Weekly Now: The Good and Bad of the Post-Pandemic Comeback

The news about the travel industry is starting to look optimistic again, though it’s still a cloudy picture as the recovery happens in fits and starts.

First, the good news: The Global Business Travel Association reported  (opens in a new tab) in a survey last week that 40 percent of corporations have already restarted nonessential domestic business travel, with another 33 percent working on plans to restart business travel. (International travel is slower, with 39 percent waiting to see what happens, a level more than twice that for domestic travel.)

Most of the 640 organizations surveyed expect conditions to get back to normal within the next two years for most types of travel, with 40 percent anticipating a return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel for education and personal development within the next year, and 30 percent within the next two years.

While the GBTA survey suggests a bounceback in short order, others are concerned that the return is not happening quickly enough, as Matt Swenson of the Trade Show News Network reports  (opens in a new tab). The revival of meetings faces a lack of consistent standards for returning, which the U.S. Travel Association is working to solve in collaboration with Ohio State University as a part of its “Let’s Meet There” campaign.

“To get teams back to work and to get back to full employment in the industry, we need business travel, particularly professional meetings and events, to restart,” Hilton CEO and President Chris Nassetta said, according to the piece.

Other recent headlines:

Kicking off the hiring trend once again. The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association is helping to get people back to work after the pandemic with the creation of a new jobs site for laid-off and furloughed workers. The website, GreatFloridaJob.com  (opens in a new tab), has more than 600 listings already, with job listings free for existing FRLA members. “We’re hoping it’s going to be really helpful,” said Susan McKinley, the association’s director of research and marketing support, in comments to WUSF-FM  (opens in a new tab). The move comes as the state of Florida plans to end unemployment benefits  (opens in a new tab) that were extended for the pandemic on June 27.

Supporting researchers in marginalized communities. The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) announced a fellowship program supporting marginalized groups in the field of postdoctoral study, which often face higher barriers to success. “Unfortunately, all postdoctoral scholars do not share equal access to critical resources, especially those from marginalized communities or from historically underfunded institutions,” NPA Executive Director and CEO Thomas P. Kimbis said in a news release  (opens in a new tab). “A year after the height of protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd and just before the celebration of Juneteenth, we are proud to announce this intentional step in the right direction.” The initiative, titled the IMPACT Fellowship Program, will start this summer with plans for another class of IMPACT fellows in 2022.

More Than Vendors

#newpodcastepisode  (opens in a new tab) alert! If you’re an association struggling to find support, then this episode is worth a listen. Join the discussion and learn more. https://t.co/VQ7fdUOlry  (opens in a new tab). Also available on #spotify  (opens in a new tab) and #applepodcasts  (opens in a new tab)#assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #associations  (opens in a new tab) #sponsorship  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/sbujFxGJLX  (opens in a new tab)

— Sherry Whitaker Budziak (@orgSherry) June 19, 2021  (opens in a new tab)

Is it time to stop thinking of industry partners as vendors? That’s a take Scott Oser of Scott Oser Associates made in a recent interview with .orgSource’s Association 4.0 podcast.

One great way to strengthen a partnership, says Oser? Actually call them a partner:

There are still many organizations that just will not allow their industry partners to present expertise, to participate as part of the content. They are there and treated—depending on which organization you talk to—it seems it appears as a bad word, that they’re seen as vendors. They’re seen as salespeople, not partners. And I’ve talked to many associations over time, and even just suggested, stop calling them vendors, stop calling them salespeople. Talk to them and work with them as partners to your association. See how you can mutually reach each other’s goals, and you’re going to be that much further ahead.

Check out the full episode  (opens in a new tab) over this way.

ICYMI …

How an organizer did hybrid. Destinations International found its hybrid groove with its CEO Summit last month. Learn how they made it work.

Lessons from a branding exercise. The National Grocers Association found a way to broaden its brand focus and continue to evoke its past with a recent logo and branding redesign. Its lessons could prove handy for your organization, too.

Learn a little flexibility. Leaders are now working in environments that are much more flexible than they once were. They may have to change too, Michael Hickey writes.

(Goran Jakus Photography/iStock/Getty Images Plus)