Holbrook is appreciative of the many subscribers of our Insider Newsletter who responded to our recent survey from last month. We’re all familiar with the plethora of surveys we get after using a service, be it rental car, hotel or other. That’s why we were amazed and thankful for the huge response and helpful suggestions. Or was it the chance to get $10 Starbucks reward? See below for our lucky winners.

Despite the annoyance of surveys, travel planners and leaders shouldn’t shy away from a well-timed, easy-to-complete survey. Too often we rely on anecdotal data from travelers and not feedback on how we are doing our jobs so we can do them better. Be sure to design your survey carefully with quantitative measures.

The key findings of our survey indicated there is great appreciation for insightful news that is relevant to our work. 62% of responders found the Insider Newsletter extremely/very useful, and 36% found it somewhat useful. The most popular type of article was the “Destination Spotlight,” followed by “Tips and resources for travel planning” and “Conservation News.”  The majority (52%) prefer the monthly timing, while 22% want it more frequently. Only 12% said less frequently that once a month.

We are excited to keep improving our content. Below is a sample of answers to the question: What ideas or suggestions do you have to improve our newsletter and make it more valuable?

• “Trends in travel locations. Balancing historical and current insights into the destination, as well as cultural experiences.”

• “Details about the rare species seen on tours.”

• “It's all good and interesting. Keep up the good work and interesting topics and destination highlights.”

• “Customized trips that were successful for faculty in higher education.”

• “Firsthand accounts of trip experiences and ideas.”

• “Marketing.”

•  “Locations about conservation issues. Zoos and Aquariums travel because we want to support conservation and we want to travel with companies that care about the same environmentally responsible values.”

• “Fundraising for travel.”

• “A section for guide comments; a section for trip leader reports; photos from trip participants.”

• “I can't think of any improvements! Y'all do a great job!”

And the winners are…

• Jim Merritt

• Ron Farb

• Mandy Black

• James Gordon Patterson

• Reinier Munguia

Thank you again to all who participated!