June 18 and 19, agents and members of the KHM Travel Group Team visited Apple Leisure Group’s (ALG) headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pam from our Agent Support Team, Marie from our Group Team, and Misty, from our Membership Team along with eight of our agents got a firsthand look at the work that they do every day to help our agents and discussed how we can continue to strengthen our partnership.
Jennifer Greenfield, our Business Development Managers (BDM) and Cheryl Hudak, Regional Director of Sales, welcomed the group to their offices and were on hand throughout the visit to answer questions. Jennifer gave an overview of Apple Leisure Group’s offerings and how their travel protection adds value to clients’ vacations. The learning continued as agents were introduced to shortcuts and tips for using VAXVacationAccess. VAXVacationAccess is a powerful booking tool that is exclusive to travel agents. It allows agents to book travel through all six of the Apple Leisure Group brands.
In the afternoon of the first day, agents dove into the marketing tools that ALG provides to help agents share their value and match their clients to the right vacations. This is especially important for agents that are working with multiple clients or a group that will be traveling together. The Apple Leisure Group team shared how they support agents who want to provide travel to groups. They also helped to explain how their competitive group rates help agents ensure their clients can get the most vacation for their dollar.
As the afternoon turned to evening, agents learned how Apple Leisure Group is continuing to asses the support they offer agents, through their online tools and their call centers. They understand that agents often need a direct line to their services and are working to improve their support through added personnel and ensuring their team is trained as much as possible. After this discussion, agents heard from AMResorts and learned how this umbrella of brands has a resort to suit many different types of travelers. Within AMResorts, Secrets provides a sophisticated adults-only escape while Breathless Resorts and Spas welcomes guests looking for a modern resort with exciting activities to partake in. For families, Sunscape Resorts and Spas is a sure bet for a high-energy, fun-filled vacation. Zoetry Wellness and Spa Resorts welcomes guests looking for a holistic experience with exceptional service.
The next day, David, ALG’s Wellness Officer, offered his insights in maintaining wellness amidst the sometimes-hectic schedule of running a travel business, and Marie shared how our Group Team supports agents as they work with ALG and other travel suppliers to plan group travel for their clients.
“Being able to visit a supplier’s headquarters is a pretty special occasion. It was nice to see the inner workings of how they support the agent community,” said Marie.
– Marie Smith, Lead Group Development Specialist
Marie also noted that Apple Leisure Group is invested in helping agents understand travel trends and how they can continue to build on their past success. She said, “Each attending agent was provided with their own scorecard which is their production year over year for 2018 and 2019. Seeing how they perform and what hotels and destinations they are selling was neat… It was also a great time to have the agents review their best practices with each other.”
Thank you to Apple Leisure Group for hosting a group of our agents and providing our team with key insights on how to grow their businesses with ALG.
Are you interested in becoming a travel agent? Learn more about how KHM Travel Group uses key relationships like the one we have with Apple Leisure Group to help people across the United States start and grow their travel business by filling out the form to the right or giving our team a call at 1-888-611-1220.