Joel Widzer (August 25, 1961) is an American author of travel related literature, consultant, media figure, and travel strategist. He received his BS from Pepperdine University—Malibu (1986), his PhD from United States International University (renamed Alliant International University) (2001), also known as the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management He is currently the managing partner of JlwConsulting a division of JetReady LLC.

In 1999 he wrote The Penny Pincher’s Passport to Luxury Travel—The Art of Cultivating Preferred Customer Service.

Widzer pioneer writing about luxury travel at a discount. Previous to his work the conventional wisdom among travelers’ was to get the lowest price travel without concern to experience. His efforts in seeking the value proposition of travel were precursors to what eventually evolved into a new body of travel discussing luxury at a discount. Most notable are his strategies for obtaining first class upgrades which has been profiled in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and the TV show Inside Edition among others. Joseph Micthelli wrote in his 2008 book The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company that Widzer put is best by saying that "We all work hard in whatever field of endeavor we have chosen, and so it is vital to reward ourselves whenever we have the opportunity. I have found luxury travel to be a well-deserved reward for hard work."

His writings have appeared in USA Today, Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Washington Post, and Money Magazine. He has also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, Fox News, Fine Living, and Inside Edition. He has regularly written for MSNBC and Forbes .

Widzer’s travel writing gained national exposure in 2005 when he started writing for Tripso.com which led to his writing for MSNBC. While writing for Tripso.com Widzer was widely criticized in travel blogs as an apologist or shell for the airlines .

Critics of Widzer cite that his work often takes a positive position towards airlines and that he strongly promotes adherence to airline loyalty programs . His philosophy is that loyalty is rewarded by travel providers which in turns generate enhanced perks and services for those consumers whom are loyal. Critics argue that customer loyalty is dead in the airline industry and therefore there is no reason to be loyal. Widzer counter this position with his experience of traveling approximately 250,000 miles a year with over 3 million frequent fliers miles and travels to over 103 individual countries. He claims that he is upgraded on all of his airline flights due to his loyalty.

Besides his allegiance to being a loyal consumer Widzer often talks about his “Contrarian Strategy” which he describes as traveling to locations and times when other are not. In one article he wrote “With airlines flying at capacity levels and luxury hotels experiencing higher occupancies, getting a luxury bargain at a discount is becoming increasingly difficult. The best solution is to have a contrarian mindset”.

Within the same article he outlined six contrarian strategies:

• Contrarian Strategy #1 : Look for out-of-the-way destinations that are not overrun with seasonal tourists. Often these are the very places offering low airfares.

• Contrarian Strategy #2 : Use your frequent-flyer miles and loyalty points.

• Contrarian Strategy #3 : By combining frequent-guest points with a special promotion, you can get a better deal.

• Contrarian Strategy #4 : Skip the “must-see” sights that you couldn’t care less about, and do something you really like.

• Contrarian Strategy #5 : Spend your money on experiences that matter to you.

• Contrarian Strategy #6 : Look for luxury hotel properties under new ownership or renovation, but avoid booking during reopening festivities, when prices go up.)

The book Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?: How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000.00 or More Writing Niche Books & How You Can Too!, by Marc McCutcheon (Quill Driver Books, 2001, 2006): states on p 52 that Widzer’s book Penny Pincher’s Passport to Luxury Travel was the number one selling travel book in 1999. Wider has also been quotes in Scam-Proof Your Life: 377 Smart Ways to Protect You & Your Family from Ripoffs, Bogus Deals & Other Consumer Headaches, by Sid Kirchheimer, AARP (Sterling Publishing, 2006): Quoted on pp. 152, 154, 165, 167, 169, 171. And Worry-Free Family Finances: Three Steps to Building and Maintaining Your Family's Financial Well-Being, by Bill Staton and Mary Staton (McGraw-Hill, 2003): Quoted on p. 67.

His contribution to books include ; The Business Person's Book of Lists (Adams Media); 2006):; and Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune (Travelers' Tales, 2006).

Widzer’s work is not limited to travel writing. Relying on is training in business and psychology he has consulted with a number of organizations. His work combines his travel experience with is education as he advises corporate on issues ranging from travel fatigue to gaining added value in their travels. One of his approaches is to take a hybrid needs analysis something often used in organizational psychology to determine a specific travelers’ profile. Which he claims to add value, saves money and eases the experience of business travel.

Much of Widzer’s writings and professional consulting is based on the work of Frederick Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect. Authors that have also influenced Widzer’s work are; Jeffrey Gitomer, Jill Griffin, and Valarie A. Zeithaml, whom are widely cited in his doctoral dissertation ““Customer Retention of Business Travelers in the Airline Industry,” United States International University, 2001.

Many of Widzer's articles, interviews, columns and videos are available for viewing and sharing online (free of charge) at JetReady.

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