One of the best analogies I’ve read recently is that travel agencies are like the coffee shops of the industry and travel advisors are the baristas in the coffee shops. (I’m sure the analogy works for tea drinkers too!)

Coffee is an integral part of many of our lives, and we have our personal preferences as to what we love about our coffee. Some people are creatures of habit and prefer it the same each day. Yet, some are willing to try new flavours, new beans and different types. Some like it hot; some like it cold. Cream and sugar or plain black? There is no right or wrong way to enjoy your coffee.

Coffee is something you can make yourself at home, and it can be considerably cheaper. But do you feel the same joy with that cup of coffee like the one you received in a coffee shop, one that was handcrafted just for you and may even have your name on the cup so that it only belongs to you?

Think about why you visit your favourite coffee shop. Is it the cozy ambiance of the shop? The personalized service you receive? Maybe it’s the way you “feel” when you receive that steaming hot cup of coffee when handed to you with a friendly smile?

You walk into a coffee shop knowing you are probably going to pay more for a cup of coffee than making one at home. But you will happily pay more for a cup of coffee to save yourself the time and hassle of making it at home.

If the coffee is not to your liking, you can go back to the barista, and they will make you a new one. The barista may even have ideas to suggest to enhance your coffee tasting experience with new flavours or possibly new brewing techniques that you might not have known. Because, why would you? The baristas are the coffee experts to help customers with recommendations they feel would pique the customer’s interest. Or, if you are a regular customer in their shop, they innately know how you like your coffee so that you do not need to do a thing except enjoy your much-appreciated cup of coffee.

Enjoy your cup of coffee on this Saturday morning and think about how much value a travel advisor can bring to your next trip. Because when we are ready to emerge from self-isolation, we are going to appreciate and enjoy the luxuries of life again, whether it be a simple cup of coffee or the trip you have always wanted.

How to keep up with all the news these days? I honestly don’t know anymore. With this villain of a virus that has taken over the world, we are coping with uncertainty, boredom and social isolation in all our own ways.

I’ve been feeling the full range of emotions these last couple of weeks, from being worried, stressed, angry, fearful, grateful and bored. But mostly, I’m just sad. The tremendous feeling of loss is profound and all around.

First, it was the heartbreak of cancelling clients’ long awaited vacation plans and then worrying about making sure all clients were safe at home, back on Canadian soil. Then we moved to the trauma from the astronomical losses in the travel industry, first among the cruise ships, then the airlines, to tour operators, the massive layoffs announced and then us, the lowly travel advisor, caught in the crossfire right in between consumers and travel suppliers. We’ve all been working in overdrive and many have seen our personal and business losses severely impacted by this virus. I’ve just had some time to take a break from the chaos to breathe.
And then to hear that today (March 24) in Alberta is the highest single day increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, that the second death due to COVID-19 was confirmed, and that the deceased was living in a continuing care centre in our community where there is an outbreak among the staff and employees in the centre.

The sadness is real. Not unlike the grief process. If anything I have learned from grief, is that we need to acknowledge and allow the sadness to have its space. We will come out of this ok. We will all be ok. But it will take time. We need to give it time and do our part, by staying home, to allow our leaders and our healthcare providers to do what they know to be best.

I’m still focusing on my positives and being grateful for this solitude. I might be stuck in my head a bit more than usual but I have also realized I need to acknowledge the sadness among the joy as they are two sides of the same coin.
Because mental health is so important to cope through this challenge we are all facing, how are all of you doing? Drop me a quick check in so I know how you are doing? ❤️

Feels weird to write a blog post that at first glance, seems to go against everything that my blog is about!

Life is too short to stay home - I started the blog as a way to showcase some of my travel adventures and journey into the travel agent life. I wanted to take as much opportunity to explore fun travel experiences with my kids as much as I could.

Yet, now with the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis, we are all asked to the very opposite - to stay home. Because our very lives are 100% dependent on everyone staying home.

So what does that mean for everyone in the travel industry? Absolutely no more travelling. Borders are closed. Businesses are closed. Schools are closed. Communities are closed.

What is open? Our minds. Our hearts. And our loved ones. The very essence of our humanity is human connection. And this virus has done everything to stop us from connecting. So what do we do? We adapt. We create new communities (virtually for now) for the sake of humanity.

Now is not the time to be fighting or arguing. Now is the time that we should all be working together to fight this unknown villain, a virus that is bring out both sides of humanity and it is within our power to ensure that the good side will prevail.

As I’ve been hunkered down for over a week now, boredom and isolation are starting to set in. After the most tumultuous week in the sudden global disruption to the travel industry, a new reality is sinking in that this crisis is only the beginning. Without know when it will be safe for people to travel again, a sadness sets in. Not unlike the grief process, we acknowledge the sadness for the life we knew before this. Because when the climate changes to allow safe travel again, we know that the reality will be different. Not everyone is going to make it out alive. Not all airlines, travel suppliers and small businesses will survive.

But, I do believe that this time is necessary. This downtime that forces us to social distance from what we have known (and likely taken for granted) allows us to focus on what is most important, and to come out of this on the other side with a greater appreciation for the simple things in life again.

To appreciate family and friends.
To appreciate the value of human touch and togetherness again.
To appreciate the safety and security of our basic needs such as food and shelter. 
To allow us to take care of the most vulnerable in the the population.
To appreciate our front line workers who have not choice to do their jobs despite the risks to themselves and their families. 

This is our time to allow the goodness of humanity to shine through. Even small acts from each individual can make all the difference to another, and to save a person's life. It really is that simple. For now, temporarily, we are asked to stay home if we can. Flatten the curve. Simple acts can make a huge difference in preventing the spread of the virus. 

Everyone is doing their best with the best information they have at hand. And that information can change very quickly. This is the time for us to trust our leaders, trust that the authorities above us are doing the best they can for everyone. It is going to be a challenge for awhile. This is not going away anytime soon. We are in this for the long haul. But I do know that we come out on the other side so much stronger because of it. 

Stay cosy and stay safe! Sending you all socially distance virtual hugs. ❤️

It’s a new day and while it may seem like each morning this past week has been about assessing damage, I think a new calm is starting to set in as we hunker down and have a deeper understanding of the whole situation.


What we know already:
This affects everyone. But we are all in this together. The world is coming together to fight an unknown villain that we cannot see, hear or touch.
That things are going to get even more challenging before it can get better, and that it will take longer than we expect to come through.


But, that the kindness, compassion and generosity of people will shine through the dark times ahead. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it might be a much longer tunnel that we thought.

It’s a new reality we are faced with and we just need to adapt. This is the perfect time for us to focus on the important things, before we got distracted by everything else.


What is most important:
Family…
Friends….
Food….
Faith

(Fun and Fresh air are pretty close runner ups!)


Everything just looks different than what we have been used to but let’s get back to the basics and rebuild what know and love into a new reality that works for us all. We build new virtual communities, and relearn what we thought was important. We take care of the most vulnerable and appreciate our leaders, and our front line workers to help keep us calm, fed, and safe.

And when emerge from our extended hibernation, we will be ready to contribute to our community even stronger than before.

What’s your favourite “F” word?

Not going to lie, this has been the longest and most challenging week I've had to face. Unprecedented levels of stress with the outlook looking pretty long and bleak right now. We are in for touch times ahead here in Alberta with this global health crisis with COVID-19. It's not easy to get me this worries as I'm usually a very optimistic, positive and "glass is half full" kinda girl most of the time!
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And yes, I have faith in the greater good, that all is temporary and all will work out in the end and that what we know as our current reality may be very different when the dust settles.

I'm trying to stay positive, stay optimistic and focus on my blessings instead.
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We are all worried. I am worried, just like you. Just in one short week (or the longest week ever, depending on where you are viewing it from!), our whole world has been turned upside down like never before. And what we have known (and taken for granted) in our life has been removed (temporarily).

The luxury of travel, school and childcare, employment, access to our goods and services above our basic needs and of course, our health is all in question. Now with social distance measures required to help us ensure the most vulnerable in our population can be safe, our human need for social interaction has forced us to turn within.

In this continued time of uncertainty impacting the world, we need to remind ourselves to:

🤞Respect the decisions being made at this moment in time and that the decisions and direction can also change very quickly in this fluid and dynamic situation.

AND

🤞Have confidence and trust that the authorities above us from all levels and industries are making the best decisions they can to help us through this global crisis.

As worried as I am though, I also know this is temporary.

Breathe. It’s time to focus on simplicity.
To trust that all is out of our control, to allow us to trust in the greater good.
To have faith. To have faith in humanity and that the hard times ahead will force us to re-evaluate our own priorities, to bring us closer to each other by forcing us apart.

But we will come together in a way we are not used to. To individually and collectively make a difference. We must take care of each other in time of need. And we need each other now more than ever. But at the end of each day, we have each other.

Let’s not talk about yesterday. As we are so emotionally invested in what we do, it is challenging to stay abreast within a quickly changing situation. Cruises are starting to get cancelled. Upcoming trips are starting to get cancelled. Supplier term and conditions are starting to emerge for travellers who have affected travel plans but do not have travel insurance or trip cancellation insurance. Airlines are starting to change their schedules to accommodate a very quickly changing situation as the Canadian government starts to advise measures taken in response to COVID-19. 

I understand there are still a lot of questions, and lot of uncertainty with so many unexpected travel plans disrupted suddenly. Not all the details have been sorted out yet and there are more questions than there are answers because this is such a sudden and unprecedented situation that we have to assume that everyone is trying to do their best.

But, today is a new day. And another day to spend on hold for so many of us to find the answers for you, to rearrange plans for you as necessary

So please, wherever you go, whatever you do, thank you in advance for your patience and extending the grace to others as everyone on the front lines is trying to find answers and not all will be available yet.

Until then, I’m going to crank up the tunes, refine my playlist and am prepared for another long day in the trenches.

P.S. Please feel free to send wine my way…..😜
​(I may or may not have graduated to the whiskey yesterday to cope.)

Oh and Happy Friday the 13th! What else can we expect on this ominous day?