Episode 4: Patrick Monney of Travelquest

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Journeys Profile. Today I am joined by Patrick from Travelquest. Patrick, welcome. Thank you. Thank you everyone. It is really good to have you here Patrick because you are one of the first buyers that

[00:00:15] we are speaking to formally here on Journeys Profile. And by buyers I mean those that are engaged in helping end customers find and utilize travel services. So Patrick, we're delighted to have you here. Could you say a little bit about your company and then

[00:00:33] I'm going to ask you about your background as well, but tell us about your company. Yeah, the company is Travelquest. It's a tour operator in Mexico City. So we are two owners, Hector Fuentes and myself. And we work mainly with a travel agency. We are

[00:00:48] V2 also. We work mainly with V2 also, but we're not close to any relation with any other agency of course. And we help the people to design the trip regarding what their clients want. So we work mainly with a travel agent, explain what we do, what they can

[00:01:06] do in the destination and why they have to go to those places. Would you say a little bit about Travelquest Focus, Mexico and so on? Say some more about that please. Yeah, we focus mainly... Well I had to say that I was born and raised in

[00:01:21] Morocco. So that's my background I will say. And so the main destination that we have is Morocco of course because people lose their time from there, so we know very well the

[00:01:33] country. And the focus is to find the destinations that are not so common or in the common destination to find some places that are not so well traveled. So we have also one

[00:01:47] part of the company which is a tour operator in Mexico. So we do the same in Mexico and not for the Mexican market, it's the case for people coming from Europe, United States, India, Morocco also. So to show Mexico how it's a big

[00:02:04] country and what you have to see here. And so our main destination I will say will be once a lady she told us is certainly places where there is war which is not true. In rare places. So we propose to travel to Algeria and Tunis, Egypt is very

[00:02:26] common and everything. Lebanon, Iran, Uzbekistan and what does Pakistan also which I like very much the very good destination India but not India. Well we can do India as a golden triangle of course but we can also send you to Ladakh and Kashmir which are beautiful places.

[00:02:45] Ladakh is a little Tibet and it's wonderful never been touched by Chinese people so it's a really great place in the south of India, Sri Lanka of course and all Southeast Asia Japan also we have a lot of demand for Japan also.

[00:03:01] We are quite good in Japan and especially to send people to places in Japan like there is this place called Koryasan which is a place where there are no hotels you have to sleep in the monastery so it's just

[00:03:14] a wonderful experience really authentic. So what else and also part of South America of course. What is it that differentiates your agency, your company, your offering? It sounds to me as though it's those undiscovered realities though

[00:03:32] would that be a fair thing or how would you describe it Patrick? I will say that we go to places my partner and my business partner and myself not all the time together but so we go and explore places

[00:03:49] and we find a little bit what we can add to the trip to the clients. Well speaking about background of the ground again I've been a journalist for 30 years for travel magazine so as a journalist I used to push door when it's a bro obitued

[00:04:08] I was going forward you know. Let me okay let's get to that I'd like to ask you about that now then Patrick so give us a you've given us a snippet there but could you give us an overview

[00:04:21] of your background how did you get to this point today? Today well that's a long story. It will be like a book. We've got we got some time so how did you I think those listening and watching

[00:04:35] will be curious to know how did you get to where you are what's the summary? Well as I say I was born and raised in Morocco and my family was moved to North Africa in 1858 so they lived in Algeria first then they moved to

[00:04:50] Morocco from European origin so Spanish and French and then I moved for a year in Bukina Faso I studied to be a dentist so that's another part. I went to Bukina Faso to do social work over there for a year so it was a

[00:05:11] great experience to live in Africa in Africa that is not for safari it's very cultural and adventurous then I moved to Paris for one year then I moved to Boston for three years to study over there do my specialty then came back

[00:05:26] to Paris for three years then I moved to Mexico so and then as a dentist here I decided that suddenly that I wanted to do journalism also so at the same time I was a dentist and doing journalism so I was not very often in the office. Wow!

[00:05:43] So I did I published like 250 articles around the world even in Dubai in France in Mexico of course a lot for travel magazine and all about travel and culture and history and so like like 12 years ago I met my business partner and

[00:06:04] so we started to start the tour operator and so with my background with what I have seen along those 30 years of journalism I can add a little bit more of what a normal tour operator will say so I like to explore places and

[00:06:24] I say I like to push doors and where it says prohibited I will move forward and that will be my experience. Climb over the fence! Fantastic Patrick that's a really good overview great great to hear that now

[00:06:39] with that in mind then what is it that the travel agents or those working with their clients the clients have come to them and said look give me some ideas we're thinking of a trip is that the point that then these agents are

[00:06:58] then phoning you saying Patrick Hector what ideas have you got with you know the clients thinking something at that point is that when you're engaged is that when you get involved? Yeah exactly they will give us the idea of what the client wants so

[00:07:14] like let's say that they want to go to Uzbekistan so they had no idea of what is Uzbekistan so I've been three times to Uzbekistan I explore the places and everything and so I will recommend regarding the time that they have the

[00:07:28] budget that they have and the idea what they interested in I will design the trip and so we'll say you have to go to those places you have to explore a little bit more and generally like Uzbekistan they will

[00:07:41] have like a week and which is good it's good enough but it's not completely enough for for explore everything you know but then they can also join with the surrounding country and everything you know and so that's that's how we do

[00:07:56] it and so normally what we do we design like a draft and say this is what they can do very very small draft we don't want to give more a lot of information because we don't want the client to go and see another travel agent

[00:08:11] here so and so we explain to them why generally we make if the tour the agent agree we make a zoom with the client to explore the nation because most of the travel agents they don't know the place where they're asking for

[00:08:26] you know if they want to prepare trip to Europe they don't need me really although I can show them a little places that I know secret places that's really interesting the the zoom with the client is that is that post-covid or was

[00:08:43] that happening before we have been ready for that all the time I really don't remember if we did that pre-covid but right now it I feel my feeling is like a lot of people they want to travel and they really don't know where

[00:09:00] to go and some travel agent they don't know what to propose so I think it's a good way to explain to have a conversation with them and the client we should resume so we can explain to them and they can decide what they want

[00:09:14] to do of course we don't appear like a travel quest we feel like a part of the company of the yes right gotcha as an expert basically yes yeah gotcha gotcha I've been one wanting to ask you this one then based on what you've

[00:09:29] been saying Patrick can you give one or two examples here of a memorable trip that you've you've advised or booked recently for some clients what's top of mind yeah it's a let's say there are so many but

[00:09:48] one strange trip it was a woman she was struggling with her daughter with a good budget and she she asked to go to Uzbekistan and all the the town as we say

[00:09:59] all the town and to Pakistan also it was very strange for me to have a demand for Pakistan I love Pakistan it's a beautiful country the scenery just astonishing and it's not very touristic so so she went there and she

[00:10:15] when she went to Uzbekistan and she was complaining no the car is not good and the car is good and the guide and everything so I say hey when she arrived in Pakistan what will happen because not very fancy country you know and so I

[00:10:29] told her like many times you we cannot change anything in in Pakistan it has to be like that so she went for one week in Pakistan and she didn't complain at all because she was like a like a straighter by me like you can

[00:10:44] anything but it was like a strange trip no it was a very strange demand and yeah I think it's one of the strange ones but we have people that have been to Algeria also that was the first time and it's not a very open country but so

[00:11:02] it's so beautiful so many things to do and so that will be interesting at Ethiopia also it's a very interesting trip that we have recently and yeah what do you say what's popular because those are some great examples of

[00:11:16] of I would imagine you're rather individual unique perhaps yeah trips what is a popular example of a recent one you've done the recent trip well most of them will be Morocco okay so we have different demands and people have

[00:11:33] different time different budget so they want to go to it's funny because in Morocco you don't have very good communication by by flight you know so you have to drive quite a lot and so they say they want to go to the desert

[00:11:46] so the desert is for Marrakech to this 10-hour drive there's no way we can make it the the road shorter you know and so it's very strange because people can't you make it shorter they say no way let me I'll see what I can do

[00:12:02] right they may close the road or whatever you know and so it's always strange to do that but it's very funny also and so what we do we we cut the road in two so they make a stop and have

[00:12:18] a night in the middle so that but there is eight hours of road attack and you cannot avoid from desert to face so that's my way so people always complain and and recently I have I met well it was

[00:12:32] I went to Los Angeles on Monday and I met this client on the plane you know and we never met before it was a client that we saw a friend and and the travel nation so she was very happy and the guy

[00:12:49] he's a famous singer and he said well I didn't like the road there's too much road no way I cannot do anything you know but you have to do that you know so it's it's always a funny

[00:13:03] communication to explain to the people that there is no way to to change so it's a if you want to see a country I mean you have to to move on the road you know no other way it's otherwise

[00:13:15] you stay at home and watch the travel channel or whatever he's that speaking of of staying at home there Patrick and we'd mentioned COVID a little how have you found the market post COVID now

[00:13:28] is it back is it better what's your view on feeling yeah I think it's really back and people are I think they were crazy to stay at home so now they're crazy to travel

[00:13:38] and most of them they want to go to the same places again you know like Italy and Rome and Florence and Venice it's on the main spot but last year last December we went to Italy and

[00:13:54] we discovered this beautiful place it's called Valet di El Comino it's and it's a beautiful spot we have a very nice hotel owned by Giulio and it's a small valet with little villages

[00:14:10] it's like a Tuscany but with no tourists and just a few tourists very nice hotel with very good food and you visit Monte Cassino and an any convent which are beautiful places that are not so well

[00:14:22] known so I recommend people don't go I mean you can go to Florence but if you go to Florence in summertime it would be so crowded and Venice are also the same you know but here you can

[00:14:34] find a very deep Italy a very authentic so that's what we propose but I mean it depends on the clients of course also you can go to Puglia no so I think people are really very anxious to travel

[00:14:51] and they don't know it's a little bit difficult because like as they ask for something and we prepare the trip and they say okay I want to go to I want to go to Greece and Bulgaria and

[00:15:03] everything okay we prepare everything he's saying oh you know what I will go to Iceland better so so much indecision that it's it's a double work for us but it's okay we have to do that

[00:15:18] at least at least there's conversation happening right and a client willing to pay yes yeah of course but it's so difficult so I found that after covid they are in a hurry to travel and they don't

[00:15:32] have a plan really so and most of them are not ready to explore places that they haven't been before so it's they want to go back to the same like I don't know maybe they didn't

[00:15:44] understand the first time but I always propose is it is that familiarity Patrick is it that they're familiar that they know is if it's their first big vacation after covid I mean we're getting past

[00:15:55] that I hope right but yeah I think it's the second year last year was also like that it's like a lot of people want to get out and and see the world but they want to see the same world that they

[00:16:09] know already so I always push people to go to Africa to Ethiopia which is a different Africa that they are used to like it's not so much for safari but so interesting for culture you know

[00:16:23] Ethiopia is two countries in one so you have the north with a with a Christian also looks culture and the south with ethnic people so it's it's a great destination also I think but it's hard to

[00:16:35] to have them move and like to live there the cocoons where they know they're going to be safe yes it's a strange situation you know but we have very good demands how do you Patrick how do

[00:16:51] you and your your business partner how do you stay on top of things that must involve a lot of travel a lot of repeat yes can you say it say a little bit about that yeah we we try to explore

[00:17:02] as much as we know I think I've been to 125 countries and my business partner about 99 or so you know so and and been to one and coming back to again you know many times you know and so we we try to

[00:17:20] explore and last well I like last when I was in April May I went to South Africa and I just stay in a run Cape Town because I wanted to see all the hotels in Cape Town but also I knew that there was

[00:17:36] some reserve very close to Cape Town it's about three hours drive which is not so bad so I will I thought maybe people don't want to go to Kruger and fly and everything you know so it can be a

[00:17:48] very good option so I went to see them and it's a very nice place you don't see so many animals but the scenery is beautiful but for people who want to see animals this is not the right

[00:18:00] place so I know you know when you hear about it you say oh it's great three hours drive and you have the elephant you have the lion but it's not the experience that you can have like when you go to

[00:18:10] Botswana know it's Botswana it's really like you feel the breath of the animals you know so close to them and you see so many animals so and so that's what we do and also like I explore

[00:18:23] places in Morocco which Morocco I know very well but there was a place I haven't been before is called Darla Darla it's very close to the border of Mauritania and it's a lagoon it's a sea lagoon

[00:18:36] so there is a sea entrance and it's like as a best place for kite surfing or even surf also or windsurf also so it's great but this is a place if you have the desert around the lagoon

[00:18:50] and kite surf a very nice hotel but it's not the place that you can recommend to everybody because if you don't do kite surf there is no way to go there there's nothing to do right right love it

[00:19:02] so mainly it's what we we're looking for like different places and and we can recommend like there is one as it was this in Morocco called Skoura which is not very well known but it's a

[00:19:16] beautiful place to stay overnight and explore the Oasis and in Algeria you have the city of Constantin and Algeria it's great and the Constantin is a beautiful city and what else I mean so

[00:19:31] so we go also we went to explore Maldives you know because Maldives is very fashion and so we want to see many hotels like Chaval Blanc and Chowali which are beautiful hotels not very

[00:19:42] affordable but and then we went to Tahiti and always says why don't you go to Tahiti? Tahiti is more beautiful you know so we try to to conduct to people to the right place where they're gonna be

[00:19:56] happy and in Tahiti you can explore many islands you have a scenery with the mountains and in Maldives you just have a flat at all so it's I mean I don't want to be bad people for

[00:20:11] certain destination but you have to compare you know have to say to people yes you want to Maldives from Mexico it's about a 24 hours flight if you go to Tahiti it's only 10 hours from

[00:20:23] Los Angeles you know so it's you have to show them and conduct them to the right place I think right Patrick if I am the owner of a hotel in in Italy somewhere or a safari game house or

[00:20:41] or like how do I get your attention how do I get someone saying oh I'm you know you must check how do I you know how do I mark it to you what's the right way of getting your attention?

[00:20:50] Yeah well like we go to Ferris like IELTM like we are Africa pure so we meet a lot of hotels that mainly we go there to meet the hotels so we get in contact and we get in touch all the

[00:21:06] time and we refer the client because we know the hotels we have been there or we have a good description of the hotel like I said I was in Cape Town I spent two weeks in Cape Town I really

[00:21:18] explore many hotels over there different type different budget and so I can explain so the hotels they know me they know the company and we always get in touch so when we prepare the trip

[00:21:31] we um then when it's the deal is closed then the people are going so we send a welcome letter to the hotel so they know that they're coming from us or from right gotcha so we are always

[00:21:44] like in touch you know so it's a very good communication and you know you have very five five star hotels that are good and some are not so good you know so you have to know them

[00:21:57] to explain to the client what they can expect you know. So for those suppliers those I mean I say suppliers but hotels and destinations for those looking to attract your attention

[00:22:10] what how do they do that right you know is it through a journey's event is it through a peer is it through an IALTF is there another is there a secret way Patrick? No I think we receive

[00:22:22] a lot of publicity from the hotels of course and which I always look at each one so I can see one is I'm interested and I get in touch with the answer to the what is publicity you know

[00:22:35] and also through the fairs so we met we meet them we're in touch when as soon as we can we go and see the hotel and to be sure that is what they promise you know it's because you never know the photograph

[00:22:49] photograph here can be very nice but when you arrive it's not the right thing you know so so it's very important and you were asking when when is my favorite hotel I that's yes

[00:23:03] yes please yes yes yeah you know when you ask that it's very difficult because I have made my favorite hotel you know but like like Chauval Blanc-Maldives is a beautiful hotel

[00:23:15] I'm not sure is my favorite place a beautiful hotel no but I think one of my favorite one when when people ask me this question is a hotel in Kuala Lumpur it called Carcosa Seri Negara

[00:23:28] and it used to be the house of the governor of Malaysia the English governor so it's a beautiful Victorian house and it's the attention is wonderful it's on a hill with the old vegetation around

[00:23:43] and they treat you like a king and it's a wonderful place you know it's and another one is it's called Riyadh Fez which is in Fez of course which is an old panace and it's a

[00:23:56] wonderful place also it's for me I feel at home of course when I arrive there and what else is Banyan Tree in Mayakova it's a beautiful setup also it's you have the canal in the mangrove

[00:24:10] you have all the quattie around and the monkeys what I was there you know also it depends on the experience that you have you know in the hotel but what in Banyan Tree in Mayakova I was having

[00:24:21] breakfast until I need to spider monkey arrive and they were they just sat up at the table and eat the round because I love animals you know so that makes a big change in your impression also

[00:24:37] you know you see fantastic Patrick you got ahead of me there with my favorite hotel question I wanted to ask you yeah what's so separate to that uh what's an undiscovered gem now have you got an undiscovered gem because I've asked you about the hotel

[00:24:54] yeah but what undiscovered gem would you have for those watching and listening okay well so many you say I will stay to the same place it's not uncovered but it's not so popular like Algeria so Algeria when you go to Constantin and the Roman ruins that you have

[00:25:16] around and even Algeria it's a beautiful city so I will say like it's and not undiscovered because it has been discovered for 200 years but it's not a popular destination now and it's very safe to

[00:25:31] go and it's beautiful it's so exotic and not so many tourists so it's the attention people are so nice they're very friendly and the food is good also so that would be like not undiscovered

[00:25:43] but not not very known gem I think and another one in Italy it's like a closer country like I went to this place is the Rele Colle del Comino the one I was talking about in my Comino which is

[00:26:02] shown by Giulio Abbate and it's a very beautiful hotel very simple it's not a luxury but it's luxury for my for my taste very good chef and the view is beautiful you have the vineyard very

[00:26:17] close by you have the cheese factory local cheese factory very close by the villages and then you have Monte Cassino to do around also and and also there is maybe one place that I like

[00:26:34] very much also it's but it's not no I will say in Vietnam you know the Sampa Valley but it's not undiscovered not it's very popular but used to be very undiscovered before and to walk around

[00:26:51] in the terrace the field you know terrace field it's just beautiful and see the people need to be pulled with a dress and everything is great then I wonder I have two more questions for you

[00:27:06] the my second last question for for you Patrick the man who's been to 100 and was 131 countries 125 yes all together I mean it's the same country also but we are like 200 countries there is only 190 so for the man who has been to to more than 100 countries

[00:27:30] what does your perfect vacation look like what do you do to relax to relax I don't I don't like to relax my predestination will be more of course because he like going home and I have a lot

[00:27:48] of things to do and I like to go in the marketplace and meet the people and and be with him but that's that's not fair because this is my homeland so it's it's not right to say that but I think

[00:28:03] my favorite vacation for me will be to spend like a month in Ladakh in in India and to go to the different monasteries to work and do hiking and participate to the prayers in the monasteries

[00:28:20] and just meet the people you know it's always wonderful because it's so peaceful very relaxing you have the mountains you are at 3500 meters high and you have the mountain with snow cap and those beautiful monasteries is just incredible that will be for me a perfect vacation I think

[00:28:40] wow well then my final question for you Patrick for those watching especially the travel agents looking to say right we should talk I'd like to get your advice how do people contact

[00:28:53] you what's the best way well I give my cellular phone so everybody can have it and my mail also so we can have a first contact by mail and then by phone it will be the best way and I'm open

[00:29:08] to any conversation wherever I am now I'm I'm going in July and it's a good trip also it's going to be a nice vacation because we represent a boat a ship called Swan Elinik and so we're going from

[00:29:22] Tronsau to Svalbard so up the north almost a north wall and so it's going to be a very nice trip and then I decided that I have to take some time so I will rent a car and go from Tronsau to

[00:29:35] Oslo by car to see both Henry and see what we can offer to the client it has been quite popular we can have a lot of demand for Norway so but I know some places in Norway and违an and around

[00:29:49] but I don't know everything so I want to explore and then it's going to be like a like a hippie trip you know just go and see what we can find you know the way well then I recommend

[00:30:01] those to make sure they're following Patrick and I'll put his website in details in the show notes here I'm also going to try an attempt to get the websites of each of the hotels that Patrick has

[00:30:12] mentioned we're gonna try and put them link them below as well I shall attempt to do so. Patrick can I say thank you so much for joining us on Journey's profile this has been

[00:30:22] fantastic really good to have met you. Thank you so much Juan and please give my telephone contact and mail with pleasure thank you so much bye bye