In my role as a Travel Operations Manager, I am responsible for overseeing and managing all operational aspects of the travel department at Millennium Tours. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for delivering exceptional travel experiences, I strive to ensure that every aspect of our operations runs smoothly and efficiently.My day-to-day responsibilities include managing a team of dedicated staff, coordinating with vendors and suppliers, and monitoring budgets to ensure cost-effective operations. I work closely with other departments to ensure seamless travel experiences for our clients, from booking to post-trip support.By staying up-to-date on industry trends and best practices, I continuously seek ways to improve our travel operations and enhance the overall customer experience.I take pride in my ability to work well under pressure and in a fast-paced environment, always striving to uphold the highest standards of excellence in travel operations. Through my strong leadership and communication skills, I am able to drive efficiency and collaboration across teams, ultimately contributing to the success of our travel company.I am passionate about the travel industry and dedicated to driving operational excellence to ensure that our clients receive outstanding service at every step of their journey. It is truly a privilege to play a key role in creating memorable and seamless travel experiences for our valued customers.

I effectively manage travel inventories and I successfully coordinate with suppliers, negotiate contracts, and optimize inventory levels to ensure seamless operations and customer satisfaction. One of my core strengths is my ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with guides, hoteliers, transportation companies, and other stakeholders. Through daily interaction, I have developed a deep understanding of their needs and expectations, ensuring seamless coordination and exceptional customer experiences.In addition to managing day-to-day operations, I am constantly researching ways to improve and add value to our tours. Whether it's identifying unique attractions or curating exclusive experiences for our clients, I strive to stay ahead of the curve and provide unforgettable travel experiences.Furthermore, I possess exceptional research skills that enable me to identify emerging trends and destinations. This allows me to tailor our tour offerings based on market demands, ensuring continued growth and customer satisfaction.As a team player with excellent communication skills, I thrive in collaborative environments where teamwork is essential for success. I have successfully led cross-functional teams comprising of tour guides, sales representatives, and customer service personnel – all working towards a common goal of delivering exceptional travel experiences.

Having served as a primary product management team member for a diverse portfolio of tours, I have gained valuable insights into the intricacies of the travel industry. My role as a "resident expert" on international destinations, including Africa, Israel, India, and Scotland, has allowed me to develop a deep understanding of these regions and their unique offerings. This knowledge enables me to curate unforgettable travel experiences that cater to diverse customer preferences.Moreover, my proficiency in maintaining product backlogs ensures that all aspects of tour operations run smoothly. I am adept at coordinating with various stakeholders such as vendors, suppliers, and local partners to ensure seamless execution from start to finish. Additionally, my strong organizational skills enable me to prioritize tasks effectively and meet deadlines consistently.

As a cruise host, I was a greeter, a public relations exec, an event coordinator and a problem solver. Iinteracted with hundreds of people each day, making effective communication skills, flexibility and an outgoing personality crucial.In addition to greeting passengers, hosts and hostess responsibilities I led shore excursions, presented port talks, arranged parties, attended social events, helped long lines disembark from aboard the ship, spread news among guests, answered questions and helped guests with small tasks.With YMT Vacations I also led tours and shared my destination knowledge in the following states- Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. I also shared my destination knowledge as we traveled through the following countries - Greece, United Kingdom, Iceland, Germany, Denmark, Czechia, Netherlands, Italy, Vatican City, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland, and Belgium

Spent numerous hours researching and presenting historical and cultural narration for tours. This experience further enhanced by my ability to engage with my audience, particularly first-time guests. Through this practice, I gained knowledge of how to navigate a variety of situations and communicate effectively with both small and large groups. I worked closely with vendors and built strong relationships in order to give clients the best travel experience. I was also responsible for communicating with all parties involved when we encountered a disruption in our itinerary and worked to restore order and ensure everything ran smoothly. Researched and analyzed a variety of travel websites and other sources for information on departure and arrival times, fares, and hotel ratings. I made sure to only include the most accurate, up-to-date information in order to ensure that my information was as educational as possible. Pre-inspected hotels and resorts to evaluate the comfort, cleanliness, and quality of food and service. Assessed dining areas on atmosphere, décor, and ambiance. Provided recommendations on travel experiences that ensured optimal comfort, satisfaction, and enjoyment for guests.Entering Yellowstone National Park from Jackson Hole can sometimes be challenging and getting around the park takes much longer than anticipated. When the South Entrance was shut down due to a forest fire, just hours before my group was set to go through , I quickly rerouted the tour through the West entrance all while providing commentary and my knowledge of local history. The tour was altered but not canceled, and we were able to travel a different route and an additional state (Idaho) that would let us enjoy all of the highlights of Yellowstone.I lead many numerous tours with Odysseys Unlimited through the National Parks of the North including South Dakota, Wyoming, & Montana.

The role of a travel guide is to ensure that my guests have the most enriching, exciting and immersive experience possible. I take pride in having a strong sense of responsibility and integrity towards my guests. They are my priority; therefore, I make it a point to know them well through their needs, wants and desires to ensure that the trip will be an enjoyable one for everyone. I was in charge of supervising the handling of the baggage, counting passenger, narrating during the day, scheduling the motor coach stops for breaks, lunch, picture stops, sight-seeing, etc. I also counted passengers to make sure that no one was left behind or had gotten seated or forgot their belongings. I was responsible for organizing and communicating with different departments such as hotel reservations, sight-seeing stop management as well as doing marketing research about destinations/attractions.On September 3rd I arrived in Charleston SC to begin a tour of the aforementioned city along with Savannah. My guests arrived the next day questioning me about the possibility of our tour being cancelled early due to the approaching hurricane. I assured everyone that safety was my priority & I was in constant communication with the company. That next day was uneventful and the tour progressed as planned, but that evening, I never went to bed because the company decided to try to get everyone flights out the next day. Unfortunately, all of the flights were full. Early on Sept. 6, Irma peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 180 mph. Fortunately I had found a bus the day before to take our group to Atlanta. I worked the entire ride there to get everyone a plane reservation home. I didn't get much sleep on that trip but thankfully everyone arrived home safe and sound.As a Group Leader with Road Scholar I led tours and shared destination knowledge in the following areas - Charleston & Savannah, Northern Rockies including Canada, Southwest National Parks, Alaska, & Tennessee

I shared my passion for travel with others by offering information and entertainment while leading tours around Europe. My extensive knowledge of local culture allowed me to create a memorable experience for each set of travelers. With Ed-Ventures, I led groups of all sizes, ranging from 4 to 30 people on trips to Europe for Faith based tours including the anniversary celebration of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.While leading tours in Europe, I experienced and had to move around strikes, political unrest and other issues. Resilience, patience and the ability to adapt quickly were essential qualities I had to foster. The language barrier in European countries occasionally created a significant challenge while leading tours, and made it difficult to plan the day's activities. When this happened, I utilized the google translate app. Thankfully, my guests never knew that some of my motor coach drivers did not speak English.In my work Ed-Ventures I led guests and shared destination knowledge as we traveled through the following countries - Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, United Kingdom and France,

I acted as a ground hostess and was highly visible and helpful to the public. I greeted customers, explained airline services and amenities, and provided directions to local area attractions for passengers upon arrival.Responsibilities included, but were not limited to: checking in passengers, assisting with baggage service and de-planing/boarding procedures. Assisted with wheelchair assistance and mobility assistance. Maintained a calm demeanor in stressful situations, such as upset passengers or unruly passengers who are intoxicated.Managed a busy airport check-in area to ensure that all customers were checked-in, boarded, and deplaned within acceptable levels of service. Coordinated with other departments to ensure that operations ran smoothly and appropriately.'Provided assistance and related customer services at the ticket counter, gate and baggage areas, and concourse of the airline I served. Trained on all aspects of service, technical knowledge of aircraft and checklists, safety regulations and procedures for ground transport. Performed duties by communicating effectively with passengers as well as my coworkers; assisting customers with loading baggage into aircraft; answering queries from passengers; translating foreign languages into English or any other language required if needed. During my time working as a Passenger Service Agent with United Airlines, I gained destination knowledge as I traveled to the following destinations - The islands of Kauai, O‘ahu, Island of Hawai'i, Sint Maarten, Antiqua and Barbuda, U.S Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic,, Jamaica and Haiti, and also the countries of Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Italy and Canada

As a Tour Guide/House Host, I welcomed visitors from all around the world and shared my knowledge of the historic Rosalie mansion and its historic furnishings, it's inhabitants, their possessions and the history of Natchez Mississippi and the Southern United States. Visitors were amazed at my knowledge of this beautiful mansion and their comments were always kind. Through my work as a tour guide, I was able to discover new places in Mississippi that interest me in many ways.

I believe in taking pride in my work and seeking every opportunity to expand my skill set. I was able to meet the needs of all guests staying with the hotel, and took pride in delivering excellent service each shift.I executed a variety of duties, including answering phones, booking reservations, responding to emails and electronic reservations; greeting guests upon their arrival; providing assistance with hotel amenities or attractions in the area; maintaining logs of room service orders for billing purposes; and reviewing information packets that include all policies and procedures required for each position.I also performed the following duties using active listening, problem solving and critical thinking: Received customers and gave them a warm welcome by greeting them with a smile, giving them a quick tour of the location, answering questions posed by guests. Cleared rooms on request if they were not occupied. Kept the reception area clean, tidy and stocked up with any necessary supplies such as towels, extra pillows etc.. Managed reception duties including taking reservations, room charges and any other associated paperwork involved.I checked guests in and out and providing any necessary services to ensure customer satisfaction. I Managed the hotel’s reservations, making sure that each room was occupied only by registered guests, and letting them know when their rooms are ready. I ensured compliance with all hotel fire safety policies

I was responsible for ensuring the efficient operation of my tour by maintaining the integrity, effectiveness and viability of the systems which served as a guide for my decision making. As travel company representative, I was in charge of supervising the handling of baggage, counting passengers and narrating the drive for 28 days. My responsibilities included marking baggage with labels so that it was easily recognizable as well as loading luggage onto buses. I also kept records of each passenger's details such as where they were coming from, how many people were traveling with them and how much luggage each person had. I communicated with the bus driver to ensure we were on schedule and called the contracted vendors each day to confirm travel plans including flight and hotel arrangements.I also scheduled our motor coach stops for breaks, lunch and picture stops. This was quite a challenging but rewarding job which involved patience, care and team spirit. I had three main goals for this challenge: make sure everyone was happy, have fun myself and be organised with my timekeeping. These three points meant that I could show professionalism to both our customers and fellow employees whilst having a great time. Being responsible for this trip involving 40- 45 passengers gave me the chance to interact with people from all over the world whilst travelling across North America.

Led groups of up to 45 people on a bus and walking tours. Provided historical context for local churches, shops, and landmarks. Also, led group dinner around 6pm as an optional excursion that included theater tickets or other activities on Fridays and Sundays. It was my responsibility to supervise the handling of the baggage, counting passengers, and providing commentary about the sights we saw each day. My responsibilities also included handling the check-in at the hotel, "lobby duty" and any associated paperwork for the day. In addition, I spend part of the evening re-confirming the events coming up in the next few days with the company vendors.

My experience as a Tour Director has given me broad knowledge of the relationships between people and cultures. This background in tourism and hospitality has instilled in me the ability to provide excellent customer service, build rapport with international visitors, manage problems and meet deadlines, as well as develop group dynamics. I am able to efficiently organize, plan and conduct long and short distance expeditions, travel, and tours for groups or individuals

Worked extensively with Microsoft Office and Google Suites. During my time in the administrative office, I was able to work closely with each member of the team and assist them with tasks they struggled with. I scheduled meetings, conference calls, appointments and organized all types of resources.I collaborated with HR to update and maintain office policies as necessary. Managed office operations and procedures to ensure efficient, accurate and consistent processes. Coordinated with IT department on all office equipment and technical support issues, including monitoring email servers, configuring printers and maintaining employee desktops.Managed contract negotiations, price negotiations and invoicing of office vendors, service providers and office lease. Managed the office budget ensuring accurate and timely reporting.Provided general and administrative support to visitors, aided in the preparation of their needs. Displayed good customer service skills by greeting people at the door, leading guests to meeting rooms, checking meeting room supplies and cleaning up. Spoke with visitors to identify their needs and assists them just as far as needed in order to maintain customer satisfaction.Assisted in the onboarding and training process for new hires. Ensured that all new hires were given a clear picture of their responsibilities and goals within the company through our robust training program, which included a combination of presentations, mock scenarios, and hands-on individual activities.I administered recruitment processes including advert and applications; conducted interviews with candidates; prepared contracts of employment. Managed payroll administration and the preparation of annual leave. Coordinated the purchase requisitions and approved vendor invoices for equipment, supplies, maintenance and repair activities. Coordinated monthly meetings with departments to discuss and review facilities operations.