True Travel Gossip Legend Vishal Patel was recently promoted to CEO of Travelpack, a family-run business chaired by his father, Ashok. He tells us more about his 22-year rise to the top, from making tea to taking a seat on the Board, why his inbox keeps him awake – and his Spiderman-inspired workout regime.
Becoming CEO was a process. I knew about it for a while, so it’s not something that happened very quickly. That has been good, as I’ve had time to adjust and build into the role. The hardest change has been letting go of the day-to-day work as I’ve been entrenched in every detail, so I’ve been building teams around me to take that on.
It hasn’t been a drastic change. We didn’t really have a Managing Director or CEO, so I was reporting into the Chairman anyway. We’ve always been in constant communication and discussed strategic decisions. However, now a lot of the Chairman’s responsibilities are falling on my shoulders and the senior team are coming to me directly more frequently. The Chairman is also referring team members to me more. I think he’s planning for his retirement which will happen in the longer term future.
I’m planning on expanding Travelpack. In the short term, I’m aiming to take on an additional 100 new team members in our new office in India. This will be over the course of the next 18 months across all departments. The team and I are also constantly working on technology upgrades and innovations, some of these projects are coming close to completion and will be very apparent to our travel agent partners.
I won’t stop posting on the Travel Gossip Facebook page. In fact, I hope I have more time to respond to posts now I’m CEO. I don’t use any bots or any automation tools on the group; I read every post and choose which ones to respond to. I do however use swift keys and that’s why there are usually two different set comments. It’s been an undeniably great platform for me and everyone sees the value of it.
Unopened emails bug me. The OCD in me won’t let me have an unread email in my inbox before I go to sleep, unless I’m absolutely shattered. I’ve been making changes to address that because it would be impossible to carry on like that. For example, you might have seen on Travel Gossip’s Facebook group that I don’t post my personal email any more and instead direct agents to other members of the Travelpack team.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot. Then, when I got older, everyone would joke that I would take over Travelpack from my dad. At university, I did an internship at a pharmaceutical company, and they were going to offer me a job after graduation. However, my dad happened to bump into my then-boss and told him: “No, he’s going to join me.”
I spent my summers doing work experience at Travelpack. I would pack brochures, post mail, photocopy and make cups of tea for the team. Each summer, I would shadow a different department, from accounts and marketing to sales, so I got a complete overview of the business. My dad had a vision for me at a young age.
Before my first Board meeting, I had to wait outside while the Board voted on whether or not I could join. They voted yes. My dad advised me not to say anything, and instead just sit there and listen to everything.
You can’t take things personally if you work with family. Four of my uncles, my nephew, two cousins, my sister and my sister-in-law work for Travelpack. We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but we share a common goal. You just have to find a sensible route through disagreements.
I’m not one to push for Business or First Class flights, and that won’t change now I’m CEO. The funny thing is my uncle, who also works for Travelpack, said I would be likely travelling Club because of my promotion and told me I would need to dress better. What’s wrong with the way I dress? The first flight I did as CEO, I flew out Premium and returned Business.
My new hack for flying is wearing a baggy hoodie. It stops me getting freezing cold and I can cocoon myself when I want to sleep. In general, I love flying and I’m not one to get nervous.
The most memorable trip I’ve been on was to Polynesia. It’s the paradise that everyone dreams about. My highlight was a cruise with Aranui around the Marquesas Islands. The landscape is insane: it looks almost prehistoric and you half expect a pterodactyl to fly over the mountains! I was actually sad to leave Polynesia after two week,s and that’s the first time I’ve felt that in about 20 years as I miss my family when I’m away.
Outside of travel, I’m a sports fanatic. I play Power League football with a school dads’ group on Mondays and I try to hit the gym at least three times a week. I’m trying out Spiderman-actor Tom Holland’s viral workout challenge at the moment, which is as many rounds of five pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats you can complete in 20 minutes. I wish I had more time so I could play golf too.
