team Archives - Flip.to Blog

Flip.to names dynamic hospitality technology leader, Jessica Bush Aslanian, as VP, Commercial

Orlando, FL — July 14, 2022 — Flip.to, the marketing platform that helps reach, inspire, and win over travelers in reimagined ways, today announced the appointment of 30-year travel industry veteran Jessica Bush Aslanian as vice president of commercial.

Aslanian is a results-driven, senior leader with expertise delivering large-scale product solutions. As VP, commercial, Aslanian will lead the charge to inspire growth for destinations, brands, groups, hotels and vacation rentals, letting them tap their best audiences with an approach centered on authenticity and trust.

For brands and groups, Aslanian will help execute on strategy to win over new travelers at a massive scale, and drive growth that’s as-profitable-as-possible. In the destination space, she’ll put the platform to work to inspire the trajectory of travelers—a win for the hospitality industry and the communities it supports.

“Jessica brings more to the table than her experience heading up enterprise relationships, although she’s got that, too,” shared Ed St. Onge, president of Flip.to. “She has a proven track record of measured success in operations and partnerships to drive impact in the most meaningful ways possible. She’ll play an instrumental role in fueling the growth of both our customers, and our company.”

The announcement comes as Flip.to ramps up, gaining momentum in the last year with enterprise launches that include Visit North Carolina, Margaritaville Hotels and Resorts, Graduate Hotels, and more. Aslanian will help shape Flip.to’s products and solutions to meet the needs of these commercial organizations.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Flip.to at this exciting time, supporting growth across all of hospitality in a way that’s both measurable and immediately impactful,” added Aslanian. “Flip.to has always been at the leading edge of travel and I’m looking forward to being a part of their success.”

For more on how travel brands grow with Flip.to, visit http://flip.to. To get in touch with Jessica Bush Aslanian about your commercial needs, reach out directly at jaslanian@flip.to.

Blog? What Blog?

Hey blog reader! It’s been a while. Too long, perhaps.

It seems there’s always a reason…

“I’m busy building product.”
“I’m busy getting things Geetha-approved.”
“We have a blog?”

I set out to find out exactly why we haven’t updated this space recently, (completely unannounced, perhaps against their wills, and without even the most perfunctory duties of a stylist or paid hair/makeup professional.)

Here’s what they said.

Stories that inspire: Team week

One of our core values: No minions here. We hire amazing people first, let them tell us what they’re good at, and then help them find their superpower. So as you may have guessed, team is important to us, and ours is made up of some pretty incredible people.

So, last month, our whole team stopped by HQ in Orlando for a week of creative collaboration, coffee brainstorms, and a bit of fun.

Here are some of our favorites moments from the week:

Wrapping up Thursday’s catered lunch after team updates and Founder’s Corner

“Escaping” from the Great Escape Room in record time

Getting ready to race electric go-karts on Friday’s offsite at Andretti Indoor Karting

Celebrating the wins (and crashes) after the checkered flag waves

An extra bonus of having the entire team in-house means we get the chance to take advantage of the creative talent of our design team. Any time they’re in town, we schedule a few hours to update the chalk wall in our lunch room.

This time, we set up a camera to capture the entire session:

To meet some of the Flip.to veterans along with some fresh faces, hop over to our about page. Plus, always feel free to say hello 👋 to us here—we’re always eager to chat with other movers and shakers in hospitality!

Meet Matt: team player and pun champion

At Flip.to, we’ve made our careers in hospitality. Now, we’re certified in advocology. (Our science-y approach to turning advocacy into revenue.)

On this team, we aim to hire amazing people, which is why we’d like to introduce Matt—dedicated Account Manager and “punny” guy who settles for nothing less than huge wins for every customer.

Want to dig in? Say hello to Matt, or peek at the rest of our advocologists at work here.

Behind the screen: finding our voice in video

A few months back, we shamelessly shared our first blooper reel after an excited foray into video production. It’s been one heck of an experience and we’ve learned an awful lot along the way.

At Flip.to we’re all about authenticity and the connections between individuals. So when we first committed to making video there was unanimous agreement that whatever it is we’re talking about in our videos, it should be us talking about it.

OurVoiceInVideo_9.2 — Setting up the mic and testing audio before getting started.

I was asked to be the voice of our videos. One never to turn down an opportunity (or a challenge), I was happy to take up the mantle. (To be honest I was more excited about recording impersonations, so I convinced myself this was a step in that direction.)

As fun as it’s been, we’ve been focused on continuous improvement. If you’re thinking of integrating video into your content marketing strategy (and you should), here are some major lessons to help you get started.

1. Spend time on a script…

Going into this, I was working under the assumption that we’d need some manner of script but, for the most part, we’d be winging it. It only took a single video to realize how wrong I was. We were using a script from the beginning. While we did adlib a bit, it was immediately apparent how important the script was.

This may seem like an obvious thing, but when you spend the better part of your day talking about a product, you feel confident enough you can do the same with a microphone in front of your face.

Don’t bet on it–having a polished script ensures you’re covering the important points.

2. …but don’t be afraid to deviate

As critical as the script is, if you want the video to feel authentic and convey real emotion, you’ll need to make changes on the fly. We’ll record each section of the video multiple times to make sure it feels and sounds authentic and natural. The script isn’t gospel. Instead, it’s a guide to tie together the scenes and concepts in the video.

3. Record, record, and record again

OurVoiceInVideo_8 — Getting a bit of feedback from Hunter on the recording.

Getting a scene right on the first try is akin to keeping a wet dog in the bathtub. Try as you might, there will be slip ups.

Or, it just may not feel right. No matter how you feel after recording a scene, the playback may change your mind. In the beginning, we recorded a scene, played it back, and recorded it again—then repeated. We wisened up and now we record each scene a few times back-to-back and then listen in succession. Doing it this way lets you compare each attempt to single out the best take. If none sound good, well… do it again!

4. Finding the right voice and tone takes time

I don’t mean to say you need to make a host of videos to find your voice and tone. Instead, I’m talking about finding the right tone for a specific video.

While recording our “Introduce your hotel to the people that matter most” video, we were about three-quarters of the way through the voice-over when we hit our stride. We wrapped up several scenes in quick succession and they felt incredible.

We went back and listened. It sounded noticeably different! The final 25% felt so right, that we took the time to re-record everything up to that point so that there was continuity. It was well worth the effort. Once we dialed it in we were able to record much more quickly too.

OurVoiceInVideo_7 — Hunter gives the thumbs up on the new recording.

For future videos we recorded a reading of the entire script, sometimes multiple times, to get a feel for the tone. Ultimately this saved us time, produced a better quality video, and gave the video authenticity.

5. Have fun

It’s not all business. You will definitely need to take breaks. We deviate from the script (sometimes by A LOT) because a good laugh can go a long way.

And like I said at the start, doing impersonations was what I really wanted to do in the first place. So don’t hesitate to cut loose when the urge strikes and enjoy the moment. It’s not often you get an opportunity to professionally record yourself cutting up for, you know, posterity.

Oh, and don’t think we didn’t save some of the fun stuff—listen in for yourself below!

Jumping into your own recordings? Let me know! We’re always eager to share and learn more, and collaborate along the way.

Flip.to on the road: Flat Ricky’s HITEC debut

HITEC 2016 wrapped up last week, and it was the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun with our Director of Partnerships, Richard Dunbar by introducing his new-found colleague and friend, Flat Ricky. (One Ricky just wasn’t enough.)

Flat Ricky explored the conference, stopped by the booths of our many partners, and ended an eventful first day with a party hosted by Flip.to, Lanyon, NAVIS and Social Tables.

1_flatRicky — Arriving at Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel before shuttling over to the Morial Convention Center.

2_flatRicky — Visiting our friends and partners at the Guestcentric and Digital Alchemy booths.

3_flatRicky — Saying hello to the folks at SHR and Spring Engage.

4_flatRicky — Posing with our partners from NAVIS and IDeaS Revenue Solutions.

5_flatRicky — Preparing for the Flip.to, Lanyon, NAVIS and Social Tables party to kick off.

As our night was coming to an end, one thing became apparent—we were #MissingFlatRicky—and word spread quickly!

Turns out, our friends at Vista Cay had different plans for Flat Ricky, and an adventure in the making unfolded.

At the end of the day, Flat Ricky got a VIP tour of the town and was swept away once again. We’re still #MissingFlatRicky—but if you have any tips on where he might be, let us know at hello@flip.to! (Don’t worry, all tips remain anonymous.)

Flip.to welcomes very first Director of Breakfasts

The sounds of grumbling stomachs were heard far and wide, and the torment of a bagel-less, muffin-less, and cold-brew-less morning in the office had to stop. Plus, the line at the Starbucks machine was getting a bit lengthy thanks to the 32 ounce option. (I mean, really, Kevin? Who needs 32 ounces of coffee in the morning? All those dev hours, I guess…)

The decision was clear. We needed help:

Director of Breakfasts
Flip.to seeks first-meal-making wizard

Qualifications:

We are looking for a creative and gifted Director of Breakfast. You will be known as “the meal-making wizard” and maintain complete control of the kitchen and breakroom.

Experience:

Making breakfast taste good

Skills:

Cold brew making ability
Can incorporate tasty, vegan alternatives
Must hail from New York City

Sure, these were HUGE shoes to fill, and quite honestly we weren’t too sure they could.

To our surprise, the response was overwhelming. We had lines of people outside our office giving us tastings of their best breakfast dishes for days. In fact, we’re still getting the occasional chef trickle into our office. It’s a tear-jerker turning down so many crumble-top muffins in the past few days. Regardless, we had to stay strong and move on.

After countless hours of taste testing, résumé reviewing, and deliberation, a decision had been made! We couldn’t be more ecstatic to announce our new Director of Breakfasts, Traci Kent—sister of CEO and fearless Flip.to leader, Brian Kent.

The NY Style Bagels—you should’ve tasted them. And don’t get me started on the multitude of muffins. They’re so good that Traci was once asked to come to the White House for a Presidential Breakfast. She kindly turned it down. With gumption like that, we couldn’t be more proud to have her on the team. She captures the essence of Martha Stewart with the execution skills of highly trained Swat team. In other words, she’s the best.

UPDATE: Traci had to return to Brooklyn after the holidays. The team didn’t take the news very well, but we’re working out a plan to bake remote.

The not so chilly chili cook-off

The aprons were tied, the Crock Pots were in-line, and the heat was ablaze during Flip.to’s First-Ever Chili Cook-Off. With chilly weather (74˚) sweeping across Florida, there wasn’t a better time for a warm bowl of chili topped with ooey gooey cheese and a dollop of sour cream (unless you are Ed who despises anything with sour cream.) Plus, office bragging rights were on the line, which hold a lot of weight around here!

For some, it was about trying the newest recipes they found online the night before or maybe stopping at Wendy’s and asking to fill their Crock Pot. For the seasoned veterans, it was about cooking recipes passed down from generations and toiling over perfection for hours, days, or even weeks! Contestants were starry-eyed and hopeful, however, they were unaware of the domination that was about to pursue.

Everyone was given a ballot to cast their votes for Team Favorite, Best Texture, Best Color, Best Consistency, Best Spice, Best Flavor, and Best Aroma. After the votes were counted, the winners are (drum-roll):

Overall, the hard work paid off (mainly for Rosana) and the team got to eat some pretty darn good chili. I mean, look at those happy Flip.to-ers!

After the tastings were done, votes tallied and the TUMS taken, all-in-all things didn’t get too fiery. The bar was set high thanks to the winners’ Martha Stewart like chili-cooking skills. Truly, everyone was a winner–even the slackers who didn’t participate, which I can say because I was one of them. Until next time!