OSSN Brings Training – and ‘Sideways’ Side Trips – to San Jose!
by Martin Deutsch

article continued from

He also predicted that San Jose would attract an even greater attendance of travel agent delegates and that as many as 70 percent to 80 percent of the attendees will be home-based agents.

Besides the all-day program that OSSN will offer that Thursday, Fee's organization will also mount a three-hour Home Based track on Friday afternoon, from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., with programs encompassing technology, sales and marketing, the role of host agencies and how to launch a home-based travel agency or transition from an existing brick-and-mortar location. OSSN will also play a role in the General Session on Saturday morning at the San Jose Convention Center. The center will also play host to the Friday morning training sessions by CLIA and the Travel Institute, the full schedule of nine seminars/panels and presentations on Friday afternoon, as well as the trade show hours from 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

The OSSN National Conference will be held at the prestigious Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, which will serve as headquarters hotel for this Bay Area weekend, offering rates of $129 per double room for all delegates. And it's first-come/first-served.

Gary Fee has also announced that his West Coast associate, Anita Balamane, will act as Chairman for OSSN's activities that weekend. Ms. Balamane is putting together a far-ranging program for OSSN member travel agents, as well as initiating a roster of provocative activities. For example, she is planning a post-weekend cruise for OSSN out of Los Angeles (yes, Los Angeles), spotlighting a motorcoach tour on the way south, based on the Oscar-winning 2005 movie "Sideways." Like the movie, this tour would make stops in the Santa Barbara wine country for a series of premium tastings.

Among the high points of the regular weekend program will be a keynote speech at the General Session on Saturday morning by Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises and incoming chairman of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Three other travel industry leaders will also deliver keynote speeches; this session will be chaired by James Shillinglaw, editor of the Performance Media Group.

Other weekend activities will include a three-hour presentation by the Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance (NCMA), a three-hour seminar track on selling and marketing honeymoons and romantic getaways, sponsored meal functions, and an attractive array of travel prizes to be given away in the closing minutes of the Saturday afternoon trade show session.

Among the sponsors for the Home Based Agent Show and the Honeymoon & Romantic getaways show and conference are the following: The Travel Institute; U.S. Tour Operators Assn. (USTOA); CLIA; Agent@Home magazine and Modern Agent magazine; Bridal Guide Magazine; Pacific Asia Travel Assn. (PATA); Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO); Global Travel Intl. (GTI), among others.

Here's how to sign up: Travel agents who wish to take advantage of the "two agents for $49" early-bird San Jose registration fee, good thru the end of May, can do so by accessing www.homebasedagentshow.com and using the promotion code 3044. Or, they can call (925) 701-0225 and press "0" to speak with a registration representative. Suppliers can call Jim Cloonan at (617) 744-1671 for more show information.