Joseph Issa’s Cool Party A Sure Hit

The Cool Breeze in Ocho Rios on Friday night epitomised the “Cool Party” that rocked the Hard Rock Cafe on the Main Street St. Ann.

The Cool duo, Joey and Asha Issa, knows how to fete their employees.

Bringing down the curtain on what was described by the “Cool” man himself as a “Cool” year, Joey Issa treated his employees with class and lavished them with fine wine, a menu of delectable food and fabulous entertainment.

All who showed their stripes and served the Cool Corporation well were rewarded for their efforts with a token of appreciation from their generous boss.

Long Sevice

Those who served the organisation for 10 years were also recognised for long service. They are Blair Gonsalves, managing director of Cool Oasis. Vannette Brown, financial controller of Cool Oasis, Sydia McKenzie service station manager Brown’s Town, Christine Jeffrey Cool Lubes administrative assistant and Juliet Hurst, assistant manager Cool Oasis, St. Ann’s Bay.

In short, speeches thanking his team, before presenting the awards, Issa described them as the best in any company in Jamaica.

Reflecting on the growth the Corporation experienced over the last three years, the Cool Chairman said, “we have come a long way, and we have a long way to go….let’s push on and run Jamaica next year!”

The team of the Cool Companies were dressed to impress in the latest fashion.

Kahlil, the boy group from Montego Bay, provided additional entertainment with a live performance from lover’s rock to dancehall that thrilled the audience.

Vibes

Hits such as Dream Lover, and My Girl, had the crowd singing line for line but it was their rendition Sean Paul’s Temperature, and Give it up to me, that revved up the vibes. The peak of their performance came when they performed Tony Matterhorn’s “Dutty Wine”, that saw Kay Wilson general manager of Cool Card, doing her version of ‘clean wine’.

Some of the beautiful people who made the party included British – Trinidadian theatre actress Rebecca Aldred ( nominated for best actress in Trinidad for her role in the play ‘ My Children, My Africa), managing director for Quick Shots, Rvi Chatani, Bijoux’s director Bobby Chandiram and the owners of Hard Rock Cafe, Sanju Chatani and his lovely wife Krisha as well as Dani & Sandra Gonsalves of Beep Beep Tyres, Tanya Phillips, wife of National Meats chief executive officer David Phillips and Paul and Sandy Goldsmith of Car and Driver.

Work Cited: Jamaica Gleaner  Friday, December 22, 2006

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20061222/social

Joseph Issa: Jamaican Travel Agents Charge Clients for Consultations

Joe Issa, the Executive Vice President of the SuperClubs hotel group, has proposed that Jamaican travel agents charge clients for consultations — in much the same way as lawyers and doctors do — to maximise earnings in a challenging market.

Issa’s suggestion, made at a function Saturday night at which SuperClubs honoured its travel agent partners, came against the backdrop of a rise in outfits that allow travellers to book flights and inclusive vacations online, sometimes after they had gathered information from travel agencies.

“The world around us is changing, and we all need to work together to embrace that change in a way that creates innovative ideas so that this present and everlasting change will not consume us,” Issa told the agents at SuperClubs Grand Lido Braco hotel in Trelawny.

Added Issa: “These ever-changing challenges have given rise to Travelocity and Expedia, which allow customers to shop with a travel agent but book online after they [travel agents] have done their due diligence.”

He stressed that technology-driven outfits Travelocity and Expedia were a fact of life, so travel agents, whose numbers have dwindled sharply in the past two decades, had to find ways to respond if they are to stay alive.

Travel agencies mostly earn their incomes in commissions, paid by airlines and other businesses, for making sales on their behalf.

However, these commissions have been declining in recent years in the face of competition, and in the case of airlines, declining business and massive losses since September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Most airlines now pay a commission of six percent, down from nine percent.

Yesterday Pamela Fenton agreed with Issa’s suggestion and indicated that some agencies were already charging fees for some of the services they provide. Usually, those who charge, apply a US$15 processing fee. They also have a schedule of fees for services not directly related to bookings.

However, Fenton, whose own firm, Jetaway Travel applies such charges, suggested that some travel agencies were fearful to follow suit.

“Some agencies do not want to burden the consumers unduly,” she said. “Some are fearful they will lose business as a result. However, it is not so for some agencies who have been doing it, and their customers understand, and they appreciate what we do and the help that is offered.”

Issa, who told the travel agents that they would have to band together to push through innovations, said that travel agencies could start with low rates and increase over time.

However, the agencies, he suggested, could omit fees once a client booked through them.

“For repeat and loyal customers, then, obviously there would be no charge,” he told the Business Observer.