Q&A with Collette President Jaclyn Leibl-Cote

During Collette's 100th anniversary celebrations in Providence, Rhode Island last week, PAX caught up with newly-appointed Collette President Jaclyn Leibl-Cote. Growing up in the family business under the guidance of her father, Collette CEO Dan Sullivan Jr., Leibl-Cote is ready to take Collette into its second century:

READ MORE: Collette: 100 years and growing

PAX: How would you describe your vision for Collette moving forward?

Jaclyn Leibl-Cote: I think there’s a lot of opportunities. To me, immediately where I see opportunity in the next two to three years, is developing our small tour Explorations line.

The right technology

There’s a lot of different things in the works but they’re all dependent on technology and being able to execute for that true customized and personal experience for a traveller. You need the right technology – we could customize today, and we do in some cases, but to do that on an individual basis, you need back-end solutions that are seemless and truly personalized. That’s something we’ll continue to look at.

PAX: Is there any particular aspect of the Explorations line you’ll be focusing on? What kind of changes can travellers and travel agents expect?

JL-C: We’re doing a relaunch for 2019 with a completely different look and feel. It’s going to be called Explorations by Collette and it will be an endorsed brand. It’s going to be very different from what we’ve done in the past, speaking to a different audience to some extent.

When I say expansion, what I mean is that it has a base for a product line but it needs to be a lot more robust – having a focus and a discipline on being able to develop a lot more product in all different areas of the world.

It’s a max of 19 people so the design is going to be a lot more different – what you can do with 19 people is a lot more intimate than what you can do in the classic touring space.

Big things planned for Canada

PAX: What are your plans for the Canadian market?

JL-C: We have huge opportunities in Canada – it’s a huge market and it’s just going to continue to grow. We have lots of opportunity to grow and develop product for that market specifically.

Jaclyn Leibl-Cote addresses the audience at Collette's 100th anniversary celebrations

PAX: How will you continue to grow Collette’s relationship with travel agents?

JL-C: Travel agents are critical in the sense that we’re not an easy product and travellers don’t know every little detail about what we put together. They need that consultant, a person who is an expert in travel who can help make sure that they’re making the right choice for what they’re looking for and who can answer the many questions that come up when making a booking, or even in that in-between phase when you’ve already made a purchase but have so many questions leading up to the trip.

I think travel agents are so critical in that way to the industry overall. People need a personal touch – the Internet is great for finding information but you sometimes still have questions arising and you need the human element to be able to get you where you need to be.

Something that travel agents could probably leverage more is that they create that sense of security for the travellers; they’re someone who is truly trusted by the consumer, and that’s huge.

What's next for Collette?

PAX: In taking on the role of president, what’s been the best piece of advice you’ve received from your father?

JL-C: The biggest thing is to always be learning; he said it today, you have to be Socrates and always be curious and ask questions.

It’s been a great year and from a vision standpoint of once that full transition happens where I’ll be driving the full-on strategy, I think back 100 years to Jack Collette and he would have no idea of what that would look like. I’m open to watching things that can influence our industry and the way we develop product or how it’s consumed. I’ll just keep doing my due diligence and making sure that what can be adapted to the travel industry or what can help recreate or redefine what we do.

In 100 years, who knows – maybe we’ll be flying buses through the air? I’m certainly open-minded and always looking for new things.