Chuck Weisbart knows a thing or two about travel and travel products.
His career ultimately began at 17 years old, with a job as a stock boy at a Southern California luggage store. He went on to study architectural design in college at USC, only to take positions in finance and as a product designer for Samsonite.
As owner of “It’s… in the Bag!” travel retail store in Palm Desert for more than 20 years, he has had the opportunity to travel, frequent industry trade shows, gain access to Transportation Security Administration blogs, research different International travel security processes and have airline information at his fingertips
Weisbart has packaged this information in a series of “B4-U-GO” seminars, and the next one is slated for 10 a.m. Sept. 7 at the store, 72363 Highway 111, Suite A2 (next to Islands and I-HOP).
The Seminar
Travel requirements change daily, so the monthly B4-U-GO! seminars are always filled with new information.
Even the most saavy travelers can be enlightened. On seminar days, doors open at 9 a.m. and the store converts its backspace into a meeting area.
Weisbart (pictured at right) advises to prepare for the seminar by bringing a cup of coffee and a sense of humor.
“I want guests to enjoy themselves on their trip and to leave here with a sense of confidence so that packing is the least of their worries and they have very little stress,” he says.
Topics might include:
• Travel security
• Technology awareness/ radio frequency detection
• What to leave behind
• Will my electronics/appliances work in other countries?
• How to get through airport security?
• Changing airline duties and luggage
Health and Hygiene…
What, you might ask? Well, Weisbart can give hints on:
• How not to get deep vein thrombosis on a long flight.
• How to prevent jetlag.
• How to avoid common causes of travel dysentery.
Did You Know?
• Using the wrong converter can melt your laptop?
• Just sitting on an airplane is the most common way a traveler gets sick.
• If it plugs in, tunes in, or turns on…bring it with you in your carry-on
The Store
“It’s… in the Bag!” recently acquired more space to accommodate the intricacies of the travel business. The décor gives off an “adventure vibe” with products arranged for easy navigation. Customers can seek out daily consultation on everything from where to go and what to wear.
They are also the brilliant creators of the “My Tag” and “Tude Tag”- a clever luggage identifier to “cure what frequent travelers refer to as ‘the black plague at baggage claim”. You can customer order or purchase a tag so that you won’t lose your luggage at the carousel.
Top Travel Trends:
According to Weisbart, more people are “going lighter – lighter packing, lighter clothing, lighter everything.” Many older customers are seeking out more “bucket list” destinations with a tendency toward third world travel.
“I see more folks wanted an experience such as a Safari, something they’ve never done before,” he says.
