The Folo by Travel Weekly

One of the biggest stories in the cruise industry has been the deal between Royal Caribbean Group and Sandals Resorts International: The companies are forming a joint venture, with Royal agreeing to acquire a 50% equity stake in Sandals. This conversation of the travel advisor perspective features Mary Alys Foutz a travel advisor who specializes in Sandals and Beaches resorts; Jesse Foutz, an advisor who specializes in Royal Caribbean; Addison Jaynes, CEO of Reliant Destinations; and Travel Weekly senior editors Teri West and Christina Jelski.  In this episode: The outline of the deal and the latest updates; where advisors see synergies between the two companies; the guest experience; selling two similar -- but different -- products; the importance of education and training; and the growing strength of both the all-inclusive market and the cruise industry. This episode was recorded Oct. 29 and has been edited for length and clarity. This episode coincides with CruiseWorld – our annual conference that features top executives from all the major cruise lines. Jason Liberty, the CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, is among those who will speak with editor in chief Johanna Jainchill. Our coverage will be live this week at https://www.travelweekly.com/cruiseworld-coverage. Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Princess Cruises https://www.princess.com Related links: Royal Caribbean wants 50% of customers' vacation wallet https://www.travelweekly.com/cruise-travel/royal-caribbean-wants-50-percent-customers-vacation-wallet Risky business or smart strategy? Reaction to Royal Caribbean's investment in Sandals https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Reaction-to-Royal-Caribbean-investment-Sandals Exclusive: Jason Liberty and Adam Stewart on the Royal Caribbean-Sandals deal https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Sandals-Adam-Stewart-and-Royal-Caribbean-Jason-Liberty A Sandals top seller talks about the Royal-Sandals deal https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Sandals-top-seller-talks-about-Royal-Caribbean-deal Reliant Destinations:  https://mycaribbeanluxury.com/ Marvelous Mouse Travels: https://marvelousmousetravels.com/ UPDATE: This episode was updated to correct the sponsor for this episode; it is Princess Cruises.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Vail Resorts, CEO Rob Katz in its fiscal-end-of-year statement at the end of September said that the past winter was “one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S. .... snowfall and snowpack were at or near historic lows.” That may make skiers and riders a little gun shy about booking for 2026-27 -- as ski reporter Robert Silk termed it, it's a "hangover" year -- and we see that in Vail’s numbers, as its Epic Pass sales through Sept. 18 were down about 12% year over year.  Here, we’re talking with ski experts Tom Foley, the director of business intelligence at Outside and Inntopia and the founder of mountain-lodging analytics firm DestiMetrics, and Stuart Winchester, the editor and host of the Storm Skiing podcast and journal, about the expectations for this year’s winter season. Is the ski pass system flawed? How big a role does snow play -- or is it the economy? Is the discussion different for major ski resorts vs smaller ski areas? And at the end of the day, the thrill of the mountains and why we’re all still bullish about the business.  This episode was recorded Oct. 13 and has been edited for length and clarity. Episode sponsor This episode is sponsored by Oceania Cruises https://www.oceaniacruises.com Related links  The ski industry faces a tough start after a tough, low-snow season https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Ski-industry-faces-slow-start-after-low-snow-season Profits and pass sales decline for Vail Resorts https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Vail-Resorts-reports-reduced-pass-sales-and-profit Activist investor wants a board overhaul at Vail Resorts https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Activist-investor-targets-Vail-Resorts Alterra names Kelly Vohs CEO https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Alterra-Mountain-Company-names-Kelly-Vohs-as-its-next-CEO DestiMetrics https://corp.inntopia.com/intelligence/destimetrics/ Storm Skiing https://www.stormskiing.com/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Because Halloween is right around a (scary, dark) corner we’re shining a flashlight on a very unique, and very popular, time at Orlando parks: The spooky season. Jamie Biesiada, Travel Weekly's editor for content innovation and retail, earlier this fall checked out Universal Orlando Resort’s annual scare-filled Halloween Horror Nights. In this episode she and host Rebecca Tobin talk about that experience in detail, what Disney offers, the psychology of scares for fun and who travel advisors should target for a Halloween vacation.  This episode was recorded Oct. 9 and has been edited for length and clarity. Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Oceania Cruises Related links: Dispatch, Orlando: A first time at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/A-first-time-at-Universal-Orlando-Halloween-Horror-Nights Why do we love to be scared? The appeal of Halloween Horror Nights https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Appeal-of-Universal-Halloween-Horror-Nights A celebration of 35 years of terror https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Halloween-Horror-Nights-returns-to-Universal-Orlando-Resort A night at Disney's 'Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party' https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/A-night-at-Mickey-Halloween-Party Author Coltan Scrivner's Morbid Curiosity test https://www.coltanscrivner.com/morbid-curiosity-test  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

River cruise lines, passengers and advisors have occasionally been vexed by Europe’s hot, dry summer, which has led to low water levels on some rivers that kept some ships from sailing their published itineraries. So what should advisors and river-bound passengers know about how lines monitor the rivers and come up with solutions?  In this episode, river cruise editor Brinley Hineman and host Rebecca Tobin have a candid conversation with Jeremy Palmer, the president of tour company Tauck, which operates more than a dozen river ships in Europe, on how it has handled the season. Response teams, on-the-ground relationships, communication strategies and more – it’s a conversation that every river-selling advisor should listen in on. This episode was recorded Oct. 6 and has been edited for length and clarity. Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Oceania Cruises https://www.oceaniacruises.com Related links: Climate change: Tourism's hot topic https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Climate-change-Tourisms-hot-topic Low water, high stakes: River lines take a hit to satisfy guests https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/River-cruise-lines-swallow-costs-to-move-guests Low river waters in Europe are challenging river cruise lines and advisors https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Low-river-levels-in-Europe-challenging-lines-and-advisors Tauck's river cruise page https://www.tauck.com/tours-and-cruises/european-river-cruises  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have several exciting episodes planned for the Folo over the next month that will folo – that’s a journalism term that means to follow up with more context and reporting -- some of the biggest stories in the business. But this week, we're bringing you a bonus episode of our kick-start to the fall season: Topics we wanted to devote a little more time to. Jamie Biesiada, our editor of content innovation and retail, had some interesting insights into her theme park coverage, so in this episode we talk about what Universal and Disney have been up to.  And then after our second break, aviation editor Robert Silk discusses an unusual TSA test program: In certain cities, it's enabling PreCheck members to pass through security and into the terminals even if they don't have a boarding pass.  These conversations were recorded in mid-September and have been edited for length and clarity. Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Oceania Cruises https://www.oceaniacruises.com Related links: Disney World is testing new tools to help consumers select a hotel https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Disney-World-testing-tools-consumer-hotel-selection Disney unveils major theme park plans at D23 event https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Disney-announces-a-slew-of-theme-park-updates-at-D23-event At Universal Kids Resort, the focus is on fun for younger ages https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Fun-in-small-doses-at-Universal-Kids-Resort TSA turns back the clock on the Gateside program https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/TSA-turns-back-the-clock-with-Gateside-programSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.