A Tokyo Destination Manager on Collaborating Effectively with her Global Team

We caught up with Maki Wanatabe, destination manager for Japan, after her trip to the Berlin headquarters for our Winter Summit. The annual event is an opportunity for members of our global team to gather in Berlin to learn, socialize, align on goals, and meet team members and stakeholders in person.

Maki tells us about her role, why she chose to work with us, and how she collaborates effectively with the global and regional teams.

I’m Maki, a destination manager based in our Tokyo office. I’m originally from Kobe in Osaka Bay, and my job is to grow our presence in Japan. For those who don’t know, a destination manager is someone who works with suppliers like tours and activities, and gets their products and services onto the GetYourGuide platform.

As someone working in one of our local offices, what’s the most critical thing about succeeding in this role?

Knowing how to collaborate across teams, countries, and departments is absolutely crucial. Working effectively together is the fastest and most efficient way to learn about the company, systems, and even to offer advice to our headquarters about how to tackle my region.

What are some good examples of collaboration and teamwork that you’ve seen here?

Our international offices are organized according to region: Americas, EMEA, and APAC. In APAC we have offices in Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Tokyo. All the APAC destination managers have weekly huddles to share wins and learnings.

They’re not all official meetings. Sometimes I reach out to someone whom I think has the most relevant experiences to discuss the challenges I face. I truly appreciate the collaboration culture here, it’s very open, and people aren’t afraid to praise one another.

In traditional companies here in Japan, I’ve seen sales teams withhold information, even information that could help the company grow, but they don’t share the insights because sales managers may consider themselves competitors within the company.

That’s not the case here. Each destination manager owns their destination. We all know that each of us represent the brand in our respective locations. We’re all on one team, so their reputation in GetYourGuide is my reputation as well.

You recently went to Berlin for our Winter Summit, how did that experience foster collaboration and amplify the cross-cultural and regional collaboration?

My experience in Berlin was inspiring and exhausting, in a good way. The Winter Summit was an incredible opportunity to talk about our 2020 strategy and ask questions in person. Understanding the strategy with other destinations, along with case studies, was the most important lesson for me. Knowing what has and hasn’t worked previously helps me leverage the learnings in the Tokyo office.

During my visit to the Berlin headquarters, I tried to get as much face time with colleagues as possible. I met with other destination managers to discuss internal projects and to brainstorm ways we could add more value to customers for existing experiences. I noticed that this approach to partnership often surprises our suppliers. That’s just one of the things that makes me proud of working here.

What else do you like about working at GetYourGuide?

One of my favorite things about working here is that the company takes care of its employees. I felt this for the first time during my five interviews. Each interviewee showed respect, and it was clear that they wanted to make sure I could adapt to the culture here

Once I joined, there were two things that I felt like the team did really well:

1. Respect during the face-to-face meeting: In my experience working in Japan, it’s common to see foreign companies impose their management style on to Japanese culture. As a result, they can’t succeed in this country. GetYourGuide respects the local culture and the input of destination managers. In fact, this makes me feel even more responsible for owning my destination.
2. Seldom tell me what I need to do but often ask me what I would like to do.

Another thing that stands out about working here, is that the company supports our travels to meet with suppliers. In my previous experience of working in different companies, the travel budget is often the first thing to be cut from costs. But as someone who works in sales, particularly in the Japanese market, where traditional business manners still play a big part of business, face-to-face meetings with suppliers make a significant impact on the company and builds a deeper understanding of the destination.

I feel like the company respects the decisions of the employees. When I decided on my Objectives and Key Results, my manager never said what I should do, but always asked my input and opinion. He, of course, gives me feedback and asks questions, but he lets me think for myself, and lets me decide what to do. With such a respectful environment, I feel more motivated to grow and be responsible for the success of my own destination.

Interested in joining our sales team or working in our Tokyo office? Check out the roles on our Careers page.

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