Just six months after taking over as president of Travel Leaders Network, John Lovell announced his departure from the company for a role at Virgin Voyages, handing the reins of the network over to Lindsay Pearlman as of June 30.
Fortunately for Travel Leaders, the network is in quite capable hands. Pearlman has been with the company since 2019, most recently serving as senior vice president and chief operating officer — so, he’s no stranger to the brand, and is in a prime position to build on the network’s ongoing success.
Though he described his first week in the new role as “drinking water through a firehose,” Pearlman plans to lean on the strength of the Travel Leaders executive team as he gets his bearings.
“If you look at our organization as a whole, we have some really smart people who work here,” Pearlman said. “I'm going to leverage that on the one hand, and respect it on the other.”
One week into the job, Pearlman sat down with TravelAge West to chat about the current state of affairs for travel advisors, how the future looks for Travel Leaders and more.
How are you approaching your transition into the role of president?
Well, if you look at Travel Leaders as a whole right now, we're in a really good place. Our results last year were fantastic. And our results this year, year to date, have been better than they were last year. We're trending really well.
So, the one thing I don't want to do is break something that's not broken. I'm filling very big shoes [following] Roger [Block] and John. They did a great job. I was part of that team. So, there are a lot of things I already know. But I don't know what I don't know, right? I'll spend the next 90 days in conversation with people and fill in any blanks. And there may not be a lot of blanks, but I'm not going to assume anything.
The one thing I don't want to do is break something that's not broken.
Based on data shared at the recent Edge conference, there was some expectation that this would be a record year for Travel Leaders. Do you agree with that assessment?
I do. But we all take it week to week. We're going to be keeping an eye on the news — be it weather issues or geopolitical issues, we don't know [what’s to come]. But if things are calm, we're seeing that demand for travel is there. So, unless there's a curveball thrown, we'll keep doing what we're doing. People keep traveling and it's great, because they want to go farther and they want to go in more complex ways, which requires a travel advisor. So, we're quite happy with those elements directionally.
Do you expect the travel industry to face some headwinds given the geopolitical and economic uncertainties of the year so far?
When haven’t we had headwinds? Go back to 2000, when the world was going to come to a complete standstill with Y2K, and we were all going to be bankrupt because all of our money was going to disappear. And then you can take Ebola and SARS and COVID-19 and the bird flu. And you remember the volcanic ash over Europe? So, we can be cautiously optimistic, but we're not foolish about it. We still operate the business with contingencies in place. But headwinds? Guaranteed. The severity of them? We have no idea.
Headwinds? Guaranteed. The severity of them? We have no idea.
Is the network currently seeing any shift in how clients are booking, based on the current climate?
You have people who want to travel, and they're going to travel. The question just becomes: Where are they going to travel? On the one hand, you see shorter [booking] windows, because people will wait for opportunities. Then you have people [who want] higher-end luxury products. And that stuff sells out. So, you’re either getting it well in advance or you're going to lose that opportunity. And our numbers into 2026 are currently looking pretty good.
What else can you share about what the future looks like for Travel Leaders?
We already started going down this path before the [leadership] changes, but we're going to be much more focused on our members and understanding their business to align our programs with them more effectively. That brings value to our members through incremental revenues and cost efficiencies. So, that is not a radical change, it's just an evolution of what we're already doing.
Pick a lane. There's so much out there, and you can't be everything to everyone.
What would your advice be for new advisors entering the industry now?
Pick a lane. There's so much out there, and you can't be everything to everyone. So, become an expert in the area that you love. There's still so much to learn, and the higher your level of expertise, the more money you'll make in that segment.
