Family Matters

FAMILY

MATTERS

COLLETTE SHARES ITS PHILOSOPHY ON GTF ZOOM INTERVIEW

SALEM, Ohio — The group travel industry is making a solid return to pre-COVID-19 times as the pent-up demand of people wanting to travel with friends escalates. A few positive-minded organizations have accelerated this movement, the leader of which has been Collette, a well-known name in travel.

The Group Travel Family of Brands recently interviewed Christian Leibl-Cote, Collette’s senior vice president of global business; he was asked to explain his company’s effort and to share its philosophy with the travel industry. Charlie Presley conducted the Zoom interview, recorded it and made it available to the Group Travel Family’s 25,000 leaders of group travel programs.

“I was impressed with the openness of Collette in telling their story and the willingness to help others in group travel get back on track,” said Presley.

Leibl-Cote began by explaining the Collette theory of treating the customer right. He used the example of Collette’s refunding a whopping $150 million in customer deposits when COVID-19 hit. “It is our belief that until a trip operates and Collette delivers the service, that the money belongs to the traveler,” Leibl-Cote said. That action by Collette has paid off with return travelers as the company opens its domestic and international travel programs. Leibl-Cote went on to say that Collette has survived World War II, the 9/11 attack and COVID-19 in its 104 years of selling travel. Collette refunded $32 million as a result of 9/11. The company remains family owned, which may be a major factor in its exemplary treatment of customers. The Collette interview went on to focus on the importance of group travel in human life. CHRISTIAN LEIBL-COTE “People travel as much for human interaction as for the destination,” Leibl-Cote said. “Travel demand from loyalty programs is a strong indicator of the well-being of the travel industry.” Although people want to travel with like-minded friends, it always takes a leader to organize the trip and to give people a convenient and affordable avenue to travel. The Collette interview can be seen on the Group Travel Family of Brands’ YouTube channel, youtube.com/grouptravelfamily, or on any of the Group Travel Family social media outlets.

Collette’s Christian Leibl-Cote (left) speaks with Charlie Presley (right) in a Zoom interview now available on The Group Travel Family’s YouTube channel.

Sen. John McCain poses with a group of Ohio locals and the Yellowstone Bus during a stop on his 2008 presidential campaign.

THE PRESLEYS’

NATIONAL PARK BUS HAS A NEW HOME

SALEM, Ohio — A historic tourism relic is returning to its home in Montana, as a 1935 Yellowstone Park bus makes its way back west. Charlie and Kathleen Presley, founders of The Group Travel Family of Brands, purchased and refurbished the Yellowstone Park bus 21 years ago. It has resided in Ohio for the past two decades and been a staple of parades, Little League ballgames and even a few weddings.

Now, the bus will return to providing sightseeing pleasure to guests at a Montana resort. The public will again enjoy the open-air view provided by the 20-foot roll-back canvas roof.

The Presleys fell in love with the “Yellow Beast” on their first trip to a national park out west and spent seven years tracking one down.

“It was such a tourism statement that we knew it belonged in the Presley family,” said Charlie Presley. At 32 feet long, the 16-passenger convertible vehicle presented a few challenges. And approaching 90 years old, it proved cranky at times.

It is estimated that in its park service days, the bus provided sightseeing tours and train depot transportation to almost 1 million tourists. The bus was used by Yellowstone National Park between 1935 and 1970, when it was retired. An estimated 40 Yellowstone buses are still accounted for, with most in private hands.

The bus will now enter its third phase of life. First, it was a national park bus; second, it was a local Ohio celebrity; and now, it is returning west as a sightseeing attraction.

“We are so pleased that it will again see action in the sightseeing field and that the public can experience a part of tourism history,” Presley said.