IULM University in Milan, where he's passionate about nurturing the next generation of talent in our sector. Often described as both a dreamer and a doer, he brings together vision and practicality in a way that continues to inspire operators around the world.Paul Marden: Massimilliano, welcome to the show. It really is a pleasure to have you with us. We always start Skip the Queue and the kickoff of season seven, no less, is going to be no different. We always start with an icebreaker question. And I'm thinking back to, we're just back off of our summer holidays, aren't we? For your perfect holiday, would it start with planes, trains or driving.Massimiliano Freddi: Oh, that's a beautiful question. By the way, congratulations because you've pronounced Massimiliano in a very correct way. So that's unusual. I have a complicated name. I know, I know.Massimiliano Freddi: Hey, I would say train. Train is really, really part of the way that I love to travel with. And unfortunately, too often it happens by car, which I like a little bit less. I get dizzy, you know, and stuff. Train is my ultimate, ultimate way to travel.Paul Marden: I did a sleeper train to Scotland a couple of years ago, and it was amazing. I absolutely loved it. And what's brilliant is there's more of those sleeper trains hitting Europe, aren't there now? So there really is very few excuses for us not to be holidaying with the start with some elegant sleeper train. My only disappointment was that there was no murder on the train, so I couldn't have an Agatha Christie style novel themed around my train  journey, but uh, you know.Massimiliano Freddi: I mean, I mean, it could have been the Hogwarts Express, but apparently, it doesn't run every day, so.Paul Marden: That would be pretty cool as well. I've just come back from Edinburgh, actually, and we saw, you know, the viaduct where the train goes to Hogwarts, and completely unplanned, there was a steam train that went over the bridge whilst we were there. It was amazing.Massimiliano Freddi: Happy go lucky.Paul Marden: Yeah. So enough of my holidays. Let's kick off talking about you and IAAPA. What can international markets learn from attractions in Italy? Tell us a little bit about the attractions landscape over there in Italy at the moment.Massimiliano Freddi: Yes. So let's say that the attraction landscape is very similar, somehow, to how the restaurants or the retail landscape has always been, which means a lot of mom and pop stores. And I think that what people who travel to Italy love is to find something that is one of a kind that you can find only in Italy. I have a deep respect for Starbucks, but I'm always... questioning myself, you know, when somebody comes to Italy, do they really want to find Starbucks? Is this a real thing? So when it comes to parks and attractions, Italy has not faced a big concentration in players like it has happened in other countries. Of course, some big players are there. Parques Reunidos owns Mirabilandia, which is the second most important Italian park. And the most important Italian park is Gardaland, owned by Merlin Entertainment. Then we have a few other groups. Owning and operating some of the facilities, but let's say that, out of 250 parks between—or, you said, attractions— that's very correct now, if we talk about attractions, now the number is endless, because where is the border?Paul Marden: What is an attraction? Yeah, that's a big philosophical question.Massimiliano Freddi: Okay, okay, so let's say that, once upon a time, we used to count parks. So when we talk about parks, we have roughly 250 parks in Italy, and most of them are tiny, tiny, tiny, and they are independently owned. That's my case. I own and operate two parks right now, and I'm about to open, a third location that will be an indoor one this November. And so, yes, I think that what what others can learn from Italy i think is to keep this respect for your roots and to make sure that you don't make every attraction look like another one, but you kind of keep it, you know, different.Massimiliano Freddi: And so it's a matter of the mix of how people can have fun and get entertained. But it's really also about retail and about food and about shows and festivals and you name it, you know. So there are these places that we see on Instagram and immediately we say, oh, that's, I mean, when I see a picture of the Empire State Building or of the Tower Bridge. I know immediately where it belongs to. And so I think that, with attractions, we need to think in the future always about this. Guests coming to visit us, they want to have the ultimate experience and they want to have something that's different from anything they've done before. So this is the responsibility we have.Paul Marden: And a big one it is. Let's talk a little bit about the experience economy. And especially when we think about, you know, beyond the parks, there's this... massive ecosystem around the outside of different ways that people can enjoy themselves. What does that experience economy mean to you, especially in Italy?Massimiliano Freddi: The experience economy, first of all, it truly matters to me, the book. Because in 1999, it was once upon a time, it was really difficult to find literature and scientific literature on the leisure industry. And so I think that at that time, we thought that everybody could take inspiration from the attractions industry. And it has happened because right now. Yes, definitely. You know, food is experience and travel is experience and lodging is experience. You name it, you name it. You know, even there is also a funeral house in Italy, which has become very famous because they are really based on the experience they will give, you know, not to the people who passed away, unfortunately, you know, but the people remain. So I think that it's very hard now to find an industry that doesn't think, that we are in the experience economy and that everything should be experienced and experiential. And so I think that when I go back to my example, I think that we as attractions, we need to be even more wise in how we choose to present ourselves and what we cater to our guests.Massimiliano Freddi: Because of course, we need to raise the bar. So right now, we know that some access... And some services to our attractions have become better with technology. But still, we are, you know, long lines sometimes. And we feel we are paying too much for what we are getting back.Massimiliano Freddi: I would say that in the end, experience economy starts with people and ends with people. And so we need to be people-centric. And only like this, we can be truly experiential. I don't think that an experience is about technology.  It's always, always about people.Paul Marden: Absolutely. I wonder as well, I'm always struck by this industry, how close we are, how we collaborate with one another. And really, the competition aren't the other parks or attractions. The competition is getting people out and doing something. There are so many things at home that could keep you at home, getting you out and about and visiting places and enjoying those experiences. I wonder whether collaboration is the answer to this.Massimiliano Freddi: I think you nailed it because it's crucial. Everybody who has not been working for this industry, when they enter the industry, because they might change jobs, everybody is so surprised that we collaborate so heavily. And I think that a key to this success has always been this big collaboration. I have almost always in my career been part of smaller facilities. And to me, IAAPA and the associations were, it's been crucial, you know, because you are alone. Very, very often your facility is in the middle of nowhere. No matter if you're part of a big group, because even big groups have facilities in the middle of nowhere, but for family-owned and operated attractions, that's almost the golden rule.Massimiliano Freddi: And so there are so many days in your life, in your career, in your profession, where you would benefit strongly from talking to somebody else who's been through something like you before and who's found a different solution and who can open up your eyes. So I think that's the beauty of our industries is getting together. Again, if we don't get together, how can we make people get together?Paul Marden: Yeah, I'm very excited about getting together because I've got my first IAAPA in Barcelona coming up. And I'm very excited about what this is going to be like.Massimiliano Freddi: Oh, you will be blown away.Paul Marden:  I can't wait. I absolutely can't wait. Now, look. Someone has once described you as a dreamer and a doer. One of your dreams was to be managing director of a theme park. Where did that inspiration come from?Massimiliano Freddi: So it comes from a terrible childhood. And so it comes from the fact that, yeah, the world around me when I was a kid was not a positive world. And my family had a lot of troubles. And I'm an orphan from the side of my mother. I mean, I went through several things. And so I think that the attractions industry, to me, it really meant this place that's always happy and where grownups can really take great care of kids and kids at heart.Massimiliano Freddi: So I think that my passion came out of that. Now, dreaming and doing, of course, we all have as a big myth and as a reference, Walt Disney himself, and he was the guy who first said, 'Dreamers and doers' talking about, what enterprises, so his imagineers. I think that whenever I see something, I want to say something. Everybody who knows me knows pretty well. But it means that I love to see the world in a constant improvement. So, if I check in at a hotel and I see that there is something in there that, you know, it even doesn't impact me. But with a small step, they could make it better and fix it. I just share it and I share it, you know, wherever I am. And so I think that maybe this was a bit of my secret weapon because I got involved in several things. I think because I'm curious and maybe because I'm generous in sharing.Massimiliano Freddi: And I don't know if there is a secret there. There is just that in the moment in which you accept yourself the way you are and you acknowledge that you have some talents, and you don't have some others, and some skills you can get better, some others no way—okay. I could never never be an attorney, I could never do a lot of jobs on the planet, but now I know, at the age of 44, that I know what I'm good at, and even if I'm good at that, I want to constantly improve. So I think that maybe the support that I could bring to the table to the companies I've worked for, to the associations, to my own business, and so on, it's always been this obsession with constant improvement every day.Paul Marden: I think it takes a certain vulnerability, doesn't it? To spot something that you think can be improved and to offer a suggestion. And I think it's so valuable. I was at an attraction recently and I got the email at the end of the day, saying, 'How was it?' Please leave us a review. I went to click it and it didn't work. I knew the head of marketing, so I just pinged him off a quick email that just said, 'Oh, I had such a brilliant time but I couldn't leave you a review. I wanted to give you a brilliant review, but I couldn't do it because it didn't work. And that led them to go and look at all of their outbound emails, and none of them were working properly. But you know, you could walk by and just leave that alone. But I can't do it. However, it is sometimes does make you feel really awkward, couldn't you? But when I get great services in a restaurant, when somebody looks after me while at an attraction, I want to tell them how good it was, and if I can see something they can do better, I want to tell them what they could do.Massimiliano Freddi:  Totally, totally. And I'm so much on the same page. I was about to say that it's equally important to call people out when they're doing well.Paul Marden: Yeah.Massimiliano Freddi: So to make sure that they are aware. And sometimes, you know, to say there was one day where I travelled during a bank holiday, and I arrived at the entire bank holiday, and I arrived to the airport, and I decided I wanted to thank each and every employee that I would meet because they were there that day. I mean. We got used that Sundays are no longer Sundays, but the bank holidays, these are the moments in which you spend time with your family and with your kids and so on. And if you're there and you're working, I mean, it's good that somebody sees you and tells you, 'Hey, thank you because you're working even today, you know?' And you can tell how everybody gets surprised. So I think that we learn so much more by positive reinforcement.Massimiliano Freddi: And so how important it is also to tell attractions, facilities, managers, CEOs. I mean, CEOs, they are so used to just getting... I can't use swear words. Yes, you can. Under those kind of storms, you know, all the time, all the time. And so when a CEO does something good, come on, let's tell her.Paul Marden: Yeah, it's a really lonely job. And all you get is... is the spankings and the tellings off. Isn't it? So when they get it right, they definitely need a pat on the back because they're not going to get it. They're not going to get it. So I can't believe this. At the age of 28, you made your dream come true and you were managing director of a theme park in Italy for Minitalia, which became Leolandia, in this role you took guest numbers from 300, 000 guests a year to over 800,000.Paul Marden: Tell us that story. How do you so dramatically increase footfall at the attraction?Massimiliano Freddi: I don't think it was me. I think it was a great teamwork because it's a great teamwork, you know, and you can grow this much. If your operation is working very well, if your safety is right on spot, if the park is clean, you know, and so on. I can tell you one thing that when we were at the basic level, so at the very beginning, of course, we couldn't afford to buy big attractions or too heavily themed. And we needed really, I remember that the first Halloween, we had a 10K budget, 10,000 euro budget for a whole month of Halloween. Okay, so we would go to the do-it-yourself stores and buy brooms and build everything. I mean, that was a magical moment because it created the capability of the team to envision that, if you want, you can do with the things you have. And of course, with a huge budget, you can do fantastic things.Massimiliano Freddi: But sometimes, you know, this helps. So in that moment... TripAdvisor was a true success still. We're talking about 20 years ago. So TripAdvisor was kind of the reference. That's even before Google Maps and all that. So I remember that I did an analysis and I understood that every restaurant or park who had over 4. 5 out of 5 was growing. And having 4 out of 5 was not enough. Now we call it NPS, we call it a different way. But there, in this practical way, so I remember this moment with my team saying, 'Hey, we need to be obsessed with getting five stars.' And this is the point. So what can we do? First of all, we can have the cleanest toilets on earth. Let's make sure that the smell is good, they are super clean, and so on. Because people, that's a level of service. Of course, this is not a driver of visit, but this is a driver of satisfaction. And in the same way, let's start to work with better suppliers when it comes to food and beverage.Massimiliano Freddi: Let's start to make things more comfortable. So I think that this was the first thing. The second aspect, again, it's very much linked to IAAPA because I think that attending the show every year and knowing the people. At that time, Jakob Wahl, he used to be one of the employees of IAAPA in Brussels. I don't think he was a manager at the time yet. He was in charge of keeping relationships with members. So I reached out to him. We are the same age. I reached out to him and I said, 'Hey, I would love to visit a few facilities in other countries because I need to get fresh ideas.' It was a very delicate moment. We came out of two bad seasons due to bad weather. Because then you know, you don't go from here to here as a straight line, but always as this roller coaster. And in a moment you think, 'Oh, I made it.' There's a dip.Paul Marden: Yeah.Massimiliano Freddi: You can never sleep. And so he put me in contact with several facilities. I visited some in Belgium, in the Netherlands, and in the UK. And in the UK, I visited this, at that time, small park still called Paulton's Park. You might know that. I remember it was a weekday with bad weather and the parking lot was packed. And I was like, 'How comes?' Kids are not at school today. What is the point? I enter the park. The park is, yeah, not so crowded. So I really suspect that they are, you know, keeping the people all shut down together in a place. I don't know. I don't know what the point was. And then I enter the Peppa Pig's World.Massimiliano Freddi: And it blows my mind. And again, what blows my mind is that it didn't have any huge attraction. But it had that feeling. And people were just so happy. It was magic. Little kids there with their families, a lot of strollers all over the place, traffic jams due to strollers. And so I came back and I said, 'Hey, we need to get Peppa Pig.' And I remember that the team was like, 'It can't happen.' It has happened. In the end, we were the second park in the world after Paulton's Park to get Peppa. And that reshaped the entire strategy of the park we had at that time, turning it into what we wanted to achieve, is to become the best park for the kids under the age of 10 in Southern Europe. And best means really the best, rated from the bottom of the heart. And so this is what has happened. So I think that, you know, before Leolandia, I had worked for Disneyland Paris and I'm a big Disney fan. So that was kind of the school I had attended and I just had to apply. The theory that I've learned, I had to apply it, and I had a fantastic team and the resources to do that.Paul Marden: Amazing. Now, fast forward to 2018, and you've taken the step from MD to founder and founded Wonderwood on Lake Maggiore. Now, let's test my Italian. You've also founded Wonderwood Spina Verde. Massimiliano Freddi: I'm speechless. I can't correct anything.Paul Marden: Wonderful. Overlooking Lake Como, both of which, by the way, were... So I've been to Maggiore and Lake Como for my honeymoon. So a beautiful, beautiful place. And you've put two parks there. How has that been?Massimiliano Freddi:  It has been crazy. So I remember that the first year, and I mean, we created the company at the end of 2018. We've opened our gates in the summer of 2019. Now, if we all remember what has happened at the beginning of 2020.Paul Marden: Yeah.Massimiliano Freddi: Okay, so perfect timing. Now, I can tell you that the first season, every day, I would literally cry, but for real.Massimilliano Freddi: I was exhausted. My husband was exhausted. We thought that this was a nightmare, the worst possible nightmare. And if somebody had knocked on my door and asked me, 'Hey, could I just take it over?' I don't give you a penny. I will just take home the loans. I would have said yes. And that's because, of course, every project is over budget. Of course. No matter. No matter.Massimiliano Freddi: And when it's a family company and you don't have the money because you've contracted several loans and so on, it makes it super, super difficult. So in that moment, my call for action was because the possibility of Lake Maggiore was in the town where I spent every summer as a kid. So it was a love story. And I wanted to give back to the community. I wanted to do something in the nature that would inspire kids to hike more. To become more active and just not only to stay in front of a screen, but to do something different. So that came out of this kind of dream. And so it was a nightmare. It was a nightmare at the very beginning. Then COVID hit and we were very lucky, of course, because we didn't lose anyone from our families and friends. So I am very thankful for that. And at the same time, it gave us the possibility to stop for a second, rewind, and refine our strategy.Massimiliano Freddi: Because we had just closed the park in, I mean, the week before Christmas, and we were supposed to reopen in less than three months, but we were exhausted. So I'm telling this story because usually it's so nice to tell that the triumphs, you know, and say, 'Hey, it's been fantastic.' Yeah, we nailed it. We had, no, we made 200 mistakes.Massimiliano Freddi: And we paid for all the mistakes. So I think that in that moment, yeah, we were struggling at the beginning. We were reflecting in the middle part. And then three years ago, two to three years ago, I woke up one morning and I understood that I really loved what I was doing. And it had changed. It had changed. And seeing so many families happy and so many people visiting and seeing... How many young professionals or students started to work with us and then you see them leaping? I think that this is the most beautiful thing on earth. It's very empowering. So right now I'm in this situation where I am so grateful for this entire six years, even if they started in a way that was very, very heavy. But, you know, the Latins used to say 'per aspera ad astra.' It means... 'towards the stars through the asperities.' And so we need to go through that thing, that tunnel.Paul Marden: Absolutely. Now, as if founding your own parks wasn't enough, you also mix your time as a professor at the university. I can hear from what you were talking about, about bringing the young professionals into the park, that there's an element to you of apprenticeship almost, of teaching that next cohort of people that are going to come and take over the world.Paul Marden: How exciting is that for you to be able to mix that in at the university?Massimiliano Freddi: It's fantastic. It's fantastic. And again, it came out of passion. It came out. I didn't do a PhD after my university. My career wasn't supposed to be the academic one. And I didn't trust I would be able to do that. And then I got called for a lecture, then two lectures, and three lectures. And then, right now, I have several courses at university.Massimiliano Freddi: There's a point. The point is that, if we meet between our age of 14, 14, 15, until our 25, and if we narrow it down, it's between maybe 16 and 22, this is the moment in which it's more important to meet some mentors. And most of us don't meet mentors. They meet nice people around them, giving them very nice advice based on their experience and not seeing the talents they have in front of them. And in several cases, we are scared. We think that we are not enough. And so I really think that it's such a huge privilege for me to be able to be at university and to meet so many hundreds of students every year and to try to make my small impact so that, first of all, they can believe in themselves and they can believe that the world can be a better place, even if right now it's kind of a tough moment. But from tough moments, again, we can learn things.Massimiliano Freddi: Even at IAAPA, one of the things that I really am passionate more about is what are the spaces we can create for young professionals and students. So I want to give two very short examples. The IAAPA Foundation has evolved a lot over the last few years. We were able to collect so many more donations.Massimiliano Freddi: And now, this year, it will be a record-breaking year when it comes to scholarships to which students can apply in universities around the globe. So I think that's... But to me and to all of us in the board of the IAAPA Foundation, that's like the starting point. We are here celebrating because it's a big achievement and then we look each other in the eyes and say, 'Okay, now what's next?' Now, how can we make sure that the impact is even bigger? And if we go on the side of IAAPA, I think we are very... We pay a lot of attention to make sure that the membership fees are very low for the people entering. The word of leisure. Just a few weeks ago, it got launched on the IAAPA job board that whoever has a company and wants to post an internship, that's free to post. So that, you know, there could be thousands of internships available for students.Massimiliano Freddi: Of course, as a big association, we are used to talk to members and maybe older members because we visit facilities and we visit manufacturers and we need to deal with safety and stuff. But students and young professionals are not on the back of my head. They are like near and dear to my heart. And so my real question is: when this year ends in a couple of months, how can I dedicate myself even more to contribute to young people? Because I think that they are making a change. They will make a change. And we are learning so much from them because the work we are leaving you and me right now. I have bad news. It's no longer our world. We don't have the code to decode that. So we don't have the keys. We can just support people that are better than us and make sure that they can live, that they can teach, that they can learn.  That's a bit of what I see.Paul Marden: I completely agree with you. I think it's interesting because you talk about what you're giving, but you're also getting something back. This is not entirely altruistic, is it? The support that you're giving for these young people and early career professionals, you're getting something back, enriching yourself and learning new things from them.Massimiliano Freddi: Always, always. And I think that, you know, I don't always teach. Market leisure marketing and stuff— you know, I teach marketing at a at a Master's Degree in Management of Beauty and Wellness, total different industry, you know, food and wine. As I was telling, but what I bring home every time is how much young people need to feel seen and, and this is truly important because if we create for them not a safe zone, because of course we want them to get messy. We want them to take risks, but they need to feel safe as humans and they need to feel safe as seen. And so I appreciate a lot this because then the energy that I... And you know, when we talk about IAAPA, we have so many ambassadors that have been contributing to the IAAPA trade shows and events all over the globe. We have young people joining the committees.Massimiliano Freddi: Right now, there are a few, more than a few young professional task forces around the globe that are really helping us, old people, to understand what they need. So I think that we are at the very beginning. And if I could say a dream out loud, I wish that IAAPA in five or ten years, maybe in five years, can multiply the number of young engaged people in the association by 100. 10 is not enough. 20 is by 100. We need to make an impact. And I think we want to make an impact. So hopefully.Paul Marden: Well, there's an ambition for you. And I think every... worthwhile project— every it always starts with that kind of ambitious goal— at the very beginning of it you need to be driven by that  hundred times impact not the 10 times impact we we always like to finish our interviews with a book recommendation, fiction, non-fiction, industry-related or not, give us a view uh into your reading habits, okay, so can I mention more than one book? You bankrupt me because I always offer the book recommendation as a prize for people, but you can have more than one.Massimiliano Freddi: Okay. Okay. Thank you because I'm a big reader. So the first author that I would love to mention is J. K. Rowling because Harry Potter is not just a story of a kid or of magic, but it's a story of a woman who was a bit desperate. And then... She followed what she was feeling. She allowed her emotions to flow. And she has created a masterpiece. And she has impacted us all, you know, no matter business-related, non-business-related, and so on. So I think that, to read again, the first Harry Potter book, it's very important because it brings us back to some reason why, you know, and to some things. The second book that I would love to mention is a book written by Seth Godin. I have had the privilege to work for Seth for several years.Paul Marden: Really?Massimiliano Freddi: And yeah, he's an amazing guy. He's an amazing guy. And come on, he's such a generous person and he's amazing.Massimiliano Freddi: I don't have any other words that's amazing. He wrote a book maybe 10 years ago, 15 years ago called Linchpin. And Linchpin is not his most famous book, but it's the book that changed my life because it really nudges you. In a gentle and not so gentle way sometimes. No, I'm saying in a gentle way. It nudges you to don't set for what you have, but to see your inner talents and to innovate and to be creative, be generous, and so on. So, Linchpin to me is the book that changed it all for me. So, I think that everybody, young, less young, everybody should read once in a lifetime.Paul Marden: I feel like I need to go and read this because that is one Seth Godin book I have not read. So there we go. Listeners, if you would like a copy of Linchpin, then the first person that heads over to LinkedIn and reposts our show notice and says, 'I want Massimiliano's book' and can spell Massimiliano correctly, will have a copy of the book sent to them. We've got IAAPA Europe taking place next week in Barcelona.Paul Marden: And we have a very special Skip the Queue announcement. We are going to be hitting the show floor on a daily basis. We are going to go live for daily episodes of Skip the Queue from the show floor. We're going to be talking to operators about what their challenges are like. Finding out what new supplier announcements are coming out. And the Skip the Queue team is going to be feverishly working away. We'll be recording during the day and Steve and Wenalyn will be editing and producing through the night, ready to post the show the following morning. So I'm very excited about that.Massimiliano Freddi: And I think we are super excited to have you guys on the trade show floor. And I recommend... Of course, visiting it, making the most out of it, and don't underestimate the fantastic education sessions that take place. There is a strong lineup of speakers that will impact the way that the industry will be in a few years. So, great opportunity.Paul Marden:  How's that for a trailer? That sounds amazing. Massimilliano, it really has been a pleasure to talk to you.Massimiliano Freddi: Thank you so much, Paul, for me as well. And see you in Barcelona.Paul Marden: Yes, how exciting. Looking forward to it.Paul Marden: Remember, if you'd like a copy of today's book, head over to LinkedIn and repost our show notice saying, 'I want a copy of Massimiliano's book.' If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on your podcasting platform. It really helps people to find the show. If you didn't enjoy it, or you've got ideas about how we could improve the show, then let us know at hello@skipthequeue.fm. My thanks to Massimiliano and his team at IAAPA for their help with this episode. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, the digital agency that creates amazing websites for ambitious visitor attractions. This episode was written by Emily Burrows, produced by Wenalyn Dionaldo and edited by Steve Folland. To Skip the Queue team, also includes Sami Entwistle, Sinead Kimberley, Claire Furnival, and Andy Povey. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

The Nightmare of Eveline Shadow was a haunting experience where guests stepped into the nightmarish writings of a horror novelist. They had to navigate a hotel filled with nightmares, while being guided by the narrator's prompts and scripts. The closure of hotels during the pandemic quarantine era created a golden opportunity for a trio of talented creators from the Benelux region. Alexander Gierholz of Logiclocks, Jeroen van Hasselt of Entered, and Meggy Pepelanova came together to create a unique horror experience set in an entire empty wing of a hotel. Alas, they experienced their own nightmare when lockdown regulations became even more restricted. They had to put their experience on hold, and then suddenly regulations lifted entirely, and the hotel began to resume normal operations. Their window for hosting The Nightmare of Eveline Shadow at an empty hotel vanished, and we're left with only handful of photos and this Spoilers Club series as evidence of its existence.   To listen to Part 2, and the rest of the Spoilers Club category, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/roomescapeartist      Episode Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors: Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.    Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Become a Patron Today! Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:  The REPOD Bonus Show The Spoilers Club The Travelogue Series Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters

A hotel in Ballyvaughan is back up and running after three years. The Wild Atlantic Lodge has reopened under new management, having been closed to the public for that lengthy period. Shauna Browne and Daniel Daly are the new owners and Shauna spoke to Alan Morrissey on Mondays Morning Focus. Photo (c) Tripadvisor

This week, we're pulling back the curtains on where to crash in Pattaya—because let's be honest, choosing between hotels, villas, and condos can feel like speed dating. They all look good on paper, but once you're in… well, sometimes the “exterior doesn't match the interior.” We'll break down the pros and cons: hotels with their questionable security and “sir, no guests after 10pm” rules, villas that turn into accidental party houses, and condos where you suddenly discover your neighbor has a karaoke addiction. Expect practical tips, cautionary tales, and a few laughs that may or may not involve towel shortages and dodgy décor. Whether it's your first trip or your fifteenth, this episode will help you find the right spot to sleep, party, or hide from your mates when you've had enough. Think of it as TripAdvisor—only with more sarcasm and way better stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noen reiser til fjonge hoteller med pikkolo, svømmebasseng på taket og mer enn ti forskjellige oster i frokostbuffeen. Andre holder det enkelt. I serien Null stjerner (2024-2025) besøker skuespillerne Linn Skåber og Ine Jansen hotellene og spistedene folk flest holder seg unna. De to fnisete venninnene overnatter på campingplasser med egen hønsegård og på hoteller med Jacuzzi midt på soveromsgulvet. Få stjerner på TripAdvisor er stikkordet. Emil og Stefan diskuterer hvem som egentlig ser alle reiseprogrammene med avdankede kjendiser eller gubber på tur. En roadtrip med gutta, fri for ordspillvitser, men ikke helt uten fnising.  

Satlantis is building the future of travel for digital nomads, Bitcoiners, and freedom seekers. Unlike ad-heavy platforms like Google Maps or TripAdvisor, Satlantis personalizes city rankings, merchant reviews, and community insights based on people who share your lifestyle and preferences. Head of Growth Jordi Llonch Esteve breaks down how the platform blends the social feel of Instagram with the practicality of NomadList—creating a decentralized, community-driven hub for travelers who want real connections, not algorithms.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/globetrotters-podcast--5023679/support.

Skip The Queue is back for Season 7 and we're announcing some big changes! Get ready for new hosts, a fresh new look, weekly content and find out where you can catch us live at events to be part of the action.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden  and Andy Povey.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm. Show references: Paul Marden The CEO of Rubber Cheese, Paul pairs two decades of digital expertise with a love of creative problem solving, making him the go-to guy for turning tricky tech into seamless guest journeys, all delivered with his trademark energy and wit.https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmarden/ Andy Povey The Co-CEO of Crowd Convert, Andy brings sharp insights, deep industry knowledge and notorious anecdotes from decades in attractions.https://www.linkedin.com/in/andypovey/  Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about the world's best visitor attractions and the people that work in them. I'm Paul Marden. Along with my co-hosts, Andy Povey and Sinead Kimberley, I spend my days working with ambitious attractions like theme parks, museums, galleries, and science centres to help them to attract more guests. In today's episode, Andy and I talk about what's coming up for Skip the Queue as we enter Season 7.Paul Marden: Seven seasons, hey? Good lord. How very exciting. We've had our summer holidays. We've had our little break, but there's no rest for the wicked, is there?Andy Povey: Absolutely not. You say it's a busman's holiday, really, isn't it?  Working in our industry.Paul Marden: I think it is, isn't it? Life has changed quite a lot for us recently, hasn't it? In the last few months, with the advent of Crowd Convert and Merac coming back to life again, we've been out on the road going everywhere, haven't we?Andy Povey: Absolutely everywhere. And I promise I'm not going to bitch about electric cars and charging.Andy Povey: That's the only thing I've found that annoys me more than a poor online ticketing experience.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. So we have both been visiting lots of clients. It's been very exciting. But we've also both had our summer holidays. Which attraction is memorable for you from your recent holiday?Andy Povey: Do you know, there's so many. We took our girls to the longest named tourist attraction in the world, I think. Warner Brothers Studio Tour London, the making of Harry Potter. On their 11th birthday. Oh, how was that? We had a beautiful experience. They have this really smart trick there where if they note your birthday, they give you a badge that says, 'It's my birthday.'Andy Povey: It's modelled on the birthday cake that Hagrid gave Harry. So it's all completely in keeping and in theme. So my daughters were walking around with these and every member of staff we saw that saw the badge wished them happy birthday. The first member of staff that did it absolutely blew my girls' minds. They hadn't associated it with the badge that they were wearing and they thought that they were the most special people on the face of the earth.Andy Povey: Absolutely superb. And the experience itself is wonderful. So that was probably the most memorable. I did something else very recently that was a little bit unusual. So I'm a man in my 50s. I was a teenager, probably not even a teenager, a kid when Grease came out. And all my mates and all my friends raved about it, and I didn't go and see it. And I've been very proud of the fact that I've never seen Grease.Andy Povey: Until last weekend. When we went to the Secret Cinema showing of Grease in Battersea Park, wow, wow, what an experience. Live actors, live scenes with the film running in the background, the fairground sitting outside the auditorium, where the final set, if you've watched Grease ever, where they're in the fairground, went out there.Andy Povey: Such a fantastic experience. Really does make me wonder why we don't have more of our larger parks doing that kind of stuff in partnership with Secret Cinema. It would make you stay for the evening and really extend your day. Absolutely superb experience. So, if you get the opportunity to go and see it, please do.Paul Marden: How very cool.Andy Povey: Tell them Andy sent you, which will mean absolutely nothing.  How about you?Paul Marden: We recently went to Scotland. We spent a day, which was really not enough, in Edinburgh. And actually, as you're talking about the Harry Potter experience, we did a little Harry Potter thing because there is a graveyard, Greyfriars Bobby's graveyard.Paul Marden: It was the inspiration for many of the names in Harry Potter. And this graveyard was, I mean, it was chock full of every nationality of tourist you could possibly imagine, plus the three of us wandering around all trying to find Harry Potter themed gravestones. Yeah, so we found Tom Riddle's tombstone. We saw a McGonagall. Yeah, it was just, that was quite magical. But the thing that sticks in my head is we also visited the Real Mary King's Close. And when you walk along the Royal Mile, falling off the side of the Royal Mile are all of these tenement closes that three of them were capped over a couple of hundred years ago and completely forgotten about. Continuum attractions have turned them into an attraction that you can wander around. You get a guided tour of this time capsule of what life was like in a tenement block. In Edinburgh, it was rated last year as the best tourist attraction in Britain, according to TripAdvisor.Paul Marden: And it really, really was magical. It was such a fun visit. We were guided around by a tour guide in costume and in character the whole way around. And at the end of it, she introduced herself as coming from Philadelphia.Paul Marden: She was really really great guide, and I just loved it. I've seen them in the Rubber Cheese Survey for the last four years, and thought, 'What a funny name for an attraction? I wonder what that is?' And so, when I saw it, I had to go. I loved every minute of it, and it was brilliant.Andy Povey: I agree, it's a fantastic place. Did you see J. K. Rowling's handprints just around the corner?Paul Marden: No.Andy Povey: In the courtyard next to the entrance?Paul Marden: No, I didn't.Andy Povey: See, I think they were trying to do something like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where there are famous people's handprints. I should have told you before. Is there something to go back for?Paul Marden: Oh, we'll definitely be going back. There was so much there in Edinburgh that we didn't get to see. You just couldn't do it in a day.Paul Marden: But so much fun. So much fun.Paul Marden: So we are into season seven. And just like the last few seasons, we've got lots of ideas, brimming with ideas, few changes. And we thought we would tease them for you here in this short non-episode, just to tell you about some of the things that are coming up. And yeah, shall we?Paul Marden: We'll talk about the first thing that you came up with, which was the move to weekly content.Andy Povey:  You're blaming me for this?Paul Marden: Absolutely. Absolutely.Andy Povey: I mean, the objective was to double the listenership of the podcast. And so you did that by doubling my work. And it seemed like it would be really, really easy to do that if we doubled the episodes.Andy Povey: So, yeah, we're going weekly. I'm sure we're going to have plenty to fill it. Because you look at all of the interesting stories we come across, the people that we talk to, the things that we want to talk about, and we end up editing and cutting things. So I'm convinced that we're going to have loads of really exciting things to talk about. We're also going to introduce a couple of different themes. So do you want to talk about the Millennium-funded projects?Paul Marden: Yes, so this is carrying on the theme that I started back at the back end of Season 6. When I spoke to another Edinburgh attraction, Dynamic Earth. They were a good example of a Millennium project that was obviously kicked off 25 years ago. And we had a lovely conversation about what has been the challenges, what has been the opportunities for them in the last 25 years, and what does the future look like? I'm off to the Association of Science and Discovery Centres conference next week. That episode will be out in a few weeks' time. And we're going to be talking a lot about science centres. and how they can thrive over the next 25 years. But we'll be talking to some other Millennium projects as well in the season ahead. So Charles Bishop from the National Space Centre, if you're listening, give me a call.Andy Povey: I'm going to try and hound you to appear on the podcast.Paul Marden: We've also, this is very self-indulgent, but we are going to be going through a little bit of a rebrand. The Skip the Queue brand has stayed the same for the six seasons. And our friends at Plaster Creative Communications have been working really hard. They're the only reason why we could possibly go weekly with our content because Emily and Sami are helping us to ramp up our content and working with us closely. But they've also helped us with our rebrand, which is also going to be an audio rebrand. So there's going to be some new audio tickling your ears coming up as well, which is very exciting.Andy Povey: It's not just the rebrand though, is it? Let's talk about the other things that we're going to be doing with Skip the Queue.Paul Marden: Yeah. Should we talk playbooks?Andy Povey: Absolutely. Tell me what it means.Paul Marden: So I, for a long time, thought that there was something that Skip the Queue could do because, you know. Yes, this is our baby, but it is a lot of hard work from across the industry that goes towards making the podcast the success that it is. And we're going to move that successful collaboration into a series of playbooks where we're bringing together people from across the industry to help guide attractions into... the state of the art and what's possible within the sector across a number of different subjects. And we're starting that with e-commerce. So we're currently collaborating with our friends at Stephen Spencer Associates and at Navigate. And we're producing the first in that playbook series all about what... What does it take to be able to build an amazing e-commerce experience for an attraction? How do you curate the products?Paul Marden: How do you come up with the ideas? How do you put the technology together? And then how do you get anybody to come and visit and buy from you? So that's very exciting.Andy Povey: So that's more of your gift shop. Retail e-commerce.Paul Marden: Absolutely. Absolutely. And there'll be room as well within the series for us to talk about other things as well. So we are completely open to ideas. So listeners, if you've got ideas of a playbook that you'd like to see, it could be about digital sustainability. It could be about ticketing. It could be about any aspect of operating an attraction. Come and tell us and come up with ideas of who we could work with and we'll put something together for you. So I think that's really exciting, and that will be coming out in a few weeks' time.Andy Povey: Very interesting. Look forward to that.Paul Marden: We were excited in Season 6 to break out of the four walls of our little dungeon offices, working via video conferencing and going out and about, weren't we? We absolutely loved visiting the NFAN Conference, ASDC.Paul Marden: We worked from the floor of so many different events, didn't we? And tried lots of formats. And we definitely, definitely want to do more of that. And there's an exciting turn because weekly isn't enough, is it?Andy Povey:  If you're going to do it, go big. Go big or go home.Paul Marden: We have been invited to the IAAPA Europe Conference Expo in Barcelona, no less. And we are going to be coming into your ears daily, not weekly, daily.Paul Marden: So we have got an amazing lineup of people that we are going to be talking to from the conference floor. But there's also so much time to fill. We don't know who we're going to talk to. We're going to be hitting the floor and just grabbing people, just like we did at NFAN. You'll be out, Andy, just hooking people. And we'll be talking to them. And we plan to do those interviews during the day, and Wenalyn and Steve, our long-suffering editorial and production team, will be working furiously through the night to publish the following morning.Andy Povey: Fantastic. So do we need to talk about our launch episode for Season 7?Paul Marden: Yes.Andy Povey: As this is just the trailer.Paul Marden: Yes. So in 29 minutes, I will be recording my launch episode. So I'm meeting with Massimiliano Freddi, who is the IAAPA board chairman. We're going to find out more about Massimiliano. Not only is he the first Italian chairman of IAAPA, which has been in existence for over 100 years, I believe. We are also going to find out about what he does in his day job and the attraction that he runs over in Italy. So that's a very exciting first episode. So we will be launching that episode 17th of September, and then we will be live from Barcelona starting on the 23rd and going out daily from there on for the rest of that week. I mean, what more could we want? Andy Povey: It's justification for the family for me going to Barcelona after just having returned from Menorca so daddy does a holiday work.Paul Marden: We've at least got to walk down Las Rambla and chat about the conference we can't just be within the expo location surely. A little vino tinto on.Andy Povey: I'm sure we will be at Tribudabo at what, in my experience, this is the third time I've been to IAAPA in Barcelona. But the opening night party in Tribudabo has always been one of the most fantastic events I've ever been to. The view over the city at night with rides and superb food, drink and entertainment going off behind you is just  out of this world.Paul Marden: But it's work just for anyone that's listening outside the door right now.Andy Povey: Very hard work for very important people.Paul Marden: Yes so we are still planning out the rest of season seven, obviously going weekly, lots of opportunities for us to talk to lots of people. If you've got ideas for themes or people that we could interview, we are absolutely all ears. So hit us up on LinkedIn, hello@SkiptheQueue.fm, or go to the website, skipthequeue.fm. Yeah, and you'll find all of our contact details and we'd love to hear from you with ideas of what we could do for the rest of this season. What would you find interesting? Apart from that, we're going to sign off. I've got an interview to go to in 25 minutes. We will be back with you on the 17th of September with our first episode and from IAAPA on the 23rd of September for the rest of that week.Andy Povey: You're going to be on IAAPA. Come and find us. Come and have a chat.Paul Marden: Looking forward to it.Paul Marden: Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, the digital agency that creates amazing websites for ambitious visitor attractions.  The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

New Zealand's national museum Te Papa was recently named in the top 1% "Best of the Best attractions worldwide" in the TripAdvisor 2025 Travellers' Choice Awards. The museum on Wellington's waterfront was also labelled the best attraction in New Zealand, and the fifth best attraction in the South Pacific. However, with a slower than expected tourism recovery, Te Papa is forecasting a $13m deficit for the 2025/26 financial year and lowering its visitor target. Te Papa CEO Courtney Johnston joins Nick Mills in studio to talk about the museum's importance to Wellington and what's coming over the next few months. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to TripAdvisor what city was the top U.S. travel destination in 2024? Play. Share. Listen with Comedian, Tom Shillue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exploring Dollywood: Rides, Shows, and Appalachian Heritage Nestled in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, Dollywood has earned its place as one of the top theme parks in the country—and for good reason. In this episode of The Family Vacationer, Rob sits down with Wes Ray, Vice President of Marketing for Dollywood Parks and Resorts, to explore what makes this destination so special for families. From thrilling rides like Big Bear Mountain and Dragonflier, to award-winning entertainment, Appalachian-inspired dining, and the warm hospitality that Dolly Parton herself has infused into the park, Dollywood offers something for every member of the family. You'll also hear how guest feedback has shaped everything from wider pathways to new resort offerings, and why Dollywood consistently ranks as a #1 theme park on TripAdvisor. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The fascinating history of Dollywood and its deep ties to Appalachian culture Family-friendly rides designed with all ages in mind New additions like Wildwood Grove and Big Bear Mountain Dolly Parton's direct influence on the park's design and guest experience Insider tips for making the most of your visit—whether you're coming for a day or a week What's next for Dollywood, from resorts to new attractions Dollywood isn't just a theme park—it's a celebration of heritage, hospitality, and family fun. Whether you're planning your first visit or your fiftieth, this episode will inspire your next Smoky Mountain getaway. DollywoodDreammore ResortHeartsong Resort

#572 Ready for a reset that goes deeper than your average vacation? In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with serial entrepreneur David Schafran, founder of Somoloco — a one-of-a-kind salsa dance immersion company operating in Medellín, Colombia. David shares how he went from launching a venture-backed medtech startup to following his joy and building a high-margin, spiritually fulfilling business that helps people reconnect with themselves through movement, music, and community. From organic beginnings to winning TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award, David walks us through how Somoloco operates like a yoga retreat with a Latin twist — blending private instruction, cultural immersion, and transformational experiences. Tune in to learn how he built the brand, structured pricing, scaled with a lean team, and designed an unforgettable product that's as much about emotional healing as it is about dancing! What we discuss with David: + From medtech startup to dance retreats + Origins of Somoloco in Colombia + Dance as emotional and mental reset + Structure of the salsa immersion experience + Building a lean, high-margin business + Organic team-building through relationships + Pricing strategy and value-based offerings + Operating remotely with a local team + Winning TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award + Creating transformative, embodied experiences Thank you, David! Check out Somoloco at Somoloco.com. Follow David on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And follow us on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tik Tok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you build a retreat business that isn't bound by location—and actually expands your impact? In this episode of The Retreat Leaders Podcast, Shannon chats with long-time health and fitness expert Alison Katschkowsky about building a hybrid retreat business model that combines the power of in-person transformation with the scalability of online programs. Alison shares her 30+ year journey from brick-and-mortar fitness to digital expansion, and how she now helps other entrepreneurs add retreats as a powerful layer to their business—without overhauling their structure. They dive into: The power of hybrid models (and how they outlive fads) How retreats can enhance your brand, not distract from it Creative ways to offer transformation in both in-person and online formats Alison's behind-the-scenes plan for her luxe Amalfi Coast retreat If you've been wondering how to blend the best of both worlds—connection and scale—this episode is your blueprint. Retreats aren't just an event—they're a business growth strategy.   Connect with Alison https://thealisonk.com/meet-alison   The Retreat Leaders Podcast Resources and Links: Learn to Host Retreats Join our private Facebook Group Top 5 Marketing Tools Free Guide Get your legal docs for retreats Join Shannon in London  Join our LinkedIn Group Apply to be a guest on our show   Thanks for tuning into the Retreat Leaders Podcast. Remember to subscribe for more insightful episodes, and visit our website for additional resources. Let's create a vibrant retreat community together!   Subscribe:  Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Spotify   -------------------------- Transcribed With Podsqueeze Shannon 00:00:00  Welcome to the Retreat Leaders podcast, your sanctuary with retreat experts. Where we spill the tea on retreat success. Here we dive into crafting transformational guest experiences. Talk about how to avoid pitfalls and unlock marketing secrets. Whether you're a seasoned guru or a budding enthusiast, we've got the inside scoop for you. Join us as we learn how to flourish in this magical world of retreats. Hey guys, welcome to or welcome back to the Retreat Leaders Podcast. Today I am so excited to say that not only do I have an amazing guest, but she's becoming an amazing friend and soon to be business partner, which we cannot wait to talk about that we're going to drop some little, little hints about what we have in store. But Alison, welcome to the show again. Alison 00:00:49  It is always a good day in my world when I can talk to you, Shannon. So it's. Shannon 00:00:52  All good. Amen. I feel the same. So, Allison, why don't you just refresh for those who maybe did hear your show or just let people know who you are and what brought you to this point. Alison 00:01:05  My name is Allison Koski, and you don't have to say that. For those of you listening, most people just say Allison K. But just so you know, when you look at my last name, the c h is silent. So it's really just Katz Koski. So it's a little bit easier to say, but Allison K works. So so and I my background is in health and fitness. I've been in the health and fitness industry for over 30 years. I was a very successful brick and mortar business owner for a lot of those years, until I started going online about ten years ago. That's about when I started doing retreats. It was probably 2013, 2014, something in there when it was really still a very new concept. And so what I figured out was, is that the big question back then was, is do we need to just now that online is becoming big and everyone was moving their business online. It was like, you know, well, we're just going to go in this direction. Alison 00:01:56  And so my argument was always, you don't have to choose one. You can do both. And then when the pandemic hit, everybody went online. And now what's interesting is, is that everybody's going back to adding some kind of in-person, because you and I are both seeing this in the retreat space. It's just it's blowing up there. Everybody and their mother is thinking about retreats now, which is great. It's great for us. It's great for the industry. But but I just think there is there is a lot of opportunity there for so many people. Shannon 00:02:24  I love this. One of the things that Alison and I talked about before we recorded is, is kind of the topics which Alison and I could spend, honestly, you guys weeks on this podcast talking about business and retreats and, and all of that good stuff. but one of the things I thought would be really relevant is a hybrid model. And Alison, you are the queen of this. You help people build this. So tell me what that looks like for the retreat industry. Shannon 00:02:49  What does that even mean when I when we say hybrid model? Alison 00:02:51  Before I get to that, let me just kind of give my little analogy when I talk about the hybrid model, when we think about a hybrid model, what are we really talking about? We're really talking the best example I can offer for people because I'm a big analogy person. The best example I can offer for people is think about the hybrid car. What is the hybrid car? Do the hybrid car allows you to use gas or electricity? Right. So it's both. And so one of the selling points is because it's a hybrid model, the car can go further. You can get further on a tank of gas. Therefore it's the maintenance is better right. It will cost you less in gas in the long run. So you see there, not the car. Literally. There's no choice made as to whether or not you go one or the other. The same thing is true when we do the hybrid business model in our business. Alison 00:03:39  Now back in 2012, 2013, 2014, when the online space was really blowing up, this is when social media was really becoming the thing. you know, a lot of people were starting to think this is kind of the direction that I want to go with my business. And in my industry, it was blowing up like crazy. Then what happened when the pandemic hit It is that everybody went online. And the good news is, is that we could go online because it was available. But the bad news is, is that people sort of got away from being in person. And now what we're seeing because it's 2025, is that really the best combination? The best plan is to combine both. And one of the things that I started doing back when the online space was really getting big was that I started slowly dipping my toe in the water of online. And what did that look like? It looked like offering like online challenges, like connecting with people online. And then of course, when the pandemic hit, it was like you had to go all in. Alison 00:04:38  And for me and a lot of other people in my industry, I had to basically start over. Basically my business as I knew it went out the window, but it was time for me to put my money where my mouth was and really make it work. And that's what I did. And that's one of the things that I really teach my clients how to do today, because you don't have to choose. That's the beauty of it. Shannon 00:04:57  That is the beauty of it is that you don't have to choose, Jews, especially today. Because you're right, Alison. You know, years ago, I mean, well, to be honest with you, years ago, the online business was not, you know, obviously what it is today, but you kind of felt like you had to fall into one or the other categories. So you're you're absolutely right. Tell me. Alison 00:05:15  there are a lot of people today that still feel like you have to fall into one or the other, because these are conversations I have every day with people when they say, well, I can't really be myself online, I can't really. Alison 00:05:25  It just doesn't feel the same. I'm not good at it. Or they'll say about in person, well, that's just not really what I do. This is what I'm used to. And this is kind of the conundrum that we found ourselves in. Shannon 00:05:36  Hey, retreat leaders, pause that retreat planning for just a second, because I've got something you do not want to miss. I'm headed to London this October to host a live event that's all about teaching you how to host a retreat that's not just transformational, but actually profitable. Imagine sipping tea or champagne with other like minded leaders while mapping out your next sold out retreat. It's happening at the gorgeous Waldorf Hilton in London. I'm spilling all the secrets from pricing to planning, marketing to mindset, and you'll walk away with a strategy you can actually use. No fluff, no BS, just results. So head to Retreat Mastermind training and come join me across the pond. Yeah totally agree. I hear that all the time. As well as just people saying, well, my business is online, they're not going to want to meet in person, or the other way around. Shannon 00:06:26  You know, everything I do is in person. So you're right. It is. Sometimes we get pigeonholed and we just assume that it has to be in that that way. Can you? Can you give us an example of maybe somebody you've worked with and like what this looks like in real life when somebody is considering it a hybrid model? Alison 00:06:41  Well, I mean, there are actually lots of examples. But one example pretty much right now is I have a client right now who has an in-person, primarily in-person business. This is how people work with her. They come to see her, they book an appointment with her. She has some online resources, like she has an e-book and she has some other things, but it's really hardly the same thing as having an experience with her. And one of the things that we're actually working on right now is building out a retreat piece to go with her in-person business. Now, that might not seem like a typical hybrid model, but what she has to do is literally build an online presence to go with that in-person offering. Alison 00:07:21  Because in order to offer retreats, if you have a successful in-person business, is is that you have to be always reaching more people. So this is something else that we hear a lot of people say where they say, well, I don't know that my people would want to go on a retreat. I don't know if my people would want to do something in person. And so my question is always, how do you know that they don't? And so what we have to always ask ourselves is, what are we doing to consistently put ourselves out there and have us meet more people and expand our audience? And that's really what it's all about too. Shannon 00:07:53  I'm biased, of course, but for me, if there's anyone that I trust and I work with in any capacity or just consume their information. I would love to fucking get in person. You know what I mean? Like, whether it's a conference or a mastermind or a retreat, whatever it is. I mean, I don't, you know. Yes, there are I'm sure there are people in this world who are incredibly introverted. Shannon 00:08:14  And just like that just makes their skin crawl. But for the most part, I think there's a good audience for anybody doing anything online that they could create an in-person experience. Alison 00:08:26  Yeah, and the energy is just different when you're in person. Like, think about it, when you go to an in-person event, it's very different than if you're on a, say, a zoom call or a group networking session or something online where you see everybody's faces and they're just, you know, squares on the screen. You can still talk to people because I think human connection can still be meaningful that way. But it's not the same thing from being in person. Shannon 00:08:49  I agree, I agree, and I'm grateful. Right? We're grateful that we have these online tools that we can do these things. But I'll be honest with you. so I belong to Genius Network. It's an incredible Networking group. It's really a servant group. That's just incredible. And every month we meet either online or in person, you can choose one or the other. Shannon 00:09:07  Right. So that it fits your schedule. And I'm super. I hope they don't hear this. But the online I like minimize it. I'm doing other work. It's still just as good information. It's just badass. But I'm over here multitasking. I'm answering text messages whatever. The in person lights my fire so much that when I get back home I am like, bring it! We are. We're fixing to make some shit happen. And so yes, am I grateful that we have the tools available? Absolutely. do do I think, though, that we get more or at least a very vibrant, different, action packed energy from in person? Yes, I do. Alison 00:09:47  Yeah. And I just think that to piggyback on what you just said and to sort of finish my thought from before is that you really want to think about the hybrid model from two vantage points, really. And this is what I have found works the best with most people. It's like the example that I just gave of my current client, who has the in-person business, and we're adding a retreat. Alison 00:10:05  And so you might be sitting there thinking, well, that's too impersonal elements. Well, you're right, it is. But she's also building an online presence to go with it. That can still be considered a hybrid model. The other way to look at it would be if you primarily serve your clients online, whether that's a membership or an online program or a mastermind or whatever group coaching program. And then you insert some type of in-person retreat experience, whether it be a private retreat, a small group retreat, a boutique retreat, or even a small group summit, right then that is also can be considered a hybrid model that the advantage, the commonality with both of those is, is that you've taken your expertise and you're monetizing it in a number of different ways, and that is really what it's about for the future. Shannon 00:10:51  Amen. Hallelujah. Oh my goodness. You're speaking my language. I'm hoping that there's people listening to this that either have been considering retreats or are in the retreat business because you're right either side and are thinking creatively how they can add that other aspect. Shannon 00:11:05  So if you are hosting retreats, how can you add on that online aspect, which, by the way, continues to support the people that you are working with or who've showed up, right? And then if you're online, how can you incorporate in-person events? I mean, I know you and I are like, duh. This is a no brainer, but I'm hoping that there's like creative juices that are flowing for people on either side going, ooh, I could do X, and X doesn't have to look like what Allison does, and it doesn't have to look like what I do. Alison 00:11:33  Like X could be a number of different ways. Shannon 00:11:35  Yeah. And I love that you're like it could be a summit. It could be a mastermind. It could be a gathering. It could be a retreat. It could be look, it could be whatever. and same thing for the online portion of it. It could be coaching, it could be group coaching. It could be mastermind. It could be, Yeah. Shannon 00:11:51  I mean, it literally could be all the same names that you use for the other side. It's just structured differently. in the content is provided, however, it is that you like to provide content, So. Alison 00:12:00  Yeah. And you just. Well I think too. For people listening, I think what you want to always keep in mind is, is that the object if you're an entrepreneur now going into the future, the object is really about your personal brand. It's about what are you about? And what do you stand for? What, what are you for and what are you against? And it's like when you look at being able to offer a number of different ways that people can access you. So in a way that, I mean, people could come into you from your website, from a newsletter, from a challenge of some type, from an online program that you're offering. But don't discount those in-person opportunities, too, because there's a number of different ways that you can monetize all of what you do. Alison 00:12:42  And then that sets you up not only financially better for the future, but it puts you in a position where you're always meeting people. And when you're a business owner, you can never know too many people. Shannon 00:12:53  Okay, so I love that we are talking financials a little bit because as people who have listened to my podcast know, No, I'm in the retreat business, not the retreat hobby. And so Allison and I and our good friend Aaron now daily have conversations about this. And also hint, hint. This will be part of what we launch. And I think we're launching it in October. October. Yes. So stay tuned. But yeah, we're launching it in October. But it will be happening in 2026. Anyhow, we're all about how can we increase our business and our profit? Totally. and this again, is to me a no brainer if you're doing really well on the online space. Dude, add that that in-person space and it just contributes to your bottom line and vice versa. Shannon 00:13:42  You're still serving the same people. It's still in your genre. It's all connected. It's just a different way of delivering the information and adding more profit to your bottom line. Alison 00:13:53  Yeah. And also, I think to what I just want to say, again, for people listening is, is that it really? You know, I don't want to make it sound like we're just sitting here counting money and money bags. It's not about greed at all. You know, it's really about being able to serve at a much higher level. And when you're when you're able to offer somebody a transformative experience, like something in person, like a retreat or a group event or something, you're just adding massive value for them and you're adding massive value for yourself. And it's a win for everybody. Shannon 00:14:24  Yes. See? Speaking the same language win win, win, win win for everybody. I just love that so much. The other thing that we kind of talked about real briefly is the business logistics side, right. So whatever your your LLC is or your company or your formation, you've started it off at X, it's, you know, online or it's retreats. Shannon 00:14:45  There's no need at the beginning to, to do anything differently. Right. I mean, Alison, you were just talking about this. Tell us about your journey, about how that was and then now what you are thinking of doing in the future because of. Alison 00:14:55  Yeah, when I, when I first started doing retreats, I got to be honest. I I'll tell you, because my background is in health and fitness. I thought it was going to be a fitness weekend. That was kind of my initial vision was to do these boot camps, these workout camps. And I'll tell you, and this is probably a really bad analogy, but I'm just going to say it my, my, my inspiration for doing it was watching programs like The Biggest Loser, where people would just go somewhere and they'd stay for a few days or. And in that case, it was a lot longer. And that's not really what I had in mind, but it was taking people out of town somewhere where we could really focus on themselves. Alison 00:15:30  And since at the time I was 100% working in fitness, operating a very successful small studio with a small team, I thought, this is a no brainer. This is a great way to give people kind of a family type experience, you know? And so over the years, that vision kind of morphed into something a little more boutique like as I started getting more involved and interested in personal development and, you know, daily self-care strategies. I've always loved to travel. And so I sort of found a niche in providing what I like to call a futuristic, visionary experience. One of the things that I use in all of my retreat programs is the use of a compass. I talk all about the direction that you're moving, the direction of your future, being aligned with your future self, etc., etc. so that's a lot of what we do. But now, back then, all I was thinking about was offering. This would be a really fun experience to offer for my clients. I wasn't even thinking about starting another business. Alison 00:16:25  You know, I was just thinking, ding ding ding! This is a way to help more people. This is a way to give them more. It's going to be fun for me. Let's just try it and see what happens. You know, and I started off as really small groups. And then they grew and they grew to like 6 to 8 people traditionally, which is usually about my sweet spot. And so now ten, 12 years later, at some point, what I'm looking at in the next year or two is branching off the retreat part of my business and starting a whole separate company, because I'm traveling more and more as as are you. And, you know, there's a lot more that's on the horizon. Ahead that's going to be tied into this direction for me. And so what I want people listening to understand is, look, dip your toe in it first and kind of play with it and make it work for you. And then if it makes sense down the road, then we can certainly talk about what that looks like as a business. Shannon 00:17:18  Yeah, I, I totally agree. Yeah. I love this so much. So if you haven't gotten anything else from this podcast, expand your horizon and think creatively about how you could add either the online portion or the in-person portion to your current business model. Alison's contact information will be in the show notes. She is the master at helping you brainstorm this, build it, envision it, get it going. So please contact her. And she's got an incredible retreat coming up in Italy. Allison, about that retreat in October. Alison 00:17:52  And at the time that we're recording this, it's we have four rooms open, and I'm partnering with a colleague of mine who lives over there, and she speaks the language and she's a phenomenal health coach. And we've got an amazing program where we've got introductions into private family vineyards and wineries and gardens and things that you're just not going to find. If you go on TripAdvisor or Google and look for the the cool thing to do on the Amalfi Coast, which is where we're going to be. Alison 00:18:19  So if this kind of speaks to you, then I definitely would encourage you to reach out because I'm really expecting these rooms to fill up fairly soon. Shannon 00:18:27  Love it. They absolutely will. So Alison, thank you so much for being on the show and I can't wait to release our big stuff coming in the future. Alison 00:18:35  So we're going to have to, we're going to have to come back and do another episode about that. Shannon 00:18:39  Oh, no. Absolutely, absolutely. Alison 00:18:41  Yeah, 100%. Shannon 00:18:44  Thanks for listening to The Retreat Leader's podcast. Learn more at the Retreat. See you next time.

"I have so many burning questions." Our podcast, Reality Escape Pod, isn't exactly short-form content. Most episodes clock in at over fifty minutes, and yet, I always feel like I didn't get enough time with the guest. "But I've still got some burning questions!" I think to myself. Or maybe I have follow up questions, but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of conversation. Luckily, we have our Bonus Aftershow. I love this format because David and I are able to have more casual conversations with our guests, rather than the more formal interview on Reality Escape Pod. The Bonus Show chats run the gamut from in-depth design discussions, to workshopping business or game ideas, to just trading battle stories of escape rooms gone awry. In the Best of Bonus, I picked some of my favorite moments from our Season 9 Bonus Aftershow episodes. I really loved hearing more stories from James Douberly about the MIT Mystery Hunt, and listening to Neil Patrick Harris talk about magic and escape rooms. Jon and Ryan from The Great Gotham Challenge kept talking about "risky puzzles" and I finally had the chance to ask them about this concept. We also got the definitive answer from Steven Medway, creator of Blood on the Clocktower, on whether townsfolk (Team Good) should be executing every day in the game. The Bonus Aftershow is included when you become a Patreon supporter of Room Escape Artist. Join today for access to our library of over 100 episodes of the Bonus Aftershow. We put a lot of love and time into creating the best possible content that supports our mission of elevating the escape room industry. We truly appreciate your support.   Full Show Notes   Episode Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors: Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.    Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Become a Patron Today! Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:  The REPOD Bonus Show The Spoilers Club The Travelogue Series Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters

A dangerous misconception is spreading through marketing circles that's holding businesses back while competitors master an entirely new game — and believing it could cost them their competitive edge.With 800 million people now using ChatGPT to find information and make purchasing decisions, and 55% of searches resulting in AI answers, the message for marketers should be clear. Yet a pervasive myth persists: "AI Optimisation is just SEO. Nothing has changed."This couldn't be further from the truth — and the evidence is indisputable.For businesses targeting decision-makers who increasingly rely on AI tools for research and purchasing decisions, understanding these critical differences isn't just smart, it's becoming essential for survival.In this episode, I reveal:The three pieces of indisputable proof that AI Search Optimisation operates by completely different rules than traditional SEO (including why 40% of sites in AI Overviews don't even rank on Google's first page)Why top-ranking websites frequently get ignored by AI tools, whilst lesser-ranked sites leapfrog into AI recommendations — creating unexpected opportunities for smart marketersThe hidden mechanics behind how AI tools decide what to recommend, including when they skip web searches entirely and why they prefer third-party sources over brand websitesExactly why traditional SEO strategies fail when AI tools draw recommendations from Reddit, TripAdvisor, Forbes, and authority publications instead of your carefully optimised websiteThe specific types of digital PR and earned media strategies that influence AI recommendations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and ClaudeI'll share real-world examples from almost three years of helping clients increase their AI visibility, including specific case studies of brands that have successfully navigated this new landscape, whilst their competitors remain stuck in traditional SEO thinking.As I explain in the episode:"Saying GEO is just SEO, nothing has changed, is like an archer on the battlefields of World War I looking at the first tank coming towards them and saying, 'Well, tank warfare is just like medieval warfare.' Good luck with that."If you're ready to move beyond the dangerous misconception that's holding back your competition and implement strategies that actually work in the age of AI Search, this episode provides your complete roadmap for dominating this critical new landscape.Get the show notes:https://exposureninja.com/podcast/364/Listen to these episodes next:What is AI Search Optimisation (and How To Do It)https://exposureninja.com/podcast/358/How To Create and Optimise Your Content for AI Searchhttps://exposureninja.com/podcast/363/9 Reasons Why Your Traffic Is DOWN This Yearhttps://exposureninja.com/podcast/361/

Dolly Parton BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.Dolly Parton has delivered a run of headline-making moves and emotional moments in the past week. She's stoking anticipation for her upcoming Life of Many Colors Museum, set to open inside her SongTeller Hotel in Nashville in 2026. The museum promises fans an intimate look into Dolly's legendary career, including “Dolly's Hall Of Fame Exhibit,” which will feature her iconic wardrobe, awards, and personal memorabilia. Photos and teasers keep popping up on the SongTeller Hotel's Instagram, ramping up excitement for what's expected to be the largest celebration of her life and achievements, all done the Dolly way according to iHeart Radio's coverage. If that wasn't enough museum action, Dolly's Journey of a Seeker exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame is now open through September 2026, where guests can gaze at handwritten “Jolene” lyrics and the famous “9 to 5” outfits among other treasures.As for business developments, Dolly continues to expand her entertainment empire. The big financial story keeps repeating—her net worth comes in, yet again, at an eye-watering $450 million, as Forbes reported, and AOL detailed how Dollywood remains Tennessee's top tourist draw, even as it faces operational issues from the recent worker shortage thanks to changes in visa rules as noted on Disney Dining. Her lines of housewares and “Doggy Parton” pet products are growing, too, making appearances on Amazon and at national stores. Just this month, Dolly made a splash in Florida, acquiring the SkyWheel attraction in Panama City Beach and launching another Pirates Voyage dinner theater, as recounted by Dollymania and major news outlets. The Florida expansion rounds out her signature blend of family fun with observation wheels, mini-golf, dinner shows, and ropes courses—all part of Dolly's unmistakable brand.On the performance and philanthropy front, Dolly's musical has debuted in Nashville, and preparations are underway for her first Las Vegas residency, “Dolly: Live in Vegas,” covered by AOL Entertainment. Meanwhile, the internet buzzed when Dolly was named in the Hollywood Reporter's top three for the coveted Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, spotlighting her ongoing philanthropic work—especially her Imagination Library, recently celebrated in Yellowstone Public Radio for its impact across Montana and Tennessee.Social media this week has been a river of tributes, especially following the passing of country star Jeannie Seely, with Dolly sharing memories and condolences on platforms like Dollymania. The public's love for Dolly was further reflected in glowing reviews on Tripadvisor for her energetic Stampede Dinner Attraction in Pigeon Forge, which continues to earn Best of the Best status.Speculation about possible operational challenges at Dollywood has rippled through business columns, and some fans are wondering how this might affect future expansions and seasonal festivals. But nothing is confirmed about closures—everything points to Dolly's teams working overtime to keep the magic going for millions of annual visitors.The headline this week has to be Dolly's continued reign as country music's queen of entertainment and philanthropy—museum builder, business mogul, Las Vegas star, and the beating heart behind America's favorite dinner shows and theme parks.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

This week on Good Morning Hospitality, Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley and Jamie Lane dive into the latest shifts shaping short-term rentals and travel. Vrbo's new guest cancellation policy aims to increase flexibility and bookings but raises concerns from hosts about risk and revenue stability. Tripadvisor faces investor pressure to spin off Viator, signaling how tours and experiences are becoming central to the travel ecosystem. Meanwhile, Casago doubles down on its franchise model, taking over hundreds of former Vacasa properties to push a localized, service-driven approach. Join us as we break down what these moves mean for hosts, managers, and the future of the STR industry. This episode is brought to you by ⁠Guesty⁠! Follow the Hosts: Brandy Canaley – ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jamie Lane – ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ Michael Goldin – ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Skift: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/skift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠@SkiftNews⁠ and never miss an update from the travel industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Et voilà, nous sommes bientôt en septembre. Pour beaucoup, les vacances d'été sont déjà terminées et reprendre le chemin du bureau ou de l'école n'est jamais une partie de plaisir. D'ailleurs, d'après une étude TripAdvisor publiée en 2022, 75% des Français souffrent de ce blues de fin des vacances. Alors, si vous voulez passer une rentrée sereine et moins douloureuse, nous avons quelques conseils pour vous ! Comment faire pour se réveiller facilement ? Comment ne pas se laisser déborder par la charge de travail qui nous attend ? Comment vaincre la nostalgie ? Écoutez la suite de cet épisode de "Maintenant vous savez". Un podcast Bababam Originals, écrit et réalisé par Maële Diallo. À écouter aussi : ⁠Comment profiter des vacances d'été pour faire le point sur sa vie ?⁠ ⁠Qu'est-ce que le birthday blues, ce sentiment de déprime le jour de notre anniversaire ?⁠ ⁠Qu'est-ce que le blues de Noël ?⁠ Retrouvez tous les épisodes de "Maintenant vous savez". Suivez Bababam sur Instagram. Première diffusion : 1er septembre 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Στο νέο επεισόδιο του εβδομαδιαίου podcast τους, Μανίνα Ζουμπουλάκη και Ελένη Ψυχούλη μιλάνε για τις συνήθειες που αποκτούμε σε σχέση με την παρουσία μας στα social media. Ταυτίζεται η εξωτερική μας εικόνα με αυτή που παρουσιάζουμε στο Facebook και στο X; Ποιες είναι οι πλατφόρμες που προτιμάμε αλλά δύσκολα να βρεις νεαρόκοσμο σε αυτές; Είναι χαλαρή η ατμόσφαιρα στα social media ή ο κόσμος μας εξισώνει με την online συμπεριφορά μας; Πολύ περισσότερο, ένας πιθανός εργοδότης;Όσο ανεβαίνουν οι followers, αντίστοιχα ανεβαίνουν και οι haters. Ποια είναι τα χαρακτηριστικά αυτών που γράφουν τα αρνητικά και τοξικά σχόλια; Μπορεί ένα tweet να καταστρέψει μια ζωή και μια καριέρα; Τα γραπτά μένουν. Ωστόσο πόση ανοχή και άμυνες έχουμε απέναντι στο τοξικό πρόσωπο των social; Πόσο «βία» μπορεί να κρύβει ο αρνητισμός και το «θάψιμο» στο διαδίκτυο και πού φτάνει η ελευθερία αυτών που μας αντιπαθούν ή μας ανταγωνίζονται; Η ύβρις στα social media είναι υπό προϋποθέσεις ποινικό αδίκημα, αλλά τι γίνεται με τους ανώνυμους λογαριασμούς;  Πόσο απαραίτητη είναι τελικά η παρουσία στα social; Καθώς μεγαλώνουμε νιώθουμε όλο και πιο άνετα με την έκθεση των προσωπικών μας στιγμών, ή απολαμβάνουμε όλο και περισσότερο την ιδιωτικότητα; 

【欢迎订阅】每天早上5:30，准时更新。【阅读原文】标题：Should you trust that five-star rating on Airbnb?How to make sense of online customer reviews正文：It's summer in the northern hemisphere. And as holidaymakers travel to unfamiliar places, that means demand for online customer reviews. Want to find a restaurant that won't give everyone food poisoning, or the perfect accommodation for a city break, or a mosquito repellent that actually works? Whether you are looking on Tripadvisor, Airbnb or Amazon, you will almost certainly be guided by reviews from other people. Should you be?知识点：hemisphere /ˈhemɪsfɪə(r)/，n.one half of a sphere, especially one of the two halves of the earth divided by the equator or by a meridian.（半球；地球的半球）• The Northern Hemisphere includes most of the world's land.北半球包含世界上大部分的陆地获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！【节目介绍】《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。【适合谁听】1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等）【你将获得】1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

Tripadvisor faces fresh activist pressure as investor Palliser urges the company to prioritize or sell its fast-growing Viator unit, which it values higher than Tripadvisor's entire market cap. Washington, D.C., hotels saw occupancy dip to 64% after a federal takeover of local police, though the decline mirrors broader national softening in demand. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines launched a joint loyalty program, Atmos Rewards, and Alaska struck a deal to equip its fleet with Starlink Wi-Fi. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/skift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SkiftNews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an update from the travel industry.

La Cueva del Tesoro de Rincón de la Victoria ha sido galardonada con el prestigioso premio Travellers' Choice 2025 de TripAdvisor, que la sitúa entre el 10% de las mejores cosas que hacer en todo el mundo. Este reconocimiento, basado en las opiniones y puntuaciones de millones de viajeros reales durante los últimos 12 meses, consolida a este singular enclave de nuestra ciudad como uno de los destinos turísticos más valorados a nivel internacional. El alcalde de Rincón de la Victoria, Francisco Salado (PP), ha expresado su satisfacción por este reconocimiento: "Recibir por segunda vez consecutiva el premio Travellers' Choice es un honor que nos llena de orgullo y que confirma el trabajo realizado para convertir la Cueva del Tesoro en una experiencia turística de primera calidad. Este galardón no sólo reconoce la singularidad de nuestro patrimonio natural, sino también el esfuerzo constante que venimos haciendo por ofrecer un servicio excelente a todos nuestros visitantes. Es una magnífica carta de presentación para Rincón de la Victoria ante el mundo”. La Cueva del Tesoro representa un tesoro geológico único en Europa al ser la única cueva de origen marino visitable en el continente y una de las tres existentes en todo el mundo. Sus galerías fueron formadas por las corrientes submarinas y el oleaje bajo el nivel del agua, creando un paisaje interior extraordinario de gargantas, columnas, estalactitas y estalagmitas que fascina a visitantes de todas las edades. En su interior se han descubierto pinturas rupestres y restos arqueológicos que abarcan desde el Paleolítico hasta la Edad del Bronce, convirtiendo la cueva no solo en una maravilla natural, sino también en un importante yacimiento arqueológico que atestigua la presencia humana en la zona durante milenios. La Cueva del Tesoro ha recibido a 63.821 visitas en el primer semestre del año, un 20,81% más que en el mismo periodo del año pasado. Ya en 2024 batió un récord de visitantes pues superó por primera vez las 100.000 personas. Antonio José Martín (PP), concejal de Turismo y Cueva del Tesoro, ha destacado el significado de este premio: "El Travellers' Choice 2025 es el resultado directo de la experiencia positiva que viven nuestros visitantes. Cada reseña y cada puntuación reflejan el compromiso de nuestro equipo por mantener los más altos estándares de calidad en las visitas guiadas, la conservación del patrimonio y la atención al público. Este reconocimiento internacional nos motiva a seguir trabajando para que Cueva del Tesoro continúe siendo una referencia mundial en turismo cultural y natural”. Los premios Travellers' Choice, que se otorgan desde 2002, destacan las mejores experiencias turísticas basándose exclusivamente en las opiniones y comentarios auténticos de viajeros reales, sin cuotas de entrada ni sesgos editoriales. El galardón Travellers' Choice reconoce a las experiencias que reciben opiniones sólidas de forma constante, situándolas entre el 10% de los mejores perfiles de TripAdvisor y demostrando un compromiso excepcional con la excelencia. Este reconocimiento internacional refuerza la posición de Rincón de la Victoria como destino turístico de referencia en la Costa del Sol, complementando su oferta cultural con otros enclaves destacados como Villa Antiopa, la Casa Fuerte Bezmiliana y los Acantilados de El Cantal. Para más información sobre horarios y reservas de la Cueva del Tesoro, los interesados pueden consultar la web www.turismoenrincon.es o contactar directamente con la cueva en el teléfono 952 406 162.

"Highlighting the most interesting, entertaining, and impactful moments." Have you been feverishly refreshing your podcatcher in anticipation of the return of Reality Escape Pod? Don't worry, Season 10 of the podcast will be here in the very near future. To pass the time, have a listen to some memorable clips our editor Steve Ewing selected from each episode of Season 9. It's perfect for new listeners of the podcast or fans who want to relive their favorite moments.   Full Show Notes   Episode Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.    Weldwood Marketing Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business. Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners: Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Become a Patron Today! Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:  The REPOD Bonus Show The Spoilers Club The Travelogue Series Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters

There's dominance, and then there's Janja Garnbret. By 20, she'd done what no climber, man or woman, had ever achieved: won every competition in a World Cup season. She's a two-time Olympic champion, a six-time World Champion, and the only athlete in climbing history to rule Lead, Bouldering, and Combined at the highest level. This very special episode of Feel Slovenia features an in-depth interview with Janja herself. We'll uncover a side of her that doesn't wear chalk on her hands or medals around her neck. We'll learn where she likes to take visitors to Slovenia, the climb that has eluded her but which she dreams about, whether there will be a climbing wall in her newly built house, and how her nutrition plan differs from fellow Slovenian superstar Luka Dončič. All that and more, as part of this special episode with Janja Garnbret, the GOAT of climbing.Feel Slovenia the Podcast is brought to you by the Slovenian Tourist Board and hosted by Dr Noah Charney.Sound Production: Urska Charney For more inspirational content, check out www.slovenia.info and our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor.

On this episode, host Sagi Eliyahu talks to Freya Hurwitz, Director of Procurement at Tripadvisor. Freya shares how she brought a product management mindset to procurement and helped digitize and streamline internal processes from the ground up. She also breaks down the tension between automation and culture, the limitations of AI in negotiation and how procurement leaders can evolve into strategic business partners.Key Takeaways:(04:43) Use product management thinking to improve internal workflows.(05:38) Digitize contract processes before introducing new technology.(09:51) Reduce resistance by giving teams better process visibility.(13:51) AI tools can't yet replace human negotiation skills.(15:40) Expect AI to reshape, not replace, procurement roles.(20:08) Strategic procurement requires moving upstream in decision-making.(23:30) Traditional sales roles are fading in software procurement.(27:04) Tech advances faster than most teams can adopt.(31:51) Stay flexible — career paths and tools will keep evolving.Resources Mentioned:Freya Hurwitzhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/freyahurwitz/Tripadvisor | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/tripadvisor/Tripadvisor | Websitehttps://www.tripadvisor.comThis episode is brought to you by Tonkean.Tonkean is the operating system for business operations and is the enterprise standard for process orchestration. It provides businesses with the building blocks to orchestrate any process, with no code or change management required. Contact us at tonkean.com to learn how you can build complex business processes. Fast.#Operations #BusinessOperations

//The Wire//2300Z August 13, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: ARRESTS MADE REGARDING LONG-TERM HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY NETWORK IN NEBRASKA. CANADIAN WILDFIRES THREATEN ST. JOHNS IN NEWFOUNDLAND.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events-Canada: As wildfires continue to burn throughout the nation, more populated areas have begun to be placed on evacuation notice. Parts of the town of Paradise in Newfoundland were ordered to be evacuated yesterday, and the outskirts of St. Johns has been ordered to prepare for an evacuation if the Paddy's Pond Fire continues to threaten Highway 1, one of the main egress routes that would be taken if a larger scale evacuation were to be ordered at some point.Analyst Comment: The circumstances of this fire are suspicious, and local authorities are seeking information from anyone who may have details regarding a vehicle which was spotted near the origin of the fire, right before it broke out.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Diplomatic activities continue as President Trump's face-to-face meeting with President Putin draws near. Both leaders are scheduled to meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday. Analyst Comment: Though the White House specifically states that this is not a negotiation meeting with regards to the Ukraine War, the general consensus is that the war will be the main topic of discussion.Tennessee: Severe storms swept through the state overnight, resulting in the deaths of three people in Chattanooga. 6.5 inches of precipitation fell in just a few hours, causing flash floods which stopped traffic on I-24 and resulted in 6x people being rescued by swiftwater teams overnight. One person remains missing due to the flooding, and search and rescue operations continue.Nebraska: Yesterday the DoJ released details on a human trafficking network that was allegedly broken up in Omaha. 5x individuals were arrested for enslaving children to work at four different hotels, in addition to prostitution and drug trafficking. Money laundering, visa fraud, and drivers license fraud were all of the other crimes listed on the notice provided by the DoJ regarding these arrests.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comment: Most of the human traffickers arrested in Omaha were members of the Chaudhari family (a prominent immigrant family from India) which is well known for owning most of the cheap hotels in and around Omaha. It would be exceptionally foolish to conclude that this trafficking network has been shut down...these raids have only scratched the surface regarding this criminal enterprise. This is also not the first time this family has been directly implicated in human trafficking. Vishnubhai Chaudhari and Leelabahen Chaudhari (both illegal immigrants) were arrested in 2017 for the exact same human trafficking behavior in nearly the same manner in the exact same place, trafficking children to serve as slave labor for local hotels.In 2018, these people were convicted and sentenced to only a single year in prison....for enslaving children, and beating and abusing them regularly over a period of years. Now, the family tradition has continued with the arrest of 5x other direct family members. As such, whenever this new case involving this same family goes to trial in a year or so (and thus the media no longer cares about this), it is astronomically likely that everyone involved will get a slap on the wrist and continue these horrific actions once again.Of note, all of the hotels that were raided are still up on Tripadvisor and other travel websites, available for bookings. Similarly, the Super 8 motel where child slaves were rescued from in 2018 is still open for business and sports a rating of 3.7 stars. No protest activity or public outrage has been observed at these facilities so far.Analyst: S2A1Research: https://publish.obsidian.m

Love the show? Have any thoughts? Click here to let us know!This week, we're heading to the First State—Delaware! Lauren begins with the tragic tale of Mary Elizabeth Dunning and her husband, John Preston Dunning, a story that proves some choices come with devastating consequences. Then, Kenzie takes us to the charming yet eerie Addy Sea Inn in Bethany Beach. This historic bed-and-breakfast is home to the usual creaks and ghostly whispers—but what truly sets it apart is a chilling TripAdvisor review from a guest who experienced its paranormal side firsthand. Join us as we uncover Delaware's haunted past and the secrets it still keeps.--Follow us on Social Media and find out how to support A Scary State by clicking on our Link Tree: https://instabio.cc/4050223uxWQAl--Have a scary tale or listener story of your own? Send us an email to ascarystatepodcast@gmail.com! We can't wait to read it!--Thinking of starting a podcast? Thinking about using Buzzsprout for that? Well use our link to let Buzzsprout know we sent you and get a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan!https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1722892--Works cited!https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dq_0tJvFgEFuU1ZpZQ3E_LcuLc-RrTML8fSt9ILWb6k/edit?usp=sharing --Intro and outro music thanks to Kevin MacLeod. You can visit his site here: http://incompetech.com/. Which is where we found our music!

The Pigeon Fork Dolly Parton Amusement Park, Dollywood, has been rated number one in America for 2025 according to Trip Advisor. We need to get there. But first, some GOP Arkansas legislators are looking to enact further anti-trans legislation. If enacted, the bill could lead to frivolous lawsuits against hairdressers who cut a trans teen's hair, teachers who use a student's chosen name, and nonprofits that offer support. Also, LinkedIn, not to be outdone by YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, has removed hate speech policies forbidding transphobic misgendering and deadnaming. Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Spotify: spoti.fi/2pC19B1 iHeart Radio: bit.ly/4aza5LW Tunein: bit.ly/1SE3NMb YouTube Music: bit.ly/43T8Y81 Pandora: pdora.co/2pEfctj YouTube: bit.ly/1spAF5a

Dolly Parton BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.In the past few days Dolly Parton has been at the center of several headline-grabbing developments cementing her legend not only in country music but also as an entertainment and business icon. The most significant news broke on August 5th when Guinness World Records honored Dolly as an official Guinness World Records Icon to mark Dolly Parton Day. This is particularly biographically meaningful; she now boasts 11 Guinness records with achievements such as most consecutive decades with Top 10 album entries on the Billboard country chart and the longest span of No.1 hits for a female artist—her reach now celebrated not just for music but for her transformative impact on poverty relief, education, and child literacy. According to Guinness Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday, Dolly's real distinction comes from life-changing projects like her Imagination Library. The presentation took place in Nashville studios with plenty of media coverage.On the business front her profile soared again with the grand opening of Dolly Wines Bar inside Nashville's Assembly Food Hall on August 1. The wine bar features the Dolly Wines label, a collaboration between Parton Family Cellars and Accolade Wines, extending her knack for fun and hospitality to yet another enterprise. U.S. fans can sample her signature California chardonnay and pinot noir along with a peach sangria, while UK fans can enjoy exclusive rose and prosecco varieties. Social media lit up following the opening; Instagram fans flocked to post selfies under the bar's bright blue lights and a giant Jolene-inspired portrait, while media outlets like News 19 and Parade highlighted Dolly's infectious entrepreneurial spirit and ability to draw crowds with even a sip of her signature style.Her business moves continue as Parade and WYRK reported that she's prepping a $75 million Nashville hotel The Songteller, set to welcome guests in 2026, complete with music venues and a museum dedicated to her legacy—a long-term investment likely to become a central pilgrimage for fans and scholars alike.The biggest entertainment buzz of the week came from Nashville's Fisher Center at Belmont University during the premiere of Dolly: A True Original Musical, which dramatizes her life and career. Instagram exploded with scenes of Dolly stunning on the red carpet and taking the stage to announce three actresses cast as Dolly through various ages. Media outlets ranging from Country Living to Music Row covered her appearance and the enthusiastic applause for the autobiographical show, deepening her cultural footprint as both a living legend and trailblazing storyteller.If all that wasn't enough, Dollywood, her signature theme park, has just been recognized as the #1 Amusement and Water Park in America by Tripadvisor for 2025, beating out Disney and Universal Studios—a pointed reminder that Dolly's influence in entertainment, hospitality, and business simply knows no bounds.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

President Trump picking CEA Chair Stephen Miran to fill the Fed Governor vacancy left by Adriana Kugler. Former Fed Governor Randy Krozner breaks down what that means for the future of monetary policy. Then shares of Expedia and Trip Advisor surge on the back of earnings. The outlook for the U.S. travel sector. Plus a potential way to gain alternative exposure to the gold trade. The CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals breaks down the quarter with the stock up more than 80% this year.

On today's MJ Morning Show: Make Michelle Laugh Morons in the news Update: Teens who killed retired cop suing car company Car alarms no longer 'chirp' Feel Free Tonics Listening to audio at higher speeds Yelp's top sandwich restaurants features 3 Tampa spots Sydney Sweeney jeans ad Women on Hinge using app to find men to put furniture together Parking at hospital charged woman over $7000 Michelle & Julian still go to thrift shops Alarm clock anxiety How's Your Day Honey - Elisha Visit from Mike Murphy/Genesis of Tampa Claire's stores dealing with bankruptcy Top theme park in America based on Tripadvisor's readers MJ confesses to watching a really bad movie Also, Michelle & MJ watched "The Naked Gun" What is "Love Island" face New Costco in The Villages makes incredible first day sales A carnival ride snapped in half Are mosquitos in China spreading a virus?

Psy-Nation Radio Episode #092 The 92nd edition of the Psy-Nation Radio podcast hosted by Ace Ventura & Liquid Soul (Liquid Ace) is here! For this episode we have for you a guest mix by Rugrats ! We always love to hear your thoughts - feel free to send suggestions, feedback and requests to: psynationradio@gmail.com #wearepsynation Track list: 1. Protonica & Zen Mechanics - Flowstate (Iboga records) 2. Emok & Silent Sphere - Circus Sideshow (Iboga records) 3. Photonics - Citrine (Sourcecode transmissions) 4. Agmon - Watching Us (Sacred technology) 5. Infected Mushroom - Spaniard (Out of Orbit & Ido Segal remix) (Shamanic tales records) 6. Volcano & Oforia - Release Yourself (Sacred technology) 7. Acid Punks & Fungus funk - Fungus Punk (Mutant disco records) 8. Enrico Sangiuliano - The Techno Code (Avalon & Tristan Remix) (NINETOZERO) 9. Electric Universe - Bansuri (BLiSS remix) (Iboga records) 10. 8ternal Beings (Tristan & Regan Nano) - Maxwells Demon (Nano records) Rugrats Track list: 1. Tripadvisor & Rugrats - FandyKlipp 2. Rugrats - NN - (unreleased) 3. Rugrats - Super Baked (Render Remix) 4. Rugrats & Zeridium - Radio Zero One Sick 5. Rugrats & Art Materials - NN (Unreleased) 6. Braingineers & Rugrats & Xipe Totecs - That Fateful Night 7. Rugrats & Xed - Favorite Weed (unreleased) 8. Jumpstreet - BufferBoogie (Rugrats Remix) 9. Rugrats - Subway`s (unreleased) 10. Rugrats & Act One - NN (unreleased) 11. Rugrats & Jimi Green - Popular Mechanics This show is syndicated & distributed exclusively by Syndicast. If you are a radio station interested in airing the show or would like to distribute your podcast / radio show please register here: https://syndicast.co.uk/distribution/registration

Subscribe to Throwing Fits on Substack. We've got smaller things to worry about. This week, Jimmy and Larry are locking in their new schedule before (slowly) speeding into buying women's sneakers, the dangers of horizontal stripes making you look like a little boy, Chief Keef eBay filters, footie fever is ratcheting up, exposing guests who lied on the pod, getting radicalized by the Citi Bike speed limit, doing fashion vs. getting dressed, your Reddit history is forever, Lawrence bombed at the MR Awards aka the Schmoscars aka the Garmmies but he's still here to share the speech he wrote, Sydney Sweeney's generational bag chasing ignites the culture war, James' correspondence with Jeremy Fragrance culminated with quite the ask plus reading some R-rated texts with another mystery guest booking, sage unc bachelor party integration, the guns are bigger in Texas, all Waymos must be destroyed, finding your friend's dad's Tripadvisor's account kicks off the sincere recommendation revolution, how much salt is too much salt, H&M's Dimes Square collection might be a flex, the many dangers of ironic fashion, what we're getting up to at Copenhagen Fashion Week and more.

Are you up to date on this week's biggest news story? Anna and Raven will get you caught up on the trending news including ChatGPT making cheating more difficult, but only if you want it to.  GenZ may be the reason that cereal is going out of style! Anna and Raven talk about why and have Producer Julie ask the Office Squad what they had for breakfast! Anna and Raven talk about the number one places to visit according to Trip Advisor, and they share what are just tourist traps, according to their experiences! Matt Healy's mom spoke out and said she was happy that she would never be Taylor Swift's mother-in-law. Raven talks about his ex-wife's mother and he and Anna ask you about your mother-in-law! Do you think it's messed up that women are using the Tea app? Find out what the app is and how people are using it do to background checks on the people they are dating! Are you up to date on this week's biggest news story? Anna and Raven will get you caught up on the trending news including the Celsius Energy Drinks recalled for containing alcohol, and the service for Ozzy Osbourne. Yesterday, Intern Luke made a comment that “Old” people don't go to movies. Anna and Raven have Luke watch Santa's Second Wife, the movie Anna and Raven created and star in! He reports on it! You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGGb3nt5Yts There is one nickname that is the most popular pet name! Find out what it is and Anna and Raven share their pet names from their spouses! Wait until you hear the nickname Anna's husband has for her! Kevin and Leslie have been dating for six months, and he just told her that he has a son that lives three states away. She is really upset and says that's something you should disclose to someone you're dating within the first week of dating. He says that besides providing child support and getting to visit over the summers and holidays, he barely ever sees his four-year-old son. His son's mom was a very brief encounter, and she had planned to move the whole time. He loves his son, but he doesn't feel like it's something he must “disclose” to someone he just started dating. What do you think? Maryann has a chance to win $3300! All she has to do is answer more pop culture questions than Raven in Can't Beat Raven!

Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome freelance travel writer Ashley Kosciolek. Ashley is a former editor at Cruise Critic for 12 years, but I really got to know her work during her time writing mainly about cruises but also some general travel articles wrote about cruises for The Points Guy. Ashley can address virtually any cruise-related topic from the consumer side, and even make topics about as exciting as watching grass grow—like travel insurance—worth reading about. On numerous occasions over the past couple of years in response to one of her articles, I considered reaching out to her regarding visiting us on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. I finally get a chance to welcome Ashley. Ashley Kosciolek is a travel writer with nearly 20 years of experience covering the cruise industry. Following more than a decade as a staff editor at TripAdvisor company Cruise Critic, she spent four years as a senior writer on the cruise team at The Points Guy, with coverage ranging from ship reviews, destination reports, and industry news to tips articles, planning pieces and first-person features. You can also find her freelance work on Cruise.blog, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruise Radio. Ashley has sailed with every major cruise brand (and most of the lesser-known ones, too) and has been quoted as an expert by USA Today, the Associated Press, CBS, Forbes, NBC News, the Miami Herald, the Huffington Post, "Good Morning America," The New York Times, and more. You can follow her adventures on Instagram: @slyjabroni.Do you have a dream car?Support the showSupport thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/newSupport Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulthContact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.htmlBook Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast)The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingCruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterruptedThe Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgainIntl Orders via Amazon

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Colleen Onuffer for the second installment of a four-part series exploring the PESO Model—Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media—in integrated marketing. Colleen shares more about earned media: what it is, why it's critical for building credibility, and how organizations in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry can use it to tell their story more powerfully. From collaborating with influencers to maximizing media placements, she explains how earned media fits into the bigger picture and interacts with other parts of the PESO framework. What You Will Learn in This Episode: How Colleen Onuffer defines earned media and why it is considered more credible and trustworthy by consumers compared to paid and owned channels Why the Peso Model is essential for creating an integrated and effective PR strategy, and what the interconnections are between paid, earned, shared, and owned media How to approach strategic PR planning, including the importance of starting with research, setting clear goals, and understanding your audience What types of earned media tactics Colleen recommends for destination marketers, including media relations and influencer partnerships How emerging trends like artificial intelligence (AI), podcasts, and the rise of micro and niche influencers are shaping the landscape of earned media Why measurement and the Barcelona Principles are so critical for PR success, and how to plan up front to track the true impact and quality of earned placements How to start small, leverage multi-channel opportunities, and set yourself up for measurable success How Earned Media is Different from PR Destination marketers know that cutting through the noise to reach travelers is harder than ever. In a world saturated with content and advertising, earning trust and attention calls for a sophisticated mix of strategy, storytelling, and smart tactical planning. We're discussing the critical “E”—Earned Media—in the integrated PESO model this week. The Value and Challenge of Earned Media Earned media is any publicity gained through organic means rather than paid advertising. Unlike owned or paid channels, it's the result of others—media outlets, influencers, travelers, or even locals—talking about your destination. Think press coverage, travel blogger posts, influencer recommendations, glowing TripAdvisor reviews, or enthusiastic social shares. Colleen emphasizes that earned media carries higher trust among consumers. Because earned media is not paid for by a brand directly, it's often perceived as more credible or trustworthy by consumers. Mainly because brands don't control the message. Unlike owned or paid media, where the brand is the voice, earned media relies on the voices of others to push the brand or narrative. It's both valuable and vulnerable—a product of relationships, storytelling, and a bit of risk-taking. Creating an Earned Media Strategy It's tempting to jump straight to pitching, press trips, or influencer outreach. But effective PR starts with strategic foundations. Colleen recommends that travel marketers: Define Their Positioning: What's the unique appeal or challenge your destination faces? Unlock Insights Through Research: Deeply understand audience motivations, needs, and media behaviors. Set SMART Goals: How many placements? What kind of coverage, and where? Do you want to attract a niche or mass audience? Build Audience Personas: Understand their pain points, decision-making process, and where they seek inspiration. With these insights, your earned media initiatives—whether hosting writers, partnering with content creators, or launching brand ambassador programs—are more likely to land meaningful, measurable results. Resources: Website: https://travelalliancepartnership.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenonuffer/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tapintotravel/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more o​f. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

WEDNESDAY HR 4 Ray Traendly from TK Law. The In-laws can be an issue in a divorce. Hobbies women find unattractive in men. News From The Headlines - Top tourist attraction according to Trip Advisor.

On this episode of GMH Hotels, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk explore Hilton's strategy to drive direct bookings from small business travelers, while Marriott Hotels finalizes its acquisition of citizenM hotels, expanding its lifestyle portfolio. The vanishing hotel minibar takes center stage as operators rethink in-room profit models. In travel, Tripadvisor reveals its top 2025 attractions, JetBlue doubles down on tech with its Travel Products platform, and Royal Caribbean Group plans a loyalty refresh to meet the demands of last-minute cruisers. Tune in for all the latest trends, headlines, and insights shaping the hospitality world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Tripadvisor become every traveler's starting point?Steve Kaufer joins Joubin Mirzadegan on Grit to break down how Tripadvisor became the internet's trusted travel companion, built on over a billion reviews and decades of trust. He also shares why early personalization fell short and how AI is finally doing what travel agents once did by understanding the traveler, but faster, smarter, and at scale.Guest: Steve Kaufer, co-founder of TripAdvisorChapters:(00:00) Trailer(00:45) Introduction(01:32) Early days of Tripadvisor(08:14) Catching the startup bug(18:42) Luck and timing(26:54) $200M: a combo of money and risk(37:37) I love creating stuff(40:45) Hardest part of being a public CEO(46:21) Never let a good crisis go to waste(51:54) An average traveler(55:49) Social proof vs artificial intelligence(1:02:59) Back in the saddle(1:09:54) Not for the faint of heart(1:12:16) What “grit” means to Steve(1:12:31) OutroMentioned in this episode: Google, Expedia Group, Barry Diller, Interactive Corporation (IAC), Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, OpenAI ChatGPT, IMDb, CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction), Amazon, Google Chrome, Give Freely, Honey, Rakuten, Macy's, American Cancer Society, Google GeminiLinks:Connect with SteveXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

When a new list of “underrated” Irish attractions makes the rounds, I always take a look. Sometimes I nod in agreement. Sometimes I roll my eyes and wonder who decided the Rock of Cashel was a hidden secret. That was my reaction to a recent ranking from SumUp, which used everything from TripAdvisor reviews to... The post Ireland's Underrated Attractions(how to add them to your itinerary & escape the crowds) appeared first on Ireland Family Vacations.

Plus: U.S. stocks set another round of records. And activist investor Starboard Value has built a 9% stake in Tripadvisor. Anthony Bansie hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices