Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2007 - (Page 76) ADVISORS SPEAK Barry Liben Tzell Travel Group’s Leader Meet Barry Liben, president and CEO of Tzell Travel Group, a $700 million corporate and leisure travel company based in New York City. Liben was the man behind Tzell's 30-year rise from a tiny agency with three employees specializing in travel to Israel to a 700-employee corporation with dozens of smaller affiliated agencies around the U.S. “I'm loving what I do,” Liben told us in a recent interview. “I want to keep doing it for another 10 years, at least.” This September, he celebrates both his 30th wedding anniversary with his wife Sindy and the 30th anniversary of the start of his career at Tzell. “I got married in September of 1977, came back from my honeymoon and started at Tzell the very next day,” he remembers, describing how after dropping out of high school he found work as a children’s camp counselor. By age 25, he was running the Brooklyn camp, which was next door to a travel agency. When he learned that one of the partners was about to sell the small travel business, Liben used $20,000 of some family inheritance money to purchase a share of the agency—and the rest, as they say, is history. company’s continued expansion (Tzell recently acquired a large travel entertainment company in California) and its dedication to developing its luxury leisure business. To help develop leisure communication for its agents and customers, Tzell sends an electronic newsletter to its agents that keeps them in the loop about promotions and other relevant news. This summer, the company launched an enhanced interactive leisure intranet for use by its agents to provide them with resources like supplier contact info and commission levels, trip feedback and a searchable message board for agent information exchange. By the end of 2007, Tzell plans to launch new Tzell-branded luxury leisure websites. The company sits on the advisory board of Classic Vacations, Abercrombie & Kent, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. The company uses its powerful affiliation with Signature Travel Network and leading cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and destination suppliers worldwide to achieve top production rankings with numerous preferred suppliers, including Abercrombie & Kent, Classic Vacations, Tauck Tours, Villas and Apartments Abroad, Ritz-Carlton STARS, Silversea Cruises and Cunard’s Inner Circle. BARRY LIBEN, president and CEO of Tzell Travel Group. Leader in Leisure Tzell’s total leisure sales for 2006 were $110 million; based on the first six months of 2007, the company is projecting sales for this year to hit $120 million. According to Liben, Tzell specializes in the entertainment industry, handling the travels of several celebrities. “We’ve got all the big names,” he says, rattling off a list that includes Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Billy Joel. Liben is a driving force behind the A Passion for People Liben believes he owes a lot of his success to his talent for managing others. “I think I have a passion for dealing with people. Along the way, I’ve always treated people fairly and with respect,” he says, adding that he not only welcomes input from his employees, but encourages it. “You have to give people a voice in their own future.” He also makes it a point to recognize the value of hard work and dedication, making the Tzell offices as comfortable as possible for those putting in the very long hours it takes to run a travel business. “People spend a great deal of their time at work, and we recognize that. We've made this office a home away from home,” he says, showing us a gym with showers, and Tzell’s rooftop sundeck, where employees gather for occasional barbecues during the summer. Liben, who arrives at the office by 6:30 a.m. each day, also describes having company-wide games of bingo over the intercom system, and other team-building activities— he even takes dozens of his employees on trips to celebrate special occasions. “I believe in working hard, but you can still have fun,” he says. 76 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | August 2007
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