Ken W. Watson is Silversea's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Based in the company's Fort Lauderdale office, Watson is responsible for Silversea's worldwide sales and marketing operations and oversight of revenue management and performance, reservations and air/sea.

Before joining Silversea in April 2009, he was executive vice president for the Regent and Carlson companies, operating in the cruise, travel and hotel businesses. Prior to that, Watson served as president and chief executive officer for companies such as Little Switzerland (a publicly traded retail jewelry company later acquired by Tiffany & Co.), Cartier Inc. and Gumps Inc.

He earned a master of business administration degree from Pace University and a bachelor of science degree in economics from Villanova University.

Mr. Watson shares:

• His history in the luxury travel space (0:43)
• Where do you see the cruise industry in 5 years? (3:46)
• What is your view on travel agent revenue mix? (7:15)
• How have geo-political situations changed cruise travel? (8:50)
• What environmental considerations does Silversea take? (10:23)
• Do you believe booking windows are shortening? (13:41)
• The traveling five (16:58)

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Prior to becoming the SVP and COO of Mileage Plus Holdings, Tom O'Toole was the SVP and CMO at United Airlines. Mr. O'Toole spent over 14 years with Global Hyatt Corporation, most recently as CMO and CIO, and served as a Director of Pegasus Solutions, Inc.  He joins Brands That Travel to discuss the future of loyalty travel and brand affinity programs.

Tom O'Toole, SVP & COO Mileage Plus Holdings, LLC for United

Mr O'Toole shares:

• What it has been like to transition from the lodging to the airline industry (0:52)
• How the United and Continental merger is progressing (3:13)
• How he sees travel loyaly programs changing in this economic/technology environment (8:45)
• His thoughts on the future of miles programs and viability of real time incentives (11:42)
• The role mobile currently plays in travel and where he sees it going (13:18)
• What leading edge philosophies United Continental Holdings is focusing on moving forward (16:33)
• The Traveling Five (18:12)

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Brands That Travel recently attended The PhoCusWright Conference at the Westin Kierland in Phoenix.  We had the opportunity to sit down with some of the top minds in travel to speak with them about the conference and to get an idea about the strategic imperatives they felt were important for 2011.  Our opening discussion was with Terry Jones, Chairman of Kayak.com and founder of Travelocity.com.

Terry Jones, Chairman of Kayak.com

Mr. Jones shares:

• How things have changed in the travel industry (0:51)
• What he's doing to connect with consumers more in coming year (1:25)
• His thoughts on the tablet boom, and Kayak.com's tablet strategy (2:09)
• How social media integrates into other marketing channels (3:21)
• What opportunity he thinks everyone is missing (3:56)
• His thoughts on Google's acquisition of ITA (4:47)
• The Traveling Five (5:55)

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With over 20 years of travel industry experience, Rob Torres serves as Google’s Managing Director for Travel. In this role, he oversees the strategy development and profitable growth of integrated and innovative channels across the industry.  Mr. Torres joins Brands That Travel to discuss Google's continued expansion into travel.

Rob Torres, Managing Director for Travel

Mr Torres shares:

• How travel is perceived inside the company (2:28)
• The progression of the ITA acquisition (5:43)
• Google's longterm travel strategy (9:53)
• Difference between AdMod and iAd (11:20)
• Biggest hurdles around mobile consumption (13:10)
• What he thinks those in the industry should focus on (15:43)
• The Traveling Five (17:48)

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Bill Ritter, Jr. was elected as Colorado’s 41st governor in 2006 – the first Colorado-born governor in more than 35 years. Since taking office, he has supported tourism and economic development as a key strategy for leading Colorado forward.  Governor Ritter joins Brands That Travel to discuss the role tourism plays in a state economy, and the importance of economic development in government.

Bill Ritter, Governor of Colorado

In this episode, Governor Ritter discusses:

• The role tourism plays as one of the 4 main pillars of his administration (1:44)
• Whether the United States should put more focus on attracting non-US tourists (4:54)
• The importance the "green" movement plays in tourism and economic development (8:05)
• Colorado's record high visitations, and his budget advice to peers in other states (10:30)
• Surprising part of hosting the DNC and President Obama's acceptance speech (12:41)
• The Traveling Five (13:55)

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Southwest Airlines is admired around the world for its commitment to brand and culture as well as the customer service approach that has set the company apart from other airlines. In this episode of Brands That Travel, we will be interviewing Teresa Laraba, Senior Vice President Customer Service, to learn more about the strategy behind Southwest's success and how customer service is evolving in the travel marketplace. Ms. Laraba oversees the airline's customer support and services, customer relations, customer service agents and central baggage services, and with over 20 years of industry experience, she knows that the best advice for colleagues is to "slow down and listen - the person in front of you deserves your time".

Teresa Laraba, Senior Vice President of Customer Services

In this episode, Ms. Laraba shares:  

• How the Southwest corporate culture has changed over time (2:27)
• The unique way Southwest manages its culture across 68 locations (6:40)
• The reality series "Airline," and the outcome of Southwest's participation (11:01)
• Her opinion on the new DOT 3-hour tarmac regulation (12:39)
• The role social media and real-time communication plays in customer service (14:10)
• Her experiment with assigned seating and the customer reaction (18:17)
• The Traveling Five (20:30)

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How important will social channels become as a part of travel suppliers' customer service organizations?

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Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is widely regarded as a leader in the global hospitality industry, with a distinctive collection and a worldwide reputation for excellence. In this episode of Brands That Travel, we welcome Tom Storey, President of Fairmont.  Prior to joining Fairmont in 2001, Mr. Storey was with Promus Hotels, a hotel management and ownership company, as Executive Vice President Strategic Planning & Venture Operations.  

Tom Storey, President of Fairmont Hotels

In this episode, Mr Storey reveals:

• The reasoning behind the leisure transient  mix of business (1:17)
• How Fairmont reinforces its brand internally (4:38)
• How being based in Canada has affected international growth (7:08)
• Role hybrid development opportunities will play in Fairmont's development strategy (8:47)
• Whether there is need to reduce the emphasis on Luxury (11:39)
• How he sees the hotel & travel industry evolving over the next decade (16:01)
• The Traveling Five (18:38)

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How do you see the industry evolving over the next decade? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Hearing the best and the brightest of the travel and hospitality industries discuss the latest trends, forecasts, and opportunities would be incredibly valuable. Well, with Brands That Travel, it’s also incredibly available.

The Brands That Travel podcasts are your chance to get a first-hand look, or listen, into key insights in our industry. It’s a chance to get informed and get inspired. So, give it a listen. And be sure to check back often for new podcasts. You can even have the episodes delivered to your iTunes.

        MMG Worldwide President Clayton Reid hosting the show from MMG's podcast studio

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