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 SHEILA
GALLANT-HALLORAN
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Executive Producer, and Luxury Travel Advisor
Contact me to arrange your complimentary consultation. www.lushlife.ca
sheila.gh@visiontravel.ca
613-837-0699
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The Olympian Efforts of a Travel Advisor
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Are you watching the Olympics from Tokyo this past week? It's inspiring, isn't it?
The Canadian women are rocking it - and we have the most decorated Canadian Olympian just getting her 7th medal in the pool last night. Go, Penny Oleksiak https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/aquatics/swimming/penny-oleksiak-womens-medley-relay-olympics-swimming-day-9-heroux-1.6125843
It's so amazing to watch the years of training, and dedication, get called into play for a moment in time. To watch and learn about the stories about these athletes from around the globe- from Simone Biles to Maggie MacNeil to Kaylee McKeown - all of those countless hours, trying to do their personal best, for very little (or no) money. All of that hard work - all for the love of what they do.
Sounds vaguely familiar to those of us in the travel world - at least these past 17-18 months.
Ok, I didn't get up at 4 am, and drag my lazy self to a cold pool, again and again, or pushed my body to do maniacal twists for floor exercises or on the balance beam in gymnastics. And I'm no Maude Cherron (holy weightlifting - https://vancouversun.com/sports/olympics/canadas-maude-charron-wins-olympic-gold-in-weightlifting.) But I certainly know
about all of the Herculean efforts us travel advisors have had to undertake for clients this past year. Maybe it's the world coming together now. Maybe it's the words from my executive team during our weekly zoom calls that each client's holiday now takes at least 3x the amount of work. All of this during a year of tumult and upset, and having our beloved travel industry absolutely devastated. But our love of travel, and those of us in the travel world, keeps us going. And it certainly feels
like Olympian efforts for travel advisors.
One of my travel colleagues said recently that as travel advisors, it's like we're suffering a little from PTSD after the past 17 months of cancelling and rebooking, and cancelling again. Maybe we have fallen off the balance beam one too many times. But we still keep getting back up.
It's almost as if all of our years of training and expertise has been called into this moment of time, where us travel advisors are being called upon to do our personal best. As I'd said to a client this week, any travel advisor who is still working in the field after these past 17 months is the absolute best at what they do.
One thing we all know for sure is that our roles as a travel advisors, as we emerge from CoVid, has never been more complex.
Here's a day's tasks as I'd managed a client’s 3rd time re-booked France river cruise. These are just some of the things I was involved in this week (and this is typical of every client's vacation I'm working on right now - I just typed this one up as I was creating a 'check list'). Here's an overview of what I've been doing:
· Validating clients’ passport and vaccine records (mixed doses), and reconfirming entry requirements for France, and then to get onboard the ship.
· Resourcing for client the CoVid testing requirements at each entry and then exit points
· Reviewing all changing entry requirements for Canadians to France, Germany, Belgium, etc, and ease of travel for flights (constantly changing since EU Commission's recommendation to green light Canadians as of July 1st)
· Rerouting and rescheduling air with my international air desk to give clients the best combo of value and connections, allowing for probable lengthy airport lines and checks
· Reconfirming all details about changing Canadian quarantine rules (as of July 6th) for returning clients, and assisting clients with ArriveCan app
· Validating different country airport transiting requirements for outbound and inbound flights (constantly changing)
· Confirming and ticketing air, affixing proper passport names and dates of birth, bulkhead seat assignments
· Reviewing client’s existing insurance, reviewing Canadian government advisories about travel (especially updates as of July 15th)
Read More
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Not Quite Europe Ready? Travel Closer to Home
If you're not quite ready for Europe, maybe a holiday closer to home might be of interest?
I have a client heading to The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel today with her children for their regular annual escape to New York City.
(Their streak got interrupted by CoVid last year.)
As a travel advisor, I work to ensure my clients have the best possible experience. And that includes Virtuoso Travel perks at the hotel,
as well as leveraging my relationship as part of a Rosewood Hotels & Resorts elite advisor, upgrading them at time of booking to the next
category room. I've gotten them 2 third nights free on a 6 night stay, and other VIP bells and whistles - like monogrammed pillowcases to welcome them "home."
Let me know if I can help you get away.
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Read about some other recent offers my host agency, Vision Travel, has put together for me and my clients.
Let me know if you'd like to learn more
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JULY 20 - Did you miss?
Lush Life & A&K Southeast Asia - Sheila of Lush Life hosted Carson Muir and Sonja Stoerr of Abercrombie and Kent (A&K) for a special presentation on travelling to Southeast Asia.
A&K is a VIrtuoso destination management company that Sheila works with to build top-shelf customized trips for clients, leveraging the feet on the ground expertise in country.
Sheila is going to be working with Sonja to build a trip for solo travelers, probably for 2023. Let me know if this interests you.
Watch the presentation here.
Coming UP - Travel Tuesdays
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Make sure you mark your calendars (and you can even sign up here) for future Travel Tuesdays. They take place every Tuesday at 5 pm (that's edt now that we're in daylight hours).
Taking a 2 week break - we will return in August.
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Virtuoso's "Best of the Best" - Hotel Catalog
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The world’s best places to stay.
Intimate retreats, sustainable safari camps, gorgeous beach resorts … and so much more. There’s a world of dream stays to discover within Virtuoso’s curated collection of more than 1,400 hotels, resorts, lodges, villas, camps, and private islands. Ready to go? Your next getaway starts here.
And remember - book through me, and as a Virtuoso travel advisor, I can negotiate special perks on your behalf!
Read More
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Worried about Mixed Doses?
For clients concerned about US based cruise lines making rulings and/or setting guidance about validity of mixed dose vaccines, stay tuned. It might take a 'while' (and 'while' is relative, considering in a CoVId world rules can change hourly).
You are in good company, since our PM Trudeau has mixed vaccines of AZ and Moderna. (And I believe Ontario premier Doug Ford did as well!)
This will get sorted. Work with me to book the cruise that suits your plans in future, and we'll keep an eye on things - evaluating as we go, tweaking holiday plans if and as needed.
But still make the plan to go!
Lush Life Travel Presentations
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Watch some prior Travel Tuesday presentations. You can find over 30 virtual travel presentations, grouped in categories.
Australia, New Zealand, & South Pacific - watch here
Adventure travel supplier friends - like Big Five Tours, Lindblad Expeditions, Micato Safaris, G Adventures
Cruising supplier friends - like Silversea, Oceania, Uniworld River Cruises, AMA Waterways, and Avalon Waterways
Tour partners - like Air Canada Vacations, CIE Tours, and more
Read More
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Client Testimonial:
Extremely Attentive to Details
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Want to know why you need a travel advisor in times of CoVid?
Check out what my client says:
Extremely attentive to details
Here is a recent testimonial from Linda King, Ottawa.
"Such a disappointment not to have been on our cruise last year but with Sheila’s help and her contacts with the cruise line, she was able to get full refunds for the whole party and we were not left with empty pockets.
Up until that time though, Sheila was extremely attentive to detail and answered all our questions in a time efficient manner and made us truly looking forward to our Russian visit. A true professional. "
Let me know if you'd like to schedule a complimentary vacation planning session.
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Miss the AMA Waterways presentation?
Watch here.
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Here are the planned group trips. Let me know if you'd like to join me.
BORDEAUX & SAN SEBASTIAN - November 7, 2021
I’m going to travel with AMA Waterways to Bordeaux and Spain in November 2021. Want to join me? I just got my partners at AMA to extend my discount (suppose to expire Sept.30.20) to the end of the year.
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VIETNAM - December, 2021
I’m going to travel with Silversea Cruises to Vietnam in December 2021. Want to go? We'll travel from Singapore to Hong Kong. Read More
ANTARCTICA - February 22, 2022
I’m going to travel with Quark Expeditions to Antarctica to Cross the Circle.
If you have always dreamed of walking on the seventh continent, you should be planning now. How about you join me in February 2022? I have a really sweet deal for February 22, 2022 on a group I’m hosting onboard Quark’s Ocean Diamond. I’ll spend 11 days Crossing the Circle. Read More
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I invite you to download this Virtuoso Life publication - The WANDERLUST
Dig into the new issue of Virtuoso Life for July-August 2021.
IT"S TIME TO GET YOUR WANDERLUST GOING!
The world’s finest travel agencies and advisors are Virtuoso®. Just like Sheila at Lush Life Travel!
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Click to Enjoy Your Digital Copy
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When You Work with Lush Life
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When you work with Sheila at Lush Life Travel, you get access to our in-depth knowledge, honed over 15 years experience in travel (with another 20 years in financial services) . Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers states “ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” We have invested that time (and money) to master our travel skills.
Atop our foundation of financial risk management skills; we have layered the bricks to build a wall of knowledge. We surrounded ourselves with the best in the travel industry. We earned travel industry certifications. We continuously improve our product knowledge, and follow emerging trends. We train. We conduct cruise ship and hotel inspections, and attend Virtuoso Travel Tours. And we travel.
We use that training to help clients like you travel. We’ve been awarded “top producer” status in travel communities (Virtuoso’s Adventure, Voyages, Culinary, and Family). Our success earns us exclusive invites to attend events like International Luxury Travel Mart, and to experience tours, hotels, and cruises first hand. We vet options to help you travel and live your lush life.
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See More
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What's on Your Bucket List?
Remembering a group trip for some clients to Peru.
They had an awesome time exploring Peru, and doing a scenic train ride to Machu Picchu.
What trip would be #1 on your bucket list when you start to travel again?
Let's Chat about your Travel Dreams
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I know you're still dreamin' of travel.
Since you might have a bit more time than usual, why don't we schedule a complimentary call to talk about your travel dreams?
Use my online scheduling system to choose a convenient time for your call with LUSH LIFE TRAVEL
I am happy to make myself available for phone calls at selected times throughout the week.
Pick Your Time Here
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Sincerely, 
Sheila Gallant-Halloran
Vision Travel/ Lush Life
sheila.gh@visiontravel.ca
613-837-0699
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