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During the summer of 2020, Jennifer Doncsecz, president of VIP Vacations in Bethlehem, Pa., sold more destination weddings than she did in 2019 (despite the COVID-19 pandemic), and she has continued to set business records in the first quarter of 2021.
In this episode of Trade Secrets, Doncsecz returns to speak to Emma Weissmann (Senior Editor at TravelAge West) and Jamie Biesiada (Senior Editor at Travel Weekly) on all things destination weddings and honeymoons.
We’ll also hear from the travel advisors of Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association, who have questions about how the pandemic will affect destination wedding and honeymoon patterns for 2021 and beyond; how venue availability is shifting for 2022; and how romance travel specialists can continue finding unique ways to reach prospective couples.
Additionally, the co-hosts discuss leveraging other social media platforms outside of Facebook and Instagram to grow a business (such as TikTok or Clubhouse) and consider whether it make sense for agents to get involved in destination wedding ceremony planning.
Doncsecz will also give advice on how travel advisors can best prepare for a crisis — beyond buttoning up their terms and conditions.
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Jennifer Doncsecz, president of VIP Vacations
Credit: 2021 Jenn MartinsResources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading
From TravelAge West
This Travel Advisor Sold More Destination Weddings This Summer Than Last Summer
How to Use Clubhouse to Grow Your Business
From Travel Weekly
Travel Weekly's Legal Briefs column by travel industry attorney Mark Pestronk
Paid Wedding Websites for Leads
- WeddingWire
- Wedding Chicks
- The Knot
- Style Me Pretty
The Details
Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association
www.dwhsa.com
VIP Vacations
www.vacationsbyvip.com
Have a Question?
If you're a travel advisor with a question about the latest travel news, trends, social media, best business practices or more, please send an email to tradesecrets@travelweekly.com. Bonus if you send a recording of yourself asking your question — we may play it on the podcast.
About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the co-host of Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts.
