I met Saviera (or Sav) in 2017 when she was back in Ghana to spend Christmas with her sister.

A small group of friends rented a beach house for the weekend to get away from the city and relax. Sav and I clicked as I listened to her talk about her frequent travels working for Domino’s.

At the time, I was working for Booking.com and was averaging eight flights a month dealing with hotel partners in 5 Francophone countries in West and Central Africa. So, this resonated with me.

Here is a quick bio:

Sav (as her family and friends call her) was born in the Philippines but is a Ghanaian girl at heart since she moved to Accra at a young age. She grew up in the capital and graduated from Ghana International School, before heading to study International Studies at Miriam College in the Philippines.

Sav worked in Ghana for about seven years before going to the United States to get an MBA from Hult International School in Boston. She is now based in Hong Kong and through her journey with Domino’s has had the opportunity to visit different franchises in various parts of the world. In this post, Sav shares her insights on how it is to travel around the world when it is an essential part of your role.

Over to You Sav

Before I graduated from my MBA program at Hult International Business School in 2016, I was recruited to join the Domino’s family as a Consultant in Training.

I spent a few months training in Florida before being assigned to focus on projects in Europe. These projects gave me exposure to different parts of the Domino’s business: it included new market openings (opening in a country for the first time), market expansions, improving operations, etc. It was with these projects that I started to travel with Domino’s, visiting Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, and Norway.

In January 2018, I moved to Hong Kong to start my current role as an International Business Consultant supporting Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Today, I support Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

My Role at Domino’s

Essentially, I consult large international franchise organizations in their operations, finances, marketing, and development on a macro-level to drive the globalization of Domino’s. I also protect the brand’s reputation by holding the Master Franchisees (MF); we work with accountable to brand standards.

As part of our business model, all our stores outside the US are run by Master Franchisees. Each country has an MF. Some MFs own the rights to operate in more than one country and they manage their sub-franchisees.

My Traveling Habits

I have an app that tracks my flights  – it’s called “App in the Air“. I logged 87 flights in 2019 and 62 flights the year before.  These are a combination of flights for business and personal travels and usually varies based on the professional demands and my vacation plans.

Whether for business or leisure, I thoroughly enjoy indulging in different delicacies when I arrive at my destination. I always try to eat authentic local dishes whenever I travel.

I always travel with a book (I still like to flip pages) so whenever I check-in, that book goes by my bedside. In general, I like to unpack when I get to my hotel room (toiletries go in the bathroom, clothes go in the closet, etc.) This helps make me feel at “home” in the hotel.

I also have some go-to’s when I travel to the same places regularly. When I used to frequent Bangkok (Thailand), I made sure to eat at Nara. I loved their Gai Hor Bai Toey (Chicken Pandan) and Goong Phad Pong Karee (Prawns with Yellow Curry).

You can also find Som Tam Lao (Pla-Raa) (spicy papaya salad with fermented fish) and Moo Ping (grilled pork skewers) on every corner of Bangkok which was equally amazing. Street food vendors are also my favorite!

In Colombo (Sri Lanka), getting a reservation at The Ministry of Crab was sometimes a bit of a challenge since it’s usually very full. But dining there was always high on my to-do list, whenever I visited the city.  They have a variety of crab sizes from 500g up to 2kg. Regardless of what size crab you settle on, make sure to try their Garlic Chilli crab or the Black Pepper crab.

In Indonesia, Layar Seafood in Surabaya has amazingly fresh seafood. You pick the fresh seafood you want from these big aquariums, that can be cooked in different variations.

You can eat with your hands in Jakarta at the Padang restaurants. Pagi Sore is the one I’ve been to. They bring several cooked dishes to your table and you pick which one you want. There is no need to wait!

The Perks of Being a Frequent Traveler

One of the perks of traveling frequently, is I earn travel miles and hotel points. This leads to more travel, as well as free upgrades on flights and in hotels. I’ve bought plane tickets with miles and stayed at hotels with the points that I accumulated.

I am a member of the Asia Miles frequent-flyer program with Cathay Pacific which is part of the One World Alliance. Since I live in Hong Kong, it’s easier to earn points with a loyalty program of an airline based out of that city.

I prefer to stay at hotels in the Hilton chain. I started with the Hilton, because the chain has over 570 hotels all over the world, meaning that you can always find a hotel in big and smaller cities. Also, they guarantee the lowest price meaning if you find better rates on a different website, they match it.

The nicest hotel that I’ve stayed at is the Habtoor Palace Dubai, LXR Hotels & Resorts (also part of the Hilton). I was upgraded to one of their suites during my stay and it was heavenly! The room was three times bigger than my apartment in Hong Kong and the service was impeccable.

My visit to Beijing (China) last year, was purchased with my miles for the plane ticket and hotel points for accommodation. This meant that I only had to budget for food, local transportation, and my day tours.

In 2019, one of my personal goals was to visit six continents in one year. I was able to achieve this, with the help of miles and hotel points (I didn’t make it to Antarctica in case you were wondering).

For personal travel, the length of my stay depends on the distance of the travel: the further it is, the longer I tend to stay in the region. I traveled to Michigan from Hong Kong for work last year, so it made sense to go to Brazil for five days to visit a friend.

When I went to Europe last year, to meet up with family and friends, I stayed for about 10 days visiting the Netherlands, Belgium, and Croatia.

Beijing was a shorter journey, so I did that over a long weekend. My trip to Australia was for work and I was there for about five days. I visited South Africa and Mozambique during the Christmas holidays, so I was there for about 14 days total.

Travel is hard work (sometimes…)

Fortunately, I’ve never woken up trying to remember which country I am in, but there are a few struggles around adjusting to time difference, jet lag and fatigue.

Daily start and end times vary during my work travel, depending on the need of the market that I am visiting. This sometimes makes it difficult to maintain a routine – which can be disorienting.

Don’t underestimate medical support when traveling. I’ve had to rush to a hospital in India and the hassle of looking for a clean, sanitized, and reliable medical facility that would accommodate me made for a very negative and traumatic experience.  If I had prepared better, it would have most likely gone more smoothly.

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way I do my work. Since most people are currently not able to travel, it’s easier to manage times speaking with colleagues in the US, Dubai, or Amsterdam or even in the markets that I support in the region.

Before, I had to try to take most of my phone calls with the US at night or early in the morning, when I’m at the hotel. Phone calls with the markets I support were not as frequent because we would rather have face to face meetings.

This has been, by far, the longest time I’ve stayed in Hong Kong without traveling.

I finally bought a dining table after two and a half years in the city, (haha)! I didn’t really need one before, but spending more time at home, I’m enjoying making my apartment “homier”.

I’ve been able to go to the gym more frequently as well as, make more plans with friends since I know I’ll be in HK the week after, and the week after that, and the week after that, for the foreseeable future… Hey, I’m not complaining – I definitely get to enjoy the plethora of food HK has to offer!

Traveling frequently has taught me a lot about optimal organization and time management in both my personal and professional lives. It’s easy for the year to go by really fast and not have a personal life if I don’t handle it well.

Additionally, with a fast-paced travel life, having some stability and “constants” in my life has been important to stay in touch with “sanity”. Creating a home in my apartment was essential in this process, as well as the family support I receive, regardless of where I go. This is crucial for my mental health.

I Wouldn’t Change it For Anything!

There’s no other quick service restaurant (QSR) I’d rather work for.  I reckon successful businesses can shift gears and can adjust in various situations. I’m proud we are one of those businesses. Domino’s prompt response to Covid-19 was very positive and our results show it.

While we value the face to face interaction with our Franchisees, Domino’s has always prioritized the health and well-being of our team members. Our ability to travel is not only subject to the countries we live in, but also the safety and security in the countries we work with and their local limitations and protocols.

I encourage people to not only travel but immerse and experience local cultures and food; it’s an eye-opening learning experience to look through the lens of others which for me is invaluable.
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Got any questions? Connect with Saviera on LinkedIn.