The Evolution of Travel as an Incentive

The classic incentive trip put an entire sales team on the same flight to the same resort. Today's top performers, cardholders, and loyalty members want rewards that feel like their own, and the programs that serve them are evolving to keep up.

Todd Tomlin, founder and CEO of ultra-luxury travel company Memorii Journeys and president of the Incentive Travel Council, joins Switchfly's Ashley Martinez to trace the evolution of travel as an incentive. Todd draws on nearly 20 years in travel and hospitality, including loyalty and payments roles at Hyatt, Expedia, and Hotels.com, to explain why his high-net-worth clients want curated trips that are handled from door to door. Together, Todd and Ashley explore the delicate balance between choice and curation, the growing appetite for remote and offline experiences, and the rise of individual incentive travel alongside traditional group trips. They break down how gift cards, travel certificates, points plus cash, and flexible payment bring travel within reach of almost any program budget, why rigid rules can turn a reward into a deterrent, and why luxury travelers keep coming back to cruising. Todd closes with what decades on the road have taught him about humanity.

Connect with Switchfly
Website: https://www.switchfly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/switchfly/
X: https://twitter.com/switchfly
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SwitchflyOfficial

Chapters
[00:00] Introductions and the Incentive Travel Council
[01:30] Four million miles and nearly 20 years in travel loyalty
[03:00] Why Todd founded Memorii Journeys
[05:50] What ultra-luxury travelers want: everything handled
[07:50] Personalization for top performers and top cardholders
[10:25] Aspirational travel and the trade-offs travelers make
[11:35] Instagram versus reality and the rise of offline travel
[13:55] Finding places outside the zeitgeist
[14:40] "The itinerary is you"
[16:25] What motivates incentive participants most
[17:45] Mixing individual and group trips, and the power of choice
[19:30] Reward trips with family instead of colleagues
[21:00] Why individual incentive travel needed a voice
[21:35] Travel at any budget: gift cards, certificates, and points plus cash
[24:05] Flexibility, upgrades, and bringing the kids
[26:15] Flexible payments and experience-first trip planning
[28:25] Why luxury travelers keep coming back to cruising
[30:10] Cruise growth and loyalty without a single alliance
[30:30] What travel teaches us about humanity
[32:30] Closing thoughts

Links mentioned
• Memorii Journeys: https://www.memoriijourneys.com
• Incentive Travel Council (Incentive Marketing Association): https://www.incentivemarketing.org/ITC
• Incentive Research Foundation: https://theirf.org
• SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence): https://siteglobal.com

#IncentiveTravel #IndividualIncentiveTravel #EmployeeRewards #RewardsAndRecognition #TravelRewards #LuxuryTravel #PersonalizedTravel #IncentivePrograms #PointsPlusCash #LoyaltyPrograms

Creators and Guests

Guest

Ashley Martinez

What is Travel Buddy with Switchfly?

See more at Switchfly.com

Todd Tomlin: You can give a couple
of hundred dollars, and that's the

travel component of the incentive.

It doesn't have to be buying an entire
trip for the individual recipient.

Speaker: Welcome to Travel
Buddy, presented by Switchfly.

In this podcast, we talk about all
things travel, rewards, and loyalty.

Let's get to it.

Brandon Giella: Hello, and
welcome back to another episode

of Travel Buddy by Switchfly.

Today, we have a special guest,
Todd Tomlin, who is the founder

of Mimori and the president of the
ITC, and we also have a recurring

guest back again, Ashley Martinez.

Thank you for joining.

Ashley, tell us a little bit about Todd
and how he's gonna help us understand

the evolution of travel as an incentive.

So how did you come to know Todd?

And then Todd, I'd love to hear a
little bit about your, your background

you can share with our listeners.

Ashley Martinez: Thanks, Brandon.

Well, I am so excited to
have Todd on the show today.

Todd and I connected through the
IMA, which is the Incentive Marketing

Association, and Todd and I both serve
on the ITC, which is the Incentive Travel

Council board, Todd as acting president,
and I lead overseeing membership.

But Todd has an extensive background
in travel from his days at Expedia

all the way to founding Memori.

I have a personal…

as a travel agent myself, I really
appreciate all of the work that Todd's

doing and the business that he's
built and, and how he's brought it

into the incentive industry, to drive
loyalty within different programs.

So, so excited for this conversation.

we're lucky to have Todd here.

Brandon Giella: thanks so much for

Todd Tomlin: Thanks, Ashley

Brandon Giella: tell us a
little bit about yourself.

What's your background?

Todd Tomlin: yeah

Brandon Giella: have,
traveled four million miles.

is…

Tell, tell us all about that.

I'm so

Todd Tomlin: Actually, there, there
should be more than four million because

I was gonna start by saying my travel
began when, before I was even born in

my mother's womb, and that's because
she was a Delta flight attendant.

So, like, literally, I was already flying
around the world, before being born.

I don't count those miles though.

But, yeah, I've, I've traveled
over 55 different countries.

I was a digital nomad for about
five years before it was cool.

so yeah, bebopping all around the world.

And, you know, back in the day, I, I
would also do all the crazy mileage runs.

I've been to Hong Kong for,
like, five hours and then just

got on the plane and went back.

I've been to Sydney, for, like, 12 hours
just to get my status up on a, an airline.

but that's on the personal note.

but beyond that, you know, I've
been almost 20 years in travel

and hospitality, working for Hyatt
Hotels, both in operations and

their loyalty programs and payments,
and then, at Expedia, Hotels.com,

in their loyalty and payments division,
and did consulting for many years,

in payments for travel companies,
and now have started my own, UltraLux

Travel Company, and we've been
in business about two years now.

Brandon Giella: Awesome.

Todd Tomlin: then as Ashley, as
Ashley touched on, I am president

of the Incentive Travel Council,
which I'm, I'm more than happy to

share more details on that as well.

Brandon Giella: That's awesome.

That's awesome.

Yeah, and so you're referring to
your, your newest venture is Memori.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

What is that for you, and,
and why did you start that?

Why, why bother with that?

Todd Tomlin: Well, I actually had
started a fintech company for a couple

of years and, while it was going
really well, I found that, you know, my

passion has always been travel, and I
wanted to start my own business there.

And I really do believe that lives
can transform through travel and,

you know, we really-- that's kind
of our underlying ethos at Mamori.

Mamori is actually a Japanese
word that means creating, lasting

memories from fleeting moments.

And what we do at Mamori, we're a
B2B2C, business primarily, where

we are curating and aggregating the
very best in ultra-luxe travel, be

it multi-day journeys, epic train
adventures, ultra-luxe travel with

cruises and yacht charters, really
high-end homes, private islands,

private villas, safaris, you name it.

We can even take you to the
moon, or not to the moon exactly.

We can take you to the International
Space Station, if you wanna go hang

out there for a couple of days.

So, yeah, we're, we're really curating all
of this, and then what we do is we provide

it to our biz-business partners, so that
it's essentially, curating these things

for the companies that have relationships
with the world's top travelers.

So, you know, think, top-level
CEOs, high-net-worth individuals,

that really have done everything,
and how do you impress them?

you, you utilize the, the backbone
of what we're providing at Mamori

and, put it into your, your catalogs
for loyalty, employee engagement,

incentive programs, and the like.

Brandon Giella: Amazing.

Amazing.

I'm so glad we're meeting because that
sounds, the, the profile you described

sounds so similar to my basic economy
with two toddlers travel, options that

Todd Tomlin: Yes.

Brandon Giella: now.

So yeah, it sounds exactly the same.

I could send my, my daughter up to
the International Space Station,

see how she finds it up there.

That'd be great.

That sounds so cool.

I, I, yeah, I would love to hear more
about these trips, but we'll, we'll

carry on with our, our topic for now.

so I think to summarize, you have
tons and tons of experience in the

travel world, particularly as it
relates of how people are traveling

on, especially as individuals, what
they're booking, what they're looking

for, what personalization means, how you
curate trips, how you provide choice to

them, and the kind of trade-offs that
you might, t- have there with your,

your, kind of programs that you run.

And so I'd love to hear just kind of
like generally speaking, what are some

trends that you've seen with the kind of
travel that you've seen, folks wanting

to book, particularly as it relates to
how you personalize, trips and programs

for them or, how they, you know, just
different things that you're looking for.

So like the, the curation, what is the
demand for things that people are looking

for when they're booking travel nowadays?

Todd Tomlin: Sure.

So, I do have to preface by saying,
you know, our clientele sits at

about a $10,000 per person for a
week, of travel, excluding flights.

So we're finding that that demographic
sits primarily above age 50.

they might be semi-retired or
retired, and oftentimes their kids

are already, you know, out of,
university really potentially as well.

And at that level of, the traveling
consumer, they have been traveling

for their lives for decades, and they
have done a lot of business trips.

They had to manage all their-- the trips
for the kids for, you know, 15, 18,

20 years, and now they wanna have fun.

But unless they're a subset who loves
to do all the planning themselves,

they want it all taken care of.

They want to simply choose the
destination, customize some components

of it, but really from the point that
they leave home to the point they

return, they just want it taken care of.

and it's, it's really getting to the
point, and this is why we're, we're

really excelling, is that, you know,
we, we take care of everything for them.

It's not a matter of, oh, which hotel
do you wanna select and, you know,

what ground transportation do you need,
and, what activities do you wanna do?

It's more like, here
is what we're offering.

Do you like it?

Great.

What are the few things
you wanna customize?

And we just go off and book it for them.

and so, you know, it's, it's a-- it
cuts down on a lot of the friction of

back and forth communication, having
to get approval from clients for

every little thing that they wanna
do and, makes it much more efficient.

Everyone is happy at the end,
and essentially they just have

to show up and enjoy themselves.

Brandon Giella: That sounds great.

I, I wanna go on this trip.

That sounds really awesome.

I love that.

Ashley, do you have experience
with this kind of, you know,

segment in the, the, the travel
market and things that you've seen?

Any kind of, like, trends?

I guess you, can you corroborate what
Todd is saying with the, the way that

he sees, you know, his clients wanting
to book travel and thinking about that

Ashley Martinez: Absolutely.

I think for Switchfly, it's also a
focus to, on this seg- segment of the

industry or, or this audience as well.

If you think about from an
incentive perspective, how are you

focusing on your top performers?

Or maybe it's a financial service
program, how are you focusing

on your top cardholders, right?

And they want…

And they're looking for these ex- types
of experiences, as Todd's explaining,

more exclusive, personalized, high touch,
concierge, maybe getting something that

I can't book somewhere else, right?

And so I think there's, from a Switchfly
perspective and also personally what,

what I've seen in the industry, is a
focus on this segment of, of travelers.

Now, similarities of personalization,
although this, we're speaking about

one specific demographic and audience
and, and maybe one price point, but the

idea of personalization is something
that I think is consistent across all

travelers and a trend that we're seeing,
even more so than we have in the past.

You know, trips or if you think about
reward trips used to be, "Oh, a trip to

Hawaii," "A j- a trip to Vegas," right?

And that was the standard.

And now I think travelers are
looking for something more custom.

"What, what fits me?"

and that might, you know, it's not one
size fits all, which, which we know.

So I think the industry is now starting
to, reciprocate to that or understand

that there's a definitely an idea
about trying, you know, choice.

And as, Todd said, there,
there is a de- delicate balance

between choice and curation.

You want to be able to offer choice,
but also, and expand where the, the

options for travelers, but without…

but still keeping it curated
and, and within a subset.

So I think we're seeing, you know,
even though we're speaking about one

audience, that trend a- across the board.

Brandon Giella: Yeah.

Yeah, I'm curious if, if you
guys are seeing l- almost like…

So you got like that very top end on the
luxury, demographic, if you will, Todd.

Like, but are you seeing that
kind of the elements of luxury

come down into the market as well?

Like thinking about premium
cards or the way people are

thinking about travel in general.

It seems like a lot of people want more
personalization, which of course is

more expensive or, you, you know, more
of getting into that luxury market.

But do you see that, that, kinda your
average travel, you know, or, or trip

kind of going upmarket in some of the
things that you're doing in the high-end

luxury coming down to, to kinda meet them?

Do you see any- anything
like that in your world?

Todd Tomlin: Can't really say that
I do, just because we, we don't

really sit at that demographic.

I don't know if, if Ashley
may have any insights there

Ashley Martinez: I'd say now with
the exposure, of course, and the rise

of social media, there are so many
aspirational trips out there, and I

think the way travelers are changing
is maybe on one specific night of

their trip, or maybe they splurge on
something really high-end and luxury.

Maybe not the whole trip, but, but I think
the real readout that I've seen is the

focus on experiences over, And that may be
to, achieve maybe our luxury or high-end.

Maybe the traveler has, instead of
traveling for a week, maybe they're

only going five days, and they're
adjusting their budget to be able

to achieve these types of trips.

So I think there are
concessions people are making.

I think the…

Not that the availability is widespread,
but the aspirational, the content.

People are, you know, the chance
now that we even know that there's

a chance to go to the Space Center,
I mean, how inspiring is that?

I, I think there, it's becoming
more accessible in that regard.

So I, I, I do think people are,
are changing to try to move

upstream and, and do what they can.

that's kind of what I'm seeing from
on a, on a leisure travel perspective.

Todd Tomlin: I, I, if I could add,
I think there's also, I would say

bifurcation, but it's, it's actually
like draft segmentation on the fact

that, you know, you have consumers
that want to lean into whatever they

see on Instagram, and they want to be
there, and they wanna experience it.

But I mean, I'm, I'm sure you've
seen the funny memes where it's

like Instagram versus reality, and
oftentimes the reality is like wah-wah.

Brandon Giella: Yes, yes

Todd Tomlin: so, so, you know, you have
the market segment that is chasing that,

but you have the complete opposite where,
a big trend now is like how remote and

how unof- like how offline can it be?

Like, how can I be the only…

I was-- So I, I live in Cape Town, and
I ran around Lion's Head this morning,

and I was the only one on the road at
6:00 AM, and I never saw another person.

And like summer season, height of the
season here, it's gonna be packed.

And I was like, "I have
this whole road to myself.

This is incredible."

And so like taking that type
of feeling, And it's very hard

to find, but, you know, that's,
that's where it does come to travel

curation and being able to call out.

And as Ashley said, you know, even
if it's one day out of the five

days that, that you get to have
this like incredible personal…

And personal is, we talk about
luxury travel, but like something

that personal and bespoke and just
awe-inspiring can be luxury, the fact

that, that you got to do it on your own

Brandon Giella: That's, that's interesting
that you, you, you called out the meme

and related it to that, 'cause that--
what, what goes on in my head is I've

seen those videos where somebody travels
to Santorini, for example, and they show

this incredible view, and then they pan
over to the reality and there's like

just throngs of people, just people
everywhere, and they can barely get by,

just like crowds and crowds and crowds.

same thing when you see like in Rome by
the Trevi Fountain or something like that.

Like, there's just crowds of people.

And so what, what I'm hearing
is what's actually becoming a

luxury is truly getting away.

Like I'm, I'm doing this thing
that actually does have the vantage

point of being kind of on my own.

Like I am here by myself with my family,
but it's like it's really just us,

and we're being catered to just us.

No, no other crowds, but not the
tourist trap, that kind of thing.

Is that…

I summarize that correctly?

Yeah.

Todd Tomlin: You did.

And I mean, it's going to take, you
know, it's different personality types

that enjoy these types of things.

But I mean, I take, for instance, I
was in, Poznań, Poland, last year,

and here I am 48 years old, and I've
never heard of this place, and I am

gobsmacked with how gorgeous it is.

And I think it's, it's like finding…

If you're one of those that likes to
buck the trends, like don't go to all

the places everyone else is going to.

And if you really, I would say get
off the beaten path, but it's, it's

more just find places that are not
within the, you know, zeitgeist of

the day, and you'll end up finding
like really, really incredible places.

Brandon Giella: Yeah, yeah

Ashley Martinez: I saw a quote this week,
or I had a client that shared a, a quote

with me that said, "The itinerary is you."

And I had just planned this
incredible polar bear excursion

trip, for these clients.

They went t- to Canada, N- northern
Canada to see the polar bears, and

they were in a very remote area.

and they said the best day was
just being able to absolutely

disconnect and focus on themselves.

And so that's where she kinda came up with
this idea of like, the itinerary was me.

You know, focusing…

Sometimes travel is just,
is focusing on yourself.

So it's, maybe it's not the actual
destination, or the place that you're

in, but it's the experience you're
having, you know, on that trip.

It, you know, of course, bringing
it back to it's the journey, right?

But I do think the focus sometimes
shifts away from the actual place.

So again, bringing it back to maybe it's
not Hawaii or Vegas, but maybe it's, you

can get that same feeling somewhere else
or people are looking for, you know, that

experience that you feel while traveling.

you know, that can be achieved in many
places, not just those standard or typical

travel, destinations that we think of

Brandon Giella: Amen.

Amen.

I like to go to Kentucky.

It's beautiful, and I feel like nobody
else is there and I just get this, like,

quiet, remote place in Kentucky, you know?

Anyway, how do you guys, how do you guys
see this in, the incentive travel world?

So, like, you guys obviously have,
have clients that are booking these,

these really amazing trips, but are
you seeing the same kind of trends on

the incentive side, especially when
you're talking to employers or, you

know, some of the other work that you
guys are doing, both in your fields?

Todd, I'll, I'll you first.

What do you think?

Todd Tomlin: Yeah.

So, for this question, I'm gonna put more
of my Incentive Travel Council hat on.

so, you know, what we…

So we're a trade organization, that
focuses on, promoting individual incentive

travel, within corporations, etc.,

to be able to help push
their business, goals.

And so what we're finding, there was
a Incentive Research Foundation study

that was done, last year, and it said
that of all program participants that

could receive a type of travel for…

Well, of all of their different
motivational levers, what would

motivate them the most to take action
of what they're being requested to do?

And individual incentive travel was the
number one ranked, item 71% of respondents

wanted an individual trip for themselves.

Now, group travel historically
and continues to be the lion's

share of incentive travel.

but, you know, when you have program
participants or respondents saying that

they would much rather be on an individual
experience, then I think that's showing

where potentially the trends are going.

And, you know, we had talked about
personalization, and that is personal.

That's, you know, a company saying that,
"I want you to take this action," or,

"You have achieved some result, and as
a result of that, we're gonna reward

you by something that's personal to
you and something meaningful to you."

I don't know that this has to be on every
single time that a reward is being, given.

you know, as we've been sharing
this stat over the past year, we, we

get good feedback from constituents
and, other companies and programs

and, you know, someone even made
the suggestion it just shows that

maybe programs need to do half/half.

Like one year everybody gets an
individual incentive trip, and the next

year everybody gets a group trip, where
it's the entire company, you know,

president's circle type thing going away.

but starting to bring variety, so
that, you know, you can, kind of make

everyone happy at the end of the day.

'Cause sometimes the CEO wants to stand
in front of everyone and, you know, give a

rah-rah speech of how great everybody is.

but then when you can personalize it
and the program participant can choose

who they want to go with, where they
want to go, even if it's a curated

selection, maybe it's we have three
to five trips that you can choose

from 'cause it helps contain budget.

and even that, at least the program
participant gets to choose skiing vs beach

vs city, vs hiking, and that's what's
going to help them endear themselves

to the program even more because it's
so much more meaningful and personal

and creates better memories, when
you're, you're giving them that choice.

Brandon Giella: Amen.

I've been on one of those
President's Circle trips to

Mexico, and it was wonderful.

Yeah, we get…

But we each got to choose a little
excursion that we wanted to go on

for the day, and it was the best.

Yeah, I love it.

Ashley, what about you?

Are you seeing the same kind of, same kind
of data, if you will, in your practices?

Ashley Martinez: Yeah, and I, I
think that, that's a great example.

I mean, the, the industry has
been dominated historically by,

or the landscape of incentive
travel has been group travel.

So just like you said, Brandon, a,
you know, a group trip to Mexico.

But what if, you know, there's a employee
or a cardholder that, these types of,

incentive programs, maybe they don't
wanna travel with their fellow colleagues

or, and, maybe, you know, they spend so
much time at work with their colleagues,

maybe they just wanna go on a personal
trip with their, with their spouse or

their, or partner or, or their family.

So I think, as Todd mentioned, there's
a, a place for everything in the, in the

landscape, you know, or the marketplace or
the options, just like there is an, a time

and place for gift cards or merchandise.

I mean, I think travel, as we all
know, holds a really, not only is

it aspirational, inspirational,
but drives a ton of engagement.

I think there's a really strong
place for individual incentives,

incentive travel, and that's, you
know, where I think we're seeing that,

personalization can be achieved truly
through individual incentive travel.

But of course, there is a time and,
and place for groups, but I think

the industry is now realizing, and
we're seeing a lot of adoption.

So as Todd mentioned how Memori has been
so successful, Switchfly has been able to

really, tap into that market and b- be an
option for individual incentive travel.

'cause again, it's not one size fits
all, and so I, I think that that

trend is consistent and we're really
seeing that grow within the industry.

Brandon Giella: Mm-hmm.

Todd Tomlin: If I, if I could add
to that, what-- now that we…

So the Incentive Travel Council, is
actually a reconstitution of a much

longer, time in the market, and we
restarted it about a year and a half ago.

And in doing so, we, we took a
look and said, like, "What does the

industry need in terms of voice?"

And we found that individual incentive
travel needed a voice because,

there's other organizations out there.

SITE is one that really has a wonderful
voice and advocacy for group travel,

and so that's why we started the
ITC back and, took this mission on.

But what I wanted to say is that now what
we've been able to do is meld and really

discover that travel historically has been
in the mindset of program managers or,

corporations who are funding travel, etc.

Like, it sits at this certain
price point that unless we have

the budget for that, then, we have
to take travel off the, the table.

It needs to be gift cards, merchandise,
some type of cash incentive.

But now that individual incentive
travel is really coming into its own,

there's so many different products out
there that allow even a small budget.

Like, there's different form factors
within individual incentive travel.

So you wanna give a hotels.com

or Delta gift card or a Virgin
Experiences gift, you can give a couple

of hundred dollars, and that's the
travel component of the incentive.

It doesn't have to be buying an entire
trip for the individual recipient.

there's individual certificates for
cruises and all-inclusive resorts and, I

mean, everything that Switchfly does is,
you know, variable potentially within the

program catalogs that they operate in.

Maybe the program participant doesn't
have enough miles or points to achieve

the entire travel experience they want.

Well, some programs offer cash plus
points, so then, you know, the program

participant can give in to their own,
support of the, the experience as well.

So yeah, historically, I, I really
do think that programs thought that

they had to pay for the whole trip
and arrange all the flights and the

hotels and the grounds transportation
and all the logistics, but it allows

the program participant often to take
on a lot of that themselves and, yeah,

again, bring it into any price point.

Brandon Giella: It sounds like-- I
was gonna ask a question about, what

you're seeing in the kind of the
future of this, travel market, and it

sounds like if I could summarize it
in such a way is it's becoming more

flexible, granular, maybe fungible.

We put the fun in fungible, and it's
like you can, you can kinda slice and

dice how you wanna set up the, the
travel experience, and people can,

like you said, contribute to it if
they want or expand on it in this way.

Or maybe they just want a gift card
'cause they wanna use it how they want,

or they asked, you know, their friends
and family for Delta gift cards for

Christmas, and now you're adding one to
it, and they get to use it how they want.

So it's…

Is that, is that a fair, maybe
trajectory of where you're seeing travel

going in the next five years or so?

Todd Tomlin: I would say so.

It's, yeah, making it to where, I
mean, personalization we've already

spoken about, but you know, where
there's components that can plug in

that really make you feel like you
were able to, to make it your own.

I mean, even at Memori, while we have
curated experiences that, we provide

to our partners, once the program
participant is actually going through

that booking, if they wanna upgrade
the experience or they wanna add

additional nights or people, etc.,

all that is possible.

you know, the program paid a specific
amount, for them to be able to have the

experience, but it's well communicated
that, you know, they can make changes that

are meaningful to them because sometimes
people do wanna travel during the

Christmas holidays, and they understand
that that comes at a premium, but the

program didn't pay for that premium spot.

but that's when the program participant
wants to go, so, like they'll pay for it.

so yeah, really just creating a
personalized level of what the needs

of the individual traveler are.

And I think that's, you know, there's
needs versus wants and oftentimes,

like if you have a family of four, you
can't get a, you know, mom and dad is

going off, like maybe the kids just
won't understand and you wanna be like,

"No, I wanna bring my kids with me.

I need to bring my kids with me."

so and yeah, to, to have restrictions
where it's like, "Nope, only you

and one other person," that actually
could be a deterrent to the program.

It could upset the program
participant that why can't I do

what I want for me and my family?

Brandon Giella: Yeah, it's almost like
you're offering this travel, but if I

can't make it to where it fits within
my family or my personal needs or

wants, it's like I don't even want it.

You might as well not have
offered it to me almost.

Todd Tomlin: Exactly

Brandon Giella: That's interesting.

Ashley, how about in your, in your world?

I know you kinda span
different, of the travel world.

are you seeing that, like, on
the data side with Switchfly,

on your own, you know, travel
advisory or your work with IMA?

Like, how do you, how do you kinda see
the next five years taking shape for you?

Ashley Martinez: Yeah, Todd, I'm so glad
you highlighted that flexibility in terms

of the, the ability to maybe fund the trip
on your own or pay with points plus cash

or miles or, make, you know, an add-on.

I, I think those types of, We,
in our, in our s- platform, we've

enabled, you know, mult- flexible
payment options, buy now, pay later.

Anything, again, that kind of goes back
to what I was saying to, to make it

accessible and make it ach- achievable.

I, I really think that,
is where the are going.

the growth of accessibility in
travel and, and also flexibility.

like I said, I think tr- travel
trends that we're seeing, people

are adjusting their itineraries,
to be experience-focused.

So if you think about what we've seen
in 2026, it was kind of branded the,

the year of sports travel, right?

With the World Cup.

We had the Winter, Olympics in, in
I think people are leading with the

experience that they want to have.

So what do I wanna get?

I, you know, maybe I wanna
see a sporting event.

Maybe I wanna be remote.

Like, how do I want to feel on that trip?

And then everything's coming after.

My inspiration journey is changing.

but and I do think, the focus of
the trip, so maybe it's, it's not,

again, the destination itself, but
how do I wanna feel on the trip?

Or I know I wanna go s- watch a match.

My n- you know, my favorite sporting team.

I don't care where it is, but I,
you know, I wanna see that event.

So I think the…

how travelers are planning their trips
are more f- experiential focused on how

they wanna feel, what they wanna see, and
then they are also making, concessions

or adjustments to prioritize that.

So if I want that high-end luxury
experience, I'm gonna prioritize that

and, and maybe, you know, maybe I'm, I'm
not flying business or first class, but I

really want to stay at a very nice hotel.

I, you know, I think it, it's
the prioritization of that.

So those are just some
general trends I'm seeing.

Todd, I do have two questions for you.

One, what is your most or I
guess most popular experience?

And two, if you're a four
h- million-miler, who's your

loyalty-- who are you loyal to?

Who's your airline?

Todd Tomlin: so I'll go with
the first question first.

I mean, I, I would say as much as
we do punch above our weight and

have this halo effect of like super
incredible experiences, we can't

help the fact that our clients
just keep coming back to cruising.

I mean, it-- Yes, I mean, you
know, it's, it's very repeatable.

again, I, I was kind of sharing what
our demographic was earlier, and they

just, they keep coming back to cruising,
and it's, it's all these different

destinations and, you know, not having to
unpack but once and, all the different…

W-what's really fueling it, to be honest
though, is, is the advent of like so many

more luxury, ultra-luxury, brands coming
online and really taking it up a notch.

And I mean, you, you have Michelin
star quality dining on the sea and, you

know, ships that have all ocean access.

There's no interior cabins.

I mean, there's-- I could continue
to list, but, yeah, we do find that

that's, that's kind of number one.

And it-it's also wrapping in the personal
interest of, you know, be it golf or food

and wine or some type of entertainment
or sports, like you can combine all

of that within a cruise experience.

So, but the, it's also, as
I said, the price point.

I mean, it still sits there at a higher
price point for the, the clientele

that we, we facilitate that for.

Brandon Giella: Yeah, I've seen a
lot of people do, take on the, the,

the Viking cruises, for example.

You know, these are
very, very nice cruises.

Everything's kinda handled for you.

But I know folks that have been on 10
Viking cruises 'cause they just love

the whole experience, and you get to
see so much of the world and, and so on.

So that's interesting you say that.

Todd Tomlin: I forget the stats, but
the growth of the cruise industry over

the next five years is just crazy.

Brandon Giella: Fascinating.

Hmm

Todd Tomlin: and my loyalty,
does-- I f- I found that you pay

for what you need at the time.

yeah, I don't, don't
stick to any one alliance.

Ashley Martinez: Interesting.

Interesting

Brandon Giella: Todd, I wanted to
ask one final question for you.

We've talked a lot about how rewarding
travel can be, and I wanted you

to have the final word on what has
travel meant to you all these years?

Like, why are you devoting your career,
almost your personal and professional life

to this facet of our lives on this planet?

Why do you care so much about travel?

Todd Tomlin: That's a, a really great
question, because it really opens your

eyes to how incredible humanity is and
how same but different we are, and it

allows you to realize everything that
you might have learned when you were

younger is maybe completely false or
what, what you hear from, news media

and otherwise is actually not true.

because when you are in the destination
and you're experiencing something

completely opposite of what you
were always told, learned, or read

about, and realizing that I'm safe,
this is a fun experience, I'm in no

danger, these people are incredible.

Why did I ever think that they would…

I would be scared of these
people or this place?

I mean, it, it really just allows
you to, to open your eyes to what's,

what's actually happening, that
we're all connected and we're…

I, I always like to say, you
know, we all put our, pants on

one leg at a time, pretty much.

and yeah.

So I, I mean, I, as a digital nomad, I, I
lived in five years in, like, 25 different

countries, and just to be able to see the
sea of humanity was absolutely amazing.

But that sounds incredible, but
it's also important to be rooted.

And so I've been in Cape Town
for five years and, yeah, I'm,

I'm very thankful for more the
consistency of being at home as well.

And so it's, it's great to have a
home and then travel when you want to.

Brandon Giella: I love it.

Amen.

Well, Todd, thank you so much for
sharing your expertise, your insights.

I'm very excited about the future of
Memori and your work with the ITC.

And Ashley, always lovely to have you, and
we will see you guys on the next episode

Ashley Martinez: Thanks,

Todd Tomlin: Thanks so much.

Thanks

Ashley Martinez: Todd

Todd Tomlin: for having me.

Thank you