Travel agency owners from TravelSavers’ U.S. affiliates and preferred partners assembled at the all-new Dreams Natura Resort and Spa in Cancun, Oct. 2-5, 2021 for the 2021 Owners FOCUS Retreat. The three-day retreat provided agency owners with business essential sessions, keynote speakers, supplier and peer networking and a chance to strategize on creative solutions for agency growth. They also got a preview of TravelSavers’ business outlook for this year and 2022, as well as a look at new education and training programs, and new marketing programs.

Presentation topics included searching for the ultimate salesperson, transforming an advisor’s fees into a consultancy model, understanding the intricacies of group contracts, as well as protecting agencies against possible liabilities in today’s environment.

John Chernesky, senior vice president, North America sales and trade marketing for Princess Cruises, provided an optimistic keynote address calling travel advisors the “first responders of travel” for all they have done during the pandemic. He advised owners to evolve quickly with each day, lead by example, overcommunicate and forge emotional connections with their clients.

A new educational program called KORE was unveiled at the conference. The self-guided online curriculum, consisting of 16 modules, was developed in collaboration with several industry experts. Before the pandemic, TravelSavers realized the need for an extensive training program to not only attract new people into the industry but to assist agency owners with training their advisors.

“We know the value of education and the importance of creating a strong professional advisor,” said Nicole Mazza, chief marketing officer for TravelSavers. “KORE is only available to a select beta group of our U.S. advisors at this time and will be open to all of our affiliates at the end of the year.” KORE was met with enthusiastic response from both advisors and suppliers.

Mazza also shared some numbers showing healthy booking trends from the network and reported domestic guided touring is up 200 percent, river cruising is up 80 percent, and premium cruise and land sales are up more than 40 percent. The importance of using a travel advisor is also on the rise, especially with younger demographics and Gen X. Choice and customization are imperative for today’s clients with refund policies being the number one request from travelers, followed by health and safety protocols.

New marketing enhancements also were announced, such as additional themed tactical campaigns, plus a new social connect platform to assist advisors with their social marketing outreach.

“This intimate gathering gave the team, our agency owners, and preferred partners the chance to inspire one another, share opportunities, and build strong future business plans,” said Mazza. “We ended our time in Cancun with renewed optimism for what lies ahead.”

“It was an amazing conference and exciting news,” said Ann Osten of Sadie’s Global Travel in Montgomery, Ala. “Thank you TravelSavers for your leadership, innovation, and work to keep advisors relevant, and for providing agencies with the tools to grow and prosper.”

Family owned TravelSavers is an international travel marketing organization with a retail chain of more than 2,500 independently owned, full-service travel agencies that together generate more than $20 billion in annual travel sales. It offers a comprehensive range of products and support services to help its licensed agencies maximize sales though a select group of suppliers. Travel professionals interested in learning more about TravelSavers can visit http://sales.travelsavers.com.