One of the best parts of being in the Tourism industry for many years is the people I meet. Our industry has an endless list of talented, hardworking, fun-loving, and creative professionals. I decided to interview my friends and give you a peek into their lives and careers. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and I will follow-up with the guest interviewed. This week we hear from my friend Suzi Steiger of RMP Travel.
Tell us a bit about how you got started in the tourism industry.
I fell into the travel industry by accident.
I was born in “Da Bronx”. As a family, we moved to Long Island and when I was 10 my father’s career took us to Michigan. My education from 5th grade through college was in the suburbs of Detroit. Growing up in the era of Motown made R&B my favorite genre of music.
While attending Oakland University I studied Psychology, had very hands-on training to be a therapist, and upon graduation worked in the substance abuse field counseling heroin addicts in a residential treatment program modeled after Phoenix House. It was an eye-opening experience that I truly loved. I evolved in this field but the economy in Michigan went through some tough times.
My family had moved back to NY during my first year of college so after 9 years I decided to return to NY. Therapist positions available were few and far between. My brother was a part-time tour guide for New York Group Tours. They had a position open to train someone to help manage the company. For me, it was a dream come true!
It was the early 80’s and I had the opportunity to learn to customize high-end group tours with Bank groups and the like. I lived in Manhattan in a 4th-floor walk-up studio apartment in Chelsea for $300 a month. No one could imagine a greater introduction to New York booking groups into the St Regis, dining at Tavern On the Green and the Russian Tea Room, and seeing Broadway shows – to me it was the life!
So I was still working with people but the outcomes were positive and my experiences were enriching and I fell in love with tourism. It opened my horizons in a million ways. I was sold!
What is your current job and what are your primary responsibilities?
My development in the industry continued. I worked for Sheraton for two years as the travel industry sales manager at the Sheraton City Squire.
RMP Travel was a client of mine. The owner who started the company a few years before approached me to buy the business as he was retiring to Florida. It was a huge decision for me but after a lot of internal debate, I followed my heart.
RMP Travel Inc was officially my business in 1990. I took the primarily Receptive Operation from domestic to international business in the nineties. I attended ITB and WTM and IMEX and EIBTM and I learned so much about other cultures and developed friendships that remain to this day.
Business has changed, the players have changed and our world has changed. RMP Travel has weathered 911, the economic downturn of 2008, and now the Pandemic.
Through all of that our staff had grown, we increased our office size and some staff left and started their own companies. We are significantly smaller now partially dictated by economic forces and partially by choice.
At one time we needed to work hard to keep up with the many requests. Managing staff and selling was my primary role.
As times have changed we have needed to reinvent ourselves to offer continued customized programs that cater to the times and the economy and special interests. We have maintained a balance of the international and domestic business.
As of late, my goal was to develop some consistency by partnering with some international clients that have a constant feed to the US. This stability is newly developed and my hope is that it will carry us through these unpredictable times once business returns.
Anything else we should know about RMP Travel?
RMP Travel Inc is both a Destination Management Company as we serve our International overseas Corporate Incentive and Pharma clients and also a Receptive Tour Operator to our more leisure cultural clients.What are some of the changes you have seen since you began your career?
Business has changed in many ways over the past 40 years –
Through various economic periods there has been a lot of consolidation.
Some businesses have merged. The introduction of the internet and Online booking systems has had a major effect. Many Mom and Pops have not survived.
Customized itineraries are more a thing of the past but still have a place in our industry
And is still the platform at RMP Travel.
While maintaining an office has always been the way – many are now learning to work remotely which I believe will be the wave of the future.
What tourism trends are you seeing that will impact your job and how you work in the next 2 years?
Unfortunately, I think that we will need to try to get to the other side of this pandemic in order for business as we know it to resume. I question how trade shows will return until there is a vaccine.
Financial survival will be a test.
Group travel may be negatively affected.
Rural areas will become more desirable as opposed to cities for a period of time.
It’s vacation time – where do you go?
My Happy Place is Aruba!
What is your favorite app and tell us a bit about it.
I don’t know if I could isolate just one –
Google for info, Pandora and Spotify for music, The weather channel
What’s App is one of my favorite for staying connected internationally and of course Facebook.
What is your favorite tradeshow and why?
WTM as there is a lot of variety of clients from all over with a nice rapport between the US and The UK.
IMEX for corporate incentive business
And of course, IPW is quality at many levels with a good source of MICE business
What advice do you have for someone just getting started in the tourism industry?
Being in your own business has many perks but it offers limited support when times get tough. Sometimes I think working at the supplier end offers more security. But I probably would not have it any other way.
What is one of the ways you are coping with being home from work and self-isolating?
I have never been a big Facebook person but have become much more active in order to stay in touch. I think sharing humor and keeping in touch in whatever way we can is helpful.
Zoom cocktail hours are wonderful.
Exercise is crucial and I am using my treadmill and my rowing machine regularly
And I think that communicating with positive people helps – this is definitely a test and positivity is important – having gratitude for what we do have instead of what we don’t.
That does not negate the loss that is taking place and the people that are truly struggling.
Having understanding and helping where we can is a responsibility. We are all in this together.
What do you see as an opportunity that will come out of the current Coronovirus crisis?
It will force us to recreate ourselves in the best way possible. Being part of the solution and not the problem is an important choice.
I am not certain but working remotely could have it’s benefits.
We are being forced to learn to relate in different ways that may have long term benefits.
And our values are being challenged – maybe getting back to the basics and understanding
what we truly need to survive and what frivolous desires we can let go of.