ASTA news VIEW FROM THE TOP Supporting entrepreneurship
Gloria Bohan, founder of Omega World Travel, talks about her time in the travel industry and her founding of the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation
Q
What do you love most about your job?
It’s an adventure to take care of a company through a combination of driving productivity, reshuffling priorities, promoting creativity, watching the checkbook, marketing product and being a public face for the company.
Q
What’s a typical day like for you? Tere’s always an early review of email
— maybe even in the middle of the night. I rise early, eat smart, do a bit of exercise and/ or stretching to get the kinks out, and dress for anything that may happen. I have a meeting at least once a day, with meetings starting at 8 a.m. on two days out of the week. A vendor may come to meet us about a
special promotion, the day would be filled with lots of calls and emails, I touch base with each division of the company, review sales numbers, create synergies, check any travel plans and finally leave around 7 p.m. My rule is that I finish all I can and solve as many problems as possible, so I can sleep at night. I love a routine, especially since it grounds me in hectic times.
Q
What are the secrets to being successful in business?
Having the best staff makes a big difference. Tere are the necessities, such as making sure we’re within budget and not overextended. Of course, we’re also constantly putting energy into staying ahead of the competition, evaluating, marketing and rearranging priorities in networking.
Q Q
What’s the benefit of being an ASTA member?
ASTA is the premier voice of the agency community and can speak to lawmakers, suppliers and consumers on the behalf of many.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities opening up in the
industry today? We’ve been noticing significant consumer interest in travel from many groups: retirees, baby boomers, families, millennials, students and special interest groups. It’s also important to keep an eye on the huge assortment of cruise
ships operating these days, with a variety of ports, types and sizes. Experiential travel and group travel are popular, as are online choices that enable the public to learn about places virtually and keep them excited about exploring.
Te mission of the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation is to foster and celebrate entrepreneurship in business, particularly in the travel and hospitality industry. We want to promote the story of entrepreneurialism to ASTA and our industry.
Can you give us some insight into the work you do with the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation? Te mission of the Foundation is to foster and celebrate entrepreneurship in business, particularly in the travel and hospitality industry. We want to promote the story of entrepreneurialism to ASTA and our industry. My husband and I are grateful to have spent
Q
most of our lives in travel and have experienced the joy of building a business that took us around the world. We’ve had opportunities to meet many new cultures, create new product and collaborate with suppliers and staff for a great consumer travel experience. I encourage budding entrepreneurs to
tap into their creativity through support, scholarships and public speaking. We present the Entrepreneur of the Year Award each year for the team or person who best fulfilled the ‘entrepreneur’ mission.
Q
What are the leader or mentor qualities you most admire?
A leader needs to be positive and passionate. It’s important to be generous and purposeful; flexible and focused; engaging and self- evaluating. A leader and mentor needs to understand people and find the hidden talent in others; they must be multifaceted and ready to help. Tey must love what they do, particularly if they run their own business, because there are bound to be setbacks along the way. Understanding customers and staff should be thought of as a great thing because the insight gained can be translated into services. Ideas and energy can come from meeting and being with people. Stick-to-it-iveness is a rare quality, but is
essential in keeping the dream of success alive. In leadership, one must want to win for yourself and those that follow you. You need to know what’s happening on the ‘front lines’ and support those that do.
ASTAnetwork | Summer 2017 | 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
