How do you get to spend 8 days on one of the world’s newest, swankiest cruise ships with more than a thousand of your peers? At the Vacation.com Conference!
From April 24th through May 2nd, travel agents and travel industry professionals from around the country sailed on Quantum of the Seas for Vacation.com’s 17th Annual Conference. They spent their days at sea engaged in supplier training sessions, educational panels with industry executives, and at networking events. Passengers also spent some time exploring two ports of call in the Bahamas, Nassau and Cococay.
KHM Travel had 28 travel agents in attendance on the cruise, along with our President/CEO Rick Zimmerman and our Agent Systems Support specialist, Madison Isom. On the second evening, KHM Travel hosted a meet-and-greet session with our agents at Two70, the Quantum’s state-of-the-art entertainment venue.
“We had a good mixture of experienced and new agents,” says Madison. “For us, it’s a massive networking opportunity and we really got to learn from other agents and suppliers.”
Madison was asked to speak on Vacation.com’s Young Professionals panel along with several other young travel industry executives. The panelists discussed finding a niche, marketing in the 21st century, and the evolution of technology in the travel industry.
When asked how new agents should define their niche, Madison suggested that they “think about what destinations you Google at night, and make that your niche.”
Other parts of the seminar revolved around the role of social media. According to Madison, the take-away for travel agents is that social media is an effective marketing tool, but it’s not crucial to master every single platform.
“Just pick one or two, and be awesome at them,” says Madison.
KHM Travel Group is a member of the Vacation.com Consortium. Through our affiliation with this group, our agents gain access to Vacation.com’s powerful suite of tools, including the CruisePro booking engine. One-on-one training sessions for CruisePro were offered during the conference, as well as seminars on Vacation.com’s Hotel Solutions and Agent Snapshot tool.
In addition to the learning opportunities, the conference guests enjoyed all the innovative features and decor onboard the Quantum, including the Bionic Bar with robotic bartenders, and the North Star, a capsule that raises passengers up above the ship for stunning 360 degree views.
We enjoyed seeing the agents who attended this fun, influential industry event! Join us for future events to expand your travel knowledge and meet your fellow travel agents! For more information on joining our family of independent travel agents, fill out the form on the right or call 1-888-611-1220.