Malik Fernando of Resplendent Ceylon is our guest for this episode. And a word of warning before we continue...you're going to want to visit Sri Lanka after this one. This short video will paint the picture of what's discussed in this episode.

Malik's father, Merrill J. Fernando, founded Dilmah Tea in the 1980s after realizing the need for a Sri Lankan-owned brand that celebrated single-origin Ceylon tea. Starting in Australia with Kamahl singing the jingles, Dilmah became a household name and one of the first tea brands packed at source rather than overseas.

Building on that legacy, Malik launched Resplendent Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s first Relais & Châteaux hotel collection. What began as renovated plantation bungalows evolved into five award-winning boutique properties spanning tea country, beaches, and wildlife reserves.

Each property is built around Malik’s philosophy of “luxury with purpose” — combining five-star hospitality with meaningful community impact.

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This episode is brought to you buy Rosewood Hotels and Interline Travel. We hope you enjoy, and if you'd like to support us you can sign up for our newsletter at www.offloaded.com.au where you'll receive insider details, first notification on new episodes, occasional competitions and much more.

You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook. We'd like that.

Oh, and if you haven't already, subscribe to the podcast on any podcast platform!

Nicole O’Sullivan is redefining how travel professionals sell.

With over two decades in the industry that includes six years in the US, she has a sharp eye for what works and what doesn't.

Nicole's unique offering to the industry begins with 'mystery calling', during which she assesses how wholesalers, tour operators and agents are communicating with agents, clients and each other.

Could we all improve? You bet we can.

In this terrific chat that’s brilliant for - well, everyone - Richard and AC ask Nicole about what led her to start this unique business. It all begins with letter listening, she says, which aligns with our thoughts because we're always after a better quality of listener.

You can connect with Nicole via her website at Bird's Eye View Consulting, and via her LinkedIn profile

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This episode is brought to you buy Rosewood Hotels and Interline Travel. We hope you enjoy, and if you'd like to support us you can sign up for our newsletter at www.offloaded.com.au where you'll receive insider details, first notification on new episodes, occasional competitions and much more.

You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook. We'd like that.

Oh, and if you haven't already, subscribe to the podcast on any podcast platform!

Club Med's Michelle Davies has a new and quite lengthy title of General Manager - Pacific & New Emerging ESAP Markets.

Hired in June 2020 as Marketing Manager, Michelle later took on the General Manager role with a mission to lead Club Med's Australian office out of the pandemic and into the unchartered territory of a new industry landscape.

This episode is a story of navigating new challenges and getting the very best from a dynamic team, whose collective efforts led to the brand picking up Most Popular Accommodation Group/Chain at the 2024 NTIA awards.

As AC says during the episode: " I always love to hear stories of women in leadership because we've got so many fabulous women in the industry who lift up and inspire each other, and I'm hoping that this podcast will do that for a few of our listeners."

In other news, AC offloads on hotel commisions, and a listener finds themselves even more On Notice than they were before.

You can connect with Michelle via her LinkedIn profile.

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This episode is brought to you buy Rosewood Hotels and Interline Travel. We hope you enjoy, and if you'd like to support us you can sign up for our newsletter at www.offloaded.com.au where you'll receive insider details, first notification on new episodes, occasional competitions and much more.

You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook. We'd like that.

Oh, and if you haven't already, subscribe to the podcast on any podcast platform!