The view from San Francisco: How a global team stays together, while apart

As the world settles into the new routines of social distancing, Jennifer Azzarello, shares how years of working in a global team has prepared her for unexpected, total remote work.

The senior destination manager for California shares how she stays close to her San Francisco teammates and aligns regularly with the Berlin, New York, and Rio de Janeiro offices. Adjusting to stay-at-home orders, she reflects on how she's still able to support suppliers in bringing new ideas to life.

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What’s the GetYourGuide team like in the San Francisco Office?

The San Francisco office has the largest sales team out of all the local offices. There are 13 of us in this location, and the team is largely made up of destination managers and sales coordinators.

We bring tours and attractions to our platform in the western part of North America from the top of Alaska all the way to the southernmost part of Mexico. We also have a regional manager and area manager who look after the entire Western region.

Current conversations with suppliers revolve around the questions of what would travelers need to feel safe and confident booking so they can enjoy the experience?

We're still working remotely and doing all we can to maintain the fantastic culture we had in the physical office. We have regular virtual team meetings, lunches, happy hours, and play team building games on Zoom after work.

It's been essential for us to keep everyone engaged and feeling like a team. Working from home has been an adjustment, but I like it. It hasn't affected the frequency of communication with coworkers locally or globally.

How did you stay aligned with a geographically dispersed team before travel restrictions were put in place? How do you stay aligned as one global team?

The Americas team (San Francisco, New York City, Rio de Janeiro) has quarterly all-hands meetings to catch up on what different teams are working on. We’ve always had these meetings via Zoom, so that has stayed the same. We are all in a similar time zone within three to four hours difference.  

Slack makes working cross-continentally easier as well. We have an internal Americas channel where the team can post reports, news, and information that impacts the whole region. Both Slack and Zoom are essential tools for us to stay connected, not just within the Americas team, but with global teams.  

We know that customers are getting the travel itch and are looking for things to do once they feel safe to travel again. We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find the activities they're looking for.

Aligning with other global offices hasn't changed much either. There's a nine-hour time difference with the Berlin headquarters, but I don't mind waking up early for Zoom meetings sometimes. We get important information from HQ, so it's worth it. Some of us are also involved in various projects with departments in Berlin and can pass on the information to the San Francisco, New York, and Rio teams.

For example, I work closely with the Marketing and Business Development teams in Berlin to make sure that the tours we bring onsite are seen and booked by our customers. Working with them has been great as I’ve learned new marketing and promotional skills that will help me with my professional development.

Before COVID travel bans, the East and West coast teams would meet at tourism conferences across North America. For example, last year, some of us attended the biggest US tourism conference, International Pow Wow (IPW), in Anaheim, California.

There were six of us from the New York office and six from San Francisco. It's one of the most important conferences to visit because we can meet with existing suppliers to see what's new and meet with new suppliers interested in GetYourGuide.

One perk of the job before the travel restrictions was getting to visit fun locations. On the Anaheim trip, we were the first people to test the Star Wars ride at Disneyland. It's great to get to know your colleagues in these different settings. While we can't do this currently with COVID, we can still attend virtual conferences, like the virtual Arival Summit.

In Sales, in particular, we have always had a one global team mentality that allows you to reach out to anyone for their expertise. We're a very supportive team within a very supportive company, so regularly aligning with our own teams and the global offices comes natural.

Can you tell us a bit about your role as a destination manager?

I bring attractions and tours to our platform and help suppliers improve and optimize traveler experiences. A typical day would require:

• looking at my goals for the quarter
• seeing which deals I could get across the line
• onboarding new suppliers onto the site
• doing quick check-ins with existing suppliers in person or on the phone
• having strategy meetings with the team.

The only thing that has changed due to COVID-19 is that I don't see my suppliers in person anymore, so we catch up on Zoom calls or over the phone. It's still important to keep our relationships with suppliers going strong.

We have never experienced anything that has impacted the travel industry to this extent, and I'm learning to adapt to what the new normal will look like.

Suppliers choose us because we're personable and accessible. Rather than filling out a contact form to reach us, they have our numbers and know they can call or text us any time. We've always wanted suppliers to see us as business partners and consultants who strategize together.  

I still focus on helping existing suppliers brainstorm unique ways of operating their tours. I'm suggesting things that they could do on their product listings to best optimize activities for potential changes to travel regulations. There are a few other things we're working on:

Preparing suppliers and customers for safer tours

Current conversations with suppliers revolve around the questions of what would travelers need to feel safe and confident booking so they can enjoy the experience?

These conversations lead to things like making masks mandatory on tours and activities, having limited capacity in the buses to ensure space between travelers, or making sure sanitation measures are clearly stated on their listing.

On our Supplier Administration Portal, we've even created a new section for COVID-19 safety measures. Suppliers can go into their listings, check a few boxes that apply to the measures they're taking, and voila, their listings are easily updated with this special information.

I'm trying to figure out creative solutions with my suppliers, so their businesses have a high chance of success. Being in the tourism industry is like being in a big group of friends and family, so you want to help them succeed

We understand suppliers are doing their best to ensure that safety is taken seriously and want to communicate it to our customers. We are in a period of adjustment and want to ensure that everyone we work with is following safety regulations required by different governments. We want to create customer confidence in booking again, and having these safety precautions in place helps.

Launching our supplier support blog

Furthermore, we're helping suppliers adjust to changes in the industry by publishing helpful content on our supplier blog, written by our internal experts and backed by data. Suppliers can find useful tips on how to improve their SEO or keep their customers engaged until they are ready to explore again. We also have information on ticketing and reservation solutions that will make suppliers’ tours and attractions operations run more smoothly going forward.

Preparing for what the future brings

I'm still prospecting new suppliers to join our platform. Tour and activities operators in the American travel industry are brainstorming ways to save and/or grow their businesses, and more partnerships are a great way to gain visibility.

Despite COVID-19, suppliers are still open to working with a global marketplace because they want as many people as possible to see their offerings. We know that customers are getting the travel itch and are looking for things to do once they feel safe to travel again. We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find the activities they're looking for.

What helps you be successful in this role during a global pandemic?

It's essential to be flexible, not set in one process. Travel is an ever-evolving industry, and we have to be prepared to switch strategy in order to adapt to the current circumstances. We have never experienced anything that has impacted the travel industry to this extent, and I'm learning to adapt to what the new normal will look like.

If you're working in a geographically dispersed team where many of the resources are in a different office, make it loud and clear if you need support. Send a Slack message, write an email, set a meeting- the resources are out there.

I'm trying to figure out creative solutions with my suppliers, so their businesses have a high chance of success. Being in the tourism industry is like being in a big group of friends and family, so you want to help them succeed.

I think a lot of GetYourGuide's destination managers feel the same way and genuinely want to help our partners in any way we can. Their success is our success.  

Do you have any advice for someone who is facing challenges working in a global virtual team?

If you're working in a geographically dispersed team where many of the resources are in a different office, make it loud and clear if you need support. Send a Slack message, write an email, set a meeting — the resources are out there. Thankfully, we have an incredibly supportive culture at GetYourGuide, and I have found everyone to be incredibly helpful.

For updates on our open positions, check out our Career page.

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