July 2010
Thanks for a Great Show!
by Gary M. Fee
Many thanks to all of you from OSSN Headquarters and from Travel Show Marketing Group for helping us get this new home-based training event off to a roaring start!
The conference opened on Monday, May 24, with rousing keynote remarks from MSC Cruises President (and CLIA Chairman) Rick Sasso and Sandals Vice President Gary Sadler, followed by standing-room-only seminars with Keith and Martha Powell, Anita Pagliasso, Melody Fee, and many other presenters on topics ranging from growing your group bookings to selling incentive cruises. The day ended with a sunset reception around the pool at our host property, the Town & Country Resort in San Diego.
On Tuesday, May 25, the forum continued with breakfast courtesy of Sandals, followed by a general session (which I moderated) featuring Dondra Ritzehthaler (senior vice president of sales, Celebrity Cruises), Tom Storey (president, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts), James Shillinglaw (editor in chief, Performance Media Group), William Maloney (former president, ASTA), and Michael Going (president, Funjet Vacations) sharing many tips for success in the travel business. Our friends at the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority provided lunch for everyone, with more helpful seminars in the afternoon (covering topics such as cruise booking trends and tapping into niche group bookings). The trade show floor also opened that afternoon for crowds of agents to meet with friendly suppliers.
Wednesday, May 26, was the last day of this conference, with presentations by Celebrity Cruises, famed travel attorney Al Anolik, and other speakers and the final session of the trade show.
Want to see what you missed? Take a look at these online photo galleries posted by OSSN's official photographer for the show! (If you like specific photos, you can click on them to order your own copies!):
Also, here's a quick rundown of comments we've received from a few suppliers who took part in the conference:
- "Overall, I thought the show was VERY good with interested agents. We already have a 2011 Group Quote in the works. Very good-some seasoned agents and some NEW interested agents." (Jim Kelly, CIE Tours)
- "The Home Based Travel Agent Forum exceeded its potential for this rollout event. The agent attendees were involved and active which is what we were looking for. Keep up the good work and we will see you in Miami." (Larry Dessler, Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance)
- "Very nice volume of traffic to our booth. Excellent show for the many times forgotten home based travel agent." (Victor Fernandez, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority)
Already, we've loaded the registration information for the Miami conference this fall (Sept. 27-29) at www.homebasedtravelagentforum.com. Note: The ship inspection details have just been added to this web site - and those inspection space will go very fast! They are strictly first-come, first-served. Don't wait to register!
(Credits: Gary Fee; Affordable Photo and Video)
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