Are people problems holding your travel business back?

As a tour operator or travel entrepreneur, you likely have to work with team members or contractors to make your trips happen. But if your team isn’t working well, can cause major problems. Rebekah Snider feels your pain. Through many years of trial and error she has become a respected tourism leader — and has learned through experience how to find good team members and lose bad ones. She joins this episode of the podcast to share her insights on hiring and leading great tourism teams.

Rebekah shares her secrets for finding great employees and the questions she always asks herself before having difficult conversation with struggling teammates. She also provides insights about how to lead multi-generational teams and what core workplace wishes everyone has in common. Plus, we have news about America’s top travel inspiration source and a thought-provoking question about the role of social media in all our lives.

Insights from Rebekah Snider

Rebekah shared lots of great wisdom about how she builds high-functioning tourism teams. Here’s what she had to say about the top characteristics she looks for in employees:

“We’re really looking first and foremost for somebody that has a kindness to them and a relatability. I think people do business with people they like. Those things are important to our brand and to hospitality…. I have found that if we have someone who is a good communicator and has a kindness and warmth to them, we can usually teach them the skill set they’re going to need.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Email Rebekah at rebekah@visitmilledgeville.com.

Read our Buyer’s Guide for the Group Travel Industry here.

Key Moments From This Episode

2:14 — Travel News: Social media becomes America’s top source of travel inspiration

3:37 — Your best source for group travel insight and intelligence

9:17 — How Rebekah Snider became a tourism leader

10:12 — Key traits of great mentors

12:45 — Dealing with imposter syndrome

14:57 — Leading a multi-generational team

20:31 — Setting expectations for team members

21:50 — Navigating difficult conversations with employees

27:04 — How to find great employees for your travel business

29:45 — Exercising influence in your community

44:15 — Hot Minute: Is using social media still morally acceptable in 2025?

Watch the Full Interview

See the full interview with Rebekah on our YouTube channel.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.