Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlene Leiss.
Charlene, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I landed in the travel industry per chance nearly 25 years ago, when I followed then boyfriend (now husband!) out to Vail, Colorado post-college. In an attempt to get a “real job” and please my Dad, I took a referral from another good friend and began working for Vail Associates, where I learned Sabre and spent a couple of years booking inbound ski packages. This led to time with Vail Associates’ negotiated bulk air program and airlines flying into the Vail/Eagle (EGE) regional airport. What a life!
From there, my career in the travel industry was born. Upon moving back to Boston in 1995, I started working for Boston-based regional travel agency Garber Travel and learned the corporate travel industry from the ground up, beginning in the corporate sales team as an administrative assistant and ultimately getting into sales myself. I did this for nearly 20 years, through Flight Centre’s acquisition of Garber Travel, and assumed the corporate brand leadership position of Flight Centre Travel Group USA in April of 2015.
I’ve been so lucky to have had great mentors, incredible colleagues, fantastic customers and wonderful opportunities every step along the way of my career — it’s been an amazing ride! As we like to say at Flight Centre, we are a travel company and we open up the world for those who want to see – and I have also visited some phenomenal places on this planet.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been an awesome road, but I would not always smooth! We have seen constant changes in this industry almost since the time I began: commission cuts and the implementation of transaction fees, the advance of online booking tools and automation, globalization, gamification, the evolution of big data, travel impacting viruses such as Bird Flu, Norwalk and Zika, ash clouds, and of course 9/11 and other senseless tragedies that have forced the need for maximized risk management and support services. All of these events have taught us to evolve, innovate and of course keep customer service at the forefront of everything we do.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We run the corporate brands of Flight Centre Travel Group in the USA. This includes FCM Travel Solutions, servicing our large market and multinational clientele, our Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) brands of Corporate Traveler and Stage and Screen Travel Solutions, and cievents who provide full end to end MICE services. We also have specialist branded solutions that offer strategic consultative services (4th Dimension Consulting) and university and collegiate travel support (Campus Travel).
As part of Fight Centre Travel Group, FCM Travel Solutions is the 4th largest travel management company in the world — our buying power, faring expertise, global presence, technology, and resources are unrivaled, but what we are most proud of is our ability to still operate as a boutique, custom travel management company locally and in small teams. The vibrant culture and spirit at Flight Centre is very much one of innovation, accountability, reward, recognition and ultimately service. We know that this spirit extends to all of our employee and client partnerships and ultimately leads to an incredible customer satisfaction and retention rate.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely – we love operating in the heart of Downtown Crossing, where the vibrant, eclectic and innovative spirit of the neighborhood suits our staff perfectly. The energy on the street is palpable and we enjoy a wealth of great dining, shopping and nightlife options for our own staff as well as for entertaining clients and visiting global colleagues.
Contact Info:
- Address: 41 Winter Street Boston, MA 02108
- Website: https://www.us.fcm.travel/ https://www.corporatetraveler.us
- Phone: 617-834-6511
- Email: charlene. leiss@us.flightcentre.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorporateTravelerUSA https://www.facebook.com/FCMUSA/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CorpTravelerUSA https://twitter.com/FCm_USA
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleneleiss/
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