Meet Rhonda Carges

Executive Vice President of Operations

The backstory

Career paths are funny things. Right out of college, Rhonda got a job as a secretary with a large law firm. But she wasn't destined to make the legal field her career -- only the first half of it. Fortunately, the firm invested in their staff with generous training in communications, human resources, and sales. Rhonda took advantage of all of it and worked her way up to management, overseeing 100 secretaries. But law firms are demanding of time, and ultimately Rhonda left in search of flexibility. She found it with friend and business partner, Nicole Mahoney.

Professional path

Today Rhonda brings more than 20 years of sales and new business development to the table. She's a master at creating relationships and has a deep understanding of sales strategies, creating win-win opportunities for BTI's tourism clients. She serves on ABA's Marketplace Education Committee, I Love NY's China-Ready Committee and Canadian Roadshow Committee, the New York State Tourism Industry Association's Empire State Tourism Conference Scholarship Committee and is a co-chair of the Professional Women of the Finger Lakes' Women of Distinction Awards Committee. Rhonda is 2005 past chairperson of the Visitor Industry Council for Visit Rochester. Rhonda and her staff are able to act as a much-needed sales arm for Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), providing management, tracking and reporting, and of course-- closing those sales successfully.

With her easy-going personality and high attention to detail, Rhonda is able to put her management skills to work as BTI's HR person, and Office and Operations manager.

Inside the office she loves:

Her team. Working with clients and prospects. Developing relationships. Mentoring. Team building. Closing sales.

Outside the office she loves:

Her three children, Jesse, Leah & Nina. Taking walks with their dog, Daisy. Her wonderful network of friends. Her woman’s euchre group. The Finger Lakes of New York State. Reading. Volunteering her time with various community organizations including: Camp Good Days & Special Times, Professional Women of the Finger Lakes and CMAC.

Rhonda Carges

"Communication and sales go hand-in-hand. It's about listening."

Posts from Rhonda

Marketing for Group Travel: Building Solid Relationships with Tour Operators

Marketing for Group Travel: Building Solid Relationships with Tour Operators

By Rhonda | March 13, 2024

Group travel is a significant segment of the tourism market, and if you want to see those buses pulling up…

Read More
creating sample travel itineraries

Creating Sample Travel Itineraries – Dos and Don’ts

By Rhonda | October 25, 2023

Creating sample travel itineraries in the tourism industry is simply a must. They are an opportunity to highlight the many…

Read More

Under, around and in between: Hidden gems in tourism

By Rhonda | September 26, 2023

The idea of overtourism has been discussed in the United Kingdom and Europe for more than twenty years but only…

Read More
Financial Benefits of Group Travel [Image with men boarding a red bus with backpacks and musical instruments on their backs]

Financial Benefits of Group Travel

By Rhonda | August 1, 2023

Tourism is an economic engine. Pre-Covid, the economic impact of tourism was at an all-time high, generating $1.9 trillion in…

Read More

Insights from TAP Dance 2023

By Rhonda | July 2, 2023

Travel Alliance Partners (TAP) was established in 2001 as an organization of premier North American Tour Operators who offer unique products from more…

Read More
ELEMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE TOURISM WORLD

Elemental Photography in the Tourism World

By Rhonda | June 7, 2023

All tourism photography has one thing in common- an element that evokes a reaction, a feeling, or a desire to…

Read More