KHM Travel Group Hosts First Group Camp Event
Written by: Michelle on March 19, 2024
KHM Travel Group’s first-ever Group Camp brought together our group travel experts and supplier partners to help agents learn how to curate unforgettable group vacations for their clients. The four-day event was developed to assist agents in meeting the growing consumer demand for shared cruise and land experiences.
The event featured a combination of guided instruction, hands-on activities, group discussions, Q&A sessions, and an evening dinner off-site sponsored by Royal Caribbean.
Group Camp sessions covered the entire process of a group including:
- Developing the Group
- Securing the Group
- Promoting the Group
- Managing the Group
- Completing the Group
KHM Travel Group’s dynamic group travel experts – Kevin Kelly and Joanne Shikitino – have a combined 70 years of experience. Kevin launched his first Super Bowl-themed cruise, called the Super Cruise, over 30 years ago with a group of 56. Since then, Kevin and Joanne have built this event into 1,000 cruisers annually. They just returned from their 30th Super Cruise in February!
“Group travel is growing at an exponential rate. More agents are looking to make this a part of their business. To do so, and do it well, we are sharing the process of a group from start to finish. Everything from reviewing a contract to managing the accounting side of payments and commissions, all aspects are explained. Our goal is to give agents a clear path to walk for booking groups,” said KHM Travel Group’s Education Manager Carolyn Orf.
Attendees of Group Camp enjoyed learning in a relaxed atmosphere with an open forum to ask questions. Representatives from ALG Vacations, Allianz, Carnival Cruise Line, Europe Express, Globus family of brands, Travel Leaders Network, Royal Caribbean, and Vacation Express also contributed by sharing helpful tips and techniques for booking groups with their brands.
“We found the travel agents’ engagement to be very positive, and we appreciated the questions during our presentation as well as the more in-depth discussions afterward. Our goal is to continue to provide the support and resources needed for KHM Travel Group’s agents to feel confident in booking contracted groups with Vacation Express…We truly value our partnership with KHM Travel Group and are excited about the opportunity to grow the group business in 2024 and beyond!”
Casey Law, Director of Group Sales, Vacation Express
“This was KHM Travel Group’s first Group Camp and proved to be worth the initiative. I not only had the time to present for my brand, but we also flew in a Groups Manager to assist with all the tips/tricks/FAQs that these group producers could possibly have. We spent quality time with quality agents. We not only took a deep dive into our group policies and processes, but also strategically planned steps to grow their groups. This has already resulted in new and incremental business.”
Kathy Killen, Strategic Account Manager, Royal Caribbean International
Group Camp is just one of the educational events KHM Travel Group offers. We host Boot Camp 1.0, Boot Camp 2.0, Destination Success, The Luxury Symposium, On the Concourse, and the Crystal Conference. New for 2024, we’re offering a live streaming option for select events, so agents can watch from home.
View photos from Group Camp on KHM Travel Group’s Flickr account.