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Powered by TravelAge West, the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat was held at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Resort from August 28-31.
The retreat is designed for travel professionals ages 22-37 to gather, connect and bond with each other – both personally and professionally. This year, more than 80 professionals attended what was dubbed “Life Changing” Week.
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The event’s sponsor, Playa Hotels and Resorts, kicked off the event with the theme, “Emily in Paris.” Andrea Wright, Vice President of United States Sales at Playa Hotels & Resorts welcomed future travel industry leaders to the event line-up.
“Americans work to work and the French work to live,” Wright told the audience, informing the next generation of the travel industry how they should develop this mindset in their daily lives, not only because of their importance to the future, but also to the future. The industry, but the whole world.
It was the beginning of many words of wisdom to be shared throughout the week.
Professional development, development, improvement
The event featured participants and speakers from both suppliers and consultants, all with a wide range of experience.
After a thorough application process, approximately 50 consultants were screened and selected to participate in this special event. While many have started their careers in the travel industry in the past few years, all are eager to learn and make new connections.
“It’s really exciting to see how many young mentors are out there,” said Mallory Jones, a vacationer worth watching. “Everyone is very eager and ready to grow the business.”
Two-day supplier-consultant appointments put two consultants at the supplier’s table for a 10-minute meeting to learn more about the brand while meeting with a brand representative.
Having 10 mentors participate in the 2021 Future Leaders Travel Retreat helped foster development. The guides shared their own words of wisdom and gave new industry mentors a shoulder to lean on and brain to pick from.
Ryan Taylor of Ryan F&T said: “It’s important for young professionals in the industry that future leaders in travel come to this event, mainly because it breaks up a lot of the monotony of going to regular industry events just to learn about the vendors.” he said. “It focuses more on building a relationship and I think it does a great job of improving the relationship between the agent and the supplier.”
In addition to hearing from industry experts on the keys to diversifying revenue streams, industry innovations and supplier-mentor relationships, Future Leaders presented two separate workshops at the travel retreat.
“Personal Selling; Take Control From the Start!” Presented by Jane Lee, VP Industry Engagement & Support, Travel Planners International. She highlights personality selling techniques for consultants to better understand how to interact with their clients – from the commanding bull, the detail-oriented owl, the thoughtful sheep, and the friendly but distracted tiger.
Another workshop titled “Part of the Solution” was sponsored by G Adventures. Here, consultants and vendors are grouped together to address real-world business challenges and tips on how to solve them. Advisors and vendors are brought together and share their best practices in key areas such as marketing, billing, vendor-advisor relationships, and more.
“This event was an eye-opener, especially for a young person like me,” said Jeffrey Pawid, North Region USA Sales Director for Exotica. “I know there are a lot of young people in the industry, and some have experience and some don’t. The common sense and common pain points as well as the successes are eye opening for me as a provider and I’m sure for travel advisors as well.
Connecting with peers
The connections made in the appointments and workshops continued further during the private dinners at Le Blanc Los Cabos and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, as well as sunrise yoga on day three and a group activity tour on the final day. Most attendees went on a catamaran cruise to snorkel past the magnificent arch of Cabo San Lucas and swim off the coast of Chillino Bay.
Relationships are key, and this event provided a space for young mentors and presenters to further develop critical relationships.
Emily Zwiebel of ET Family Travel said, “Through the interactions this week, I’ve learned to respect my self-worth. “By this I mean, not working smart, but working hard, increasing pay for extra work, [and] Finding creativity. I am full of knowledge. I can take that market and make a profit. I’m not just an independent contractor – I’m a business owner. My next shift in thinking was really a lesson.
Shannon Burke-Banks, Senior Account Manager, National Accounts, Globus Family of Brands, points out why attending the event is critical for suppliers to build relationships.
“As the event is so named in our industry, it’s a truly unique opportunity to interact with future leaders and get exposure to your product in a way you wouldn’t otherwise be able to,” said Burke-Banks.
For Tyson Wharton, owner of Sioux Empire Travel, the opportunity to experience the retreat was “amazing.”
“By the end of the week, I had made invaluable connections with suppliers, other consultants and travel industry leaders. I had a notebook full of ideas on how to improve my business, big and small. I understand myself, my clients, and others in my life better because of Jen Lee’s BOLT workshop… Overall, it was one of those business growth moments where I learned so much from energy, support, and most importantly,” Wharton said. .
“Through our panels and supplier partners, my eyes have been opened to many options for my customers,” Zwiebel said. “Above all, this is a relationship business. We have to connect with customers, not just plan for them. We have to meet and work with supplier partners, not just call them when we need to. Everyone at this event was incredibly supportive. At the end of the day, it’s about helping people see the world. We are not competitive.
Now trending
Bright future
The millennial and Gen Z generations are poised to dominate the travel industry. The knowledge and insight gained from the future leaders of the travel retreat will only propel that forward.
And it’s already helping to generate future bookings.
Kendra White of All Things Travel LLC landed eight new bookings in the few days following the event.
“When you attend certain events and post about it, people think you’re going to come out and be different,” White said. “The first question one of the clients asked me was, ‘What’s your fee?’ [event] It helped me find new business because I was in a place some had never been and wanted to explore, and let me know it was attainable.
Wharton is also awaiting new bookings.
“I adopted some of the changes I learned from other consultants and providers, and I started putting my notes into practice,” Wharton said. I have many leads from my social media posts for Los Cabos. I’ve also found a couple of suppliers that my clients really want and will convert those into bookings within the next month. Starting in 2023 I have included a new strategy in service fees and other areas where I can earn more money.
And speaking of 2023, Playa Hotels & Resorts has once again signed on to be a sponsor of the event.
“We are delighted to have the golden opportunity to once again host Future Leaders at the Travel Retreat this year,” said Jermaine Humphrey, Director of Sales – USA for Playa Hotels & Resorts. “Last year we hosted it at our Hilton Playa del Carmen property and it was such a success that it only made sense to host it again. This year again, another successful event – three days of great content with some of our brightest and strongest travel industry leaders to keep this industry alive. Not just for 2023, but 2024.” We host future leaders and travel retreats.
The 2023 event will be held August 27-30 at the Hyatt Ziva/Zilara Rose Ballroom in Jamaica, with a 2024 date to be determined.
For more information, visit Futureleadersintravel.com.
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