Jamie Biesiada
For Claire Bilby, senior vice president of sales, services and events at Disney Destinations, Interna-tional Women's Day is a lot like National Travel Advisor Appreciation Day: It's a catalyst to celebrate a group that should be celebrated year-round.
"We should be appreciating them 365 days a year," Bilby said, "but it's nice to have a special day that you can really call out.
"To me, that's International Women's Day, as well," she added. "We have that opportunity to have forums or some discussions that we may not always have, but we should be having."
International Women's Day is on Sunday. I talked to Bilby in advance of the day about her career in the industry, how she's built a supportive network and how travel advisors can, and should, do the same.
Bilby is responsible for sales for Disney's domestic business units. That includes its parks in Ana-heim, Calif., and Orlando, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa. She leads international marketing and sales and event operations for the same units. Bilby is also the head of the Walt Disney Travel Co.
She's been with Disney for 31 years has held a number of other roles, but her current one is her favorite.
"It's a little bit of coming home and embracing everything that I've done over my years," she said.
That hasn't always been the case, though. In 2011, Bilby was working at Disneyland Paris when she got a call asking her to return stateside to run the Disney Vacation Club.
At that point in her career, Bilby felt confident as a sales and marketing executive, but she didn't know much about vacation ownership.
"If you had ever asked me would I have raised my hand for that job, no, I would not have, but I got on that airplane. I said, 'OK, this is what I'm going to do,'" she said. "To this day, it's one of my top favorite jobs I have had."
Bilby took the Vacation Club post because she trusted her superior, who was the one who champi-oned her for the job. She also trusted her gut instinct, which said take the job.
It's a good lesson in being flexible and adaptive, one travel advisors can apply to their business.
"Once you jump in, embrace it," Bilby said.
It also speaks to another practice that has proven useful for Bilby: maintaining a diverse network both within and outside of one's company. In the Vacation Club example, it was an internal source that encouraged Bilby to take the job.
"Make sure you're using that network," Bilby said. "How are you staying in touch with people? How do you make sure you have diverse representation, whether it's clients you work with, it's friends, outside interests or industries? Because what I really do find is the more diverse of a network you have, it's really incredibly valuable because you have such a variety of perspectives."
It's important for travel advisors, especially those that are home-based. Bilby encouraged them to get involved in community volunteerism, youth sports or any areas outside of their normal wheel-house. It can eventually help expand their roster of clients.
"People won't know what you're doing if you don't tell them," she said.
Bilby hopes that the legacy she leaves in her role is one of caring deeply for her team and thinking about the collective instead of the individual.
"When I talk to our travel advisors, that's what they should strive for," she said. "How do they make the best experience ever for their clients? How do they grow their team to be successful? And then, how do we make the industry an even better place? Because we will all benefit from that."