Future Leaders in Travel Retreat: Helping Develop the Travel Industry’s Next Stars

Powered by TravelAge West, the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat came about on the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos resort from August 28-31.

The retreat is designed for journey professionals aged 22-37 years previous to come back collectively, community, and assist one another develop – each personally and in enterprise. This 12 months, over 80 professionals attended what would go on to be described by a number of as a “life-changing” week.

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Playa Hotels & Resorts, the host sponsor of the occasion, kicked off the retreat with an “Emily in Paris” themed social gathering. Andrea Wright, Vice President of Gross sales – USA at Playa Motels & Resorts, welcomed the Future Leaders of the journey trade with a line from the present.

“Individuals dwell to work and the French work to dwell,” Wright stated, informing the attendees how they, the subsequent technology of the journey trade, ought to undertake this mindset of their each day life due to the significance they’ve on the way forward for not simply the trade however your complete world.

It was just the start of a number of phrases of knowledge that may be shared all through the week.

Skilled Growth

The occasion featured participating panelists and speakers from each the provider and advisor sides, all with a variety of expertise.

Practically 50 advisors had been vetted and hand-picked to attend this unique occasion after an in-depth software course of. Whereas a number of simply began their profession within the journey trade inside the previous couple of years, all had been desperate to study and make new connections.

“It’s actually thrilling to see what number of younger advisors there are out right here,” stated Mallory Jones of You Deserve It Holidays. “Everybody’s simply actually keen and able to develop their enterprise.”

Day two’s supplier-advisor appointments put two advisors collectively at a provider’s desk for a 10-minute assembly to study extra concerning the model whereas connecting with the model’s consultant.

Having 10 advisor guides who attended the 2021 Future Leaders in Journey Retreat additionally helped foster growth. The guides shared their very own phrases of knowledge and supplied lots of the new trade advisors with a shoulder to lean on and a mind to select.

“The Future Leaders in Journey is indispensable for younger professionals within the trade to come back to this occasion, primarily as a result of it breaks up a variety of the monotony of going to common trade occasions that caters to simply studying about suppliers,” Ryan Taylor of Ryan F&T stated. “This one focuses much more on constructing connections and I believe it does a very good job in enhancing that relationship between agent and provider.”

Along with listening to from trade consultants on the subjects of diversifying income streams, trade improvements, and the keys to the supplier-advisor relationship, the Future Leaders in Journey Retreat featured two completely different workshops.

“Character Promoting; Achieve Management from the Starting!” was offered by Jenn Lee, VP Business Engagement and Help, Journey Planners Worldwide. She highlighted character promoting strategies for advisors to raised perceive how you can take care of purchasers primarily based on their dominant character trait – from the commanding bull, the highly-detailed owl, the caring lamb, and the sociable but scatterbrained tiger.

The opposite workshop, titled “The Answer Room”, was sponsored by G Adventures. Right here, advisors and suppliers separated into teams to deal with real-world enterprise challenges and recommendations on how you can resolve them. Advisors and suppliers bounced concepts off one another and shared their finest practices in key areas like advertising and marketing, charging charges, supplier-advisor relationships and extra.

“This occasion has been eye-opening, particularly for a younger man like me,” stated Jeffrey Pawid, Director of Gross sales – North Area USA for Exoticca. “I do know there’s a variety of younger folks on the market inside the trade and a few of them have the expertise and a few of them don’t. The collective pondering and the collective ache factors as properly the successes simply opens up my eyes as a provider and I am positive for journey advisors as properly.”

Connecting With Friends

The connections made all through the appointments and workshops continued additional throughout the personal dinners at Le Blanc Los Cabos and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, in addition to day three’s dawn yoga and the group exercise tour on the ultimate day. Many of the attendees hopped onto a Catamaran Cruise that sailed previous the enduring arch of Cabo San Lucas and over to snorkel and swim outdoors Chileno Bay Seashore.

Relationships are key, and this occasion supplied an area for younger advisors and suppliers to additional develop essential connections.

“By way of the connections made this week, I’ve discovered to honor my self-worth,” stated Emily Zwiebel of ET Household Journey. “By this I imply, working smarter not tougher, including charges for the added work, [and] getting artistic. I’m crammed with data. I can market that and make a revenue. I’m not simply an unbiased contractor – I’m a enterprise proprietor. It was actually a lesson in a mindset shift that I’ll proceed to work on.”

Shannon Burke-Banks, Senior Account Supervisor, Nationwide Accounts, for Globus Household of Manufacturers, famous why it’s essential for suppliers to attend the occasion to make connections.

“It is a actually distinctive alternative to work together with future leaders, because the occasion is called, inside our trade and actually get them to know your product in a type of private method that you simply would not get to in any other case,” stated Burke-Banks.

For Tyson Wharton, proprietor of Sioux Empire Journey, the chance to expertise the retreat was “excellent.”

“By the point the week was over, I had made priceless connections with suppliers, different advisors and leaders within the journey trade. I had a pocket book consumed with concepts on how you can higher my enterprise on a big and small scale. I understood myself, my purchasers, and others in my life higher due to Jenn Lee’s BOLT workshop… all in all, this was a type of enterprise development moments the place I really feel energized, supported and most of all, educated past measure,” Wharton stated.

“By way of our panels and provider companions, my eyes have been opened to the various prospects for my purchasers,” Zwiebel stated. “Most of all, it is a enterprise of connections. We have to join with purchasers, not simply plan for them. We have to join and work with provider companions, not simply name them after we want them. Everybody at this occasion was extremely supportive. On the finish of the day, we’re not competing, we’re working collectively to assist folks see the world.”

Shiny Future Forward

The Millennials and Gen Z generations are properly on their technique to taking on the journey trade. The data and insights gained on the Future Leaders in Journey Retreat will solely propel that ahead.

And it’s already serving to create future bookings.

Kendra White of All Issues Journey LLC landed eight new bookings inside only a few days following the occasion.

“Whenever you attend sure occasions and put up about it, folks assume you stick out and are completely different,” White stated. “The primary query one of many purchasers requested me is what’s your charge, that lets me know they’re watching but in addition I am price it. This [event] helped me land new enterprise as a result of I used to be in a spot some have by no means been and so they wish to discover, and I allow them to know it is attainable.”

Wharton can also be looking forward to new bookings.

“I’ve adopted some modifications I discovered from different advisors and suppliers, in addition to began to place my notes into apply,” Wharton stated. “I’ve a bunch of leads from my social media posts for Los Cabos. I additionally met a few suppliers that my purchasers desperately want and will probably be turning these into bookings inside the subsequent month. I can even be incorporating a brand new technique for service charges and different locations the place I can make more cash beginning in 2023.”

And talking of 2023, Playa Motels & Resorts has signed on to as soon as once more be the host sponsor of the occasion.

“We had been excited to have the ability to have the golden alternative to host the Future Leaders in Journey Retreat once more this 12 months,” stated Jermaine Humphrey Director of Gross sales – USA for Playa Motels and Resorts. “We hosted it final 12 months at our Hilton Playa del Carmen property and it was so successful it solely made sense that we hosted it once more. This 12 months once more, one other profitable occasion – three days of nice content material with a few of our brightest and strongest future leaders within the journey trade to maintain this trade alive. We had been capable of safe not just for 2023 however we can even be internet hosting the 2024 Future Leaders and Journey Retreat.”

The 2023 occasion will happen August 27-30 at Hyatt Ziva/Zilara Rose Corridor in Jamaica and the 2024 date is to be decided.

Go to futureleadersintravel.com extra data.