For the past 20+ years, MLT University has hosted one of the premier travel agent educational events in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This year, the event underwent a change of name (to Delta Vacations University) and a change in location (to Atlanta).

Despite the shake up, the conference remained a smoothly-run, highly valuable event for travel agents. September 17th and 18th, more than 1,100 travel professionals ventured to the Georgia International Convention Center for two days of classes, trade shows, and networking.

We are also excited to announce that the coupons for exclusive offers and incentives that our Delta Vacations attendees received are going to be passed along to all KHM Travel Group agents! More details on the the offers, which launch September 26th, will be available soon in your Portal – so stay tuned!

President of Delta Vacations, John Caldwell, welcomes travel agents to Atlanta and discusses the event’s theme, “Traveling Forward Together.”

KHM Travel Group made our presence known at this year’s conference, with 102 of our agents in attendance. Not only was this the most of any agency at this year’s conference, it was a record number of agents in the 23-year history of the conference!

Delta Vacations was able to fill up almost every minute of these two days with something valuable or beneficial to travel agents. It all kicked off on Friday evening with a welcome reception at the Porsche Experience Center, which was sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Attendees really felt like high rollers among the sleek, iconic Porsches and bedazzled Las Vegas showgirls!

Life in the last lane at the Porsche Experience on Friday night with our agents and partners at Delta Vacations!

Classes began after breakfast on Saturday morning. Delta Vacations added 20 new courses this year, adding to the variety of an already diverse mix of topics. They included everything from destination-based topics like Hawaii and Hong Kong, to brand-specific sessions like Avalon River Cruising and RIU Hotels, to skill-building sessions on leading teams and selling through social media.

Saying hello to a few KHM Travel Agents on Saturday morning before the conference kicked off.

Saturday’s keynote speaker, Walter Bond, brought his years as an NBA player and entrepreneur to the stage to inspire agents to build a winning business. His main messages (which were sprinkled with engaging, humorous personal anecdotes) were for agents to be confident, operate efficiently, and learn what it takes to be a star in the travel industry.

KHM Travel Agents hungry for knowledge (and lunch!) during Saturday’s general session.

Before the trade show on Saturday, the KHM Travel Group contingent gathered for brief messages from KHM Travel’s Senior Vice President of Agent Operations Lisa Findura, our President/CEO Rick Zimmerman and our event sponsors. This also gave us the perfect chance to take a group photo!

Saturday night’s reception venue, the Delta Flight Museum, transported travel agents back through aviation history. Between restored passenger planes, one-of-a-kind aircrafts, and galleries of past flight attendant costumes, there were food stations and bars set up to highlight cocktails from different destinations.

What better place for travel agent party than a flight museum?

Sunday morning brought a new itinerary of classes for everyone, and during breakfast and lunch special presentations on The Bahamas and Hawaii had the audience dreaming of their next island getaway.

Some booths at the tradeshow – like Hawaii’s – included live entertainment!

Both afternoons, 3 pm marked the end of class sessions and the beginning of the tradeshow. KHM Travel Agents connected with different destination and resort representatives, competed in contests and in several cases, even won airfare or complimentary nights at resorts!

Thank you to all the KHM Travel Agents that attended Delta Vacations University this year! We can’t say enough about how much we appreciate your dedication and enthusiasm for expanding your travel and business knowledge.

Industry events like Delta Vacations are fantastic opportunities to meet and connect with peers!

Of course, we have to thank our partners at Delta Vacations, Lucretia Webb and Vince Marsala, for their continued support of our agents both at the conference and on a daily basis.

To see KHM Travel Group’s upcoming live events, visit TravelAgentMeeting.com.

To find out how you can join our family of independent travel agents, fill out the form on the right or call 1-888-611-1220 to receive our free information packet.