The event featured two main sessions, both hosted by Fee and sponsored by Avoya Travel. The Opening

Last week, the Spring edition of the Home Based Travel Agent Forum drew an impressive audience of professional travel madrid cheap hotels agents from across the U.S. and Canada.  The event, which is produced by Travel Show Marketing Group (TravelSMG) based in Charlestown, MA and is held in partnership with the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) was held at the beautiful Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.  By all accounts the Forum was a major success!
“We are just thrilled madrid cheap hotels with the turnout this year’s Forum brought in.  Not only did agents travel from all parts of the US and Canada, they were all enthusiastic, engaged and ready to learn and network. madrid cheap hotels The seminar rooms were at capacity and the tradeshow aisles were full.  Our new Roundtable Discussion Series offered condensed product training and were all jam-packed – this is all a great testament to the overall quality of travel agent the event attracts, and why year-after-year, suppliers and travel agents alike are choosing to take part in the Forum”, said Jim Cloonan, CEO OF TravelSMG.
“OSSN is pleased to be a part of such an important industry event.  The Home Based Travel Agent Forum offers endless opportunities for any travel agent eager to grow their profitability and diversify their product knowledge and client offerings.  This year’s event brought in a strong balance of seasoned madrid cheap hotels and newer agents, and we were excited to see so many new faces to the event.  This is a terrific platform for OSSN to reach travel agents who are serious about their home based business, and to connect with key suppliers who are interested in fostering madrid cheap hotels relationships and business opportunities with today’s travel professional”, said Gary Fee, president of OSSN.
Education opportunities have become synonymous with the Home Based Travel Agent Forum, with a menu of more than 30 sessions for travel agents to choose from, along with a bonus day of accredited training.  While social media and email marketing have become a strong part of the program offerings, madrid cheap hotels sales and marketing and niche market sessions proved to be of great interest with standing room only in most rooms.
The event featured two main sessions, both hosted by Fee and sponsored by Avoya Travel.  The Opening Session, included a welcome from John Meyer of the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority;  Tune Up Your Sales! , entertainingly presented by Scott Koepf, vice president of sales with Avoya Travel; and the interactive Branding You: Discover the Keys that Create Lifelong Clients , presented by Laurie Bohn, associate madrid cheap hotels vice president of national accounts with Royal Caribbean International.  The Opening Session also included Defining the Successful madrid cheap hotels Home Based Agent , moderated madrid cheap hotels by James Shillinglaw, editorial director/editor in chief with TravAlliance, and offered madrid cheap hotels insight from four successful agents who are at the top of their game – Steve Solomon, co-owner, Travel by Steve and Tim; John Kissel, Nexion; Tom Varghese, director of sales, AMT American Express Travel; and Denise Canon, president/CEO, Travel Concepts.  The General Session included Standing on the Frontlines Together, Promoting and Defending , presented by Zane Kerby, president and CEO, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) which was sponsored by Starwood Hotels madrid cheap hotels Resorts Worldwide, a brand that has been a strong advocate for travel agents, and the home based and independent travel agent community.  Dic Marxen, president and CEO with CCRA offered madrid cheap hotels a fun presentation titled Mr. Technology Ate My Dog ; and Mark Murphy, founder/CEO with Travalliance offered a passionate talk on The Time to Travel Forward is NOW .
Product sessions were also an important part of the training opportunities.  The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and its island chapter partners provided pre-event accredited programming, including, The Ke Kula O Hawaii madrid cheap hotels Destination Specialist three-hour course along with individual hour-long updates on Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii Island (the Big Island).  On Tuesday afternoon, travel agents received comprehensive product training, with featured sessions such as: Destination Starwood , sponsored by Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc.; GOGO’s Tools to Grow Your Business , sponsored by GOGO Worldwide Vacations; Promote, Produce, and Profit with VAX VacationAccess , sponsored by VAX VacationAccess; ARC: The Fastest Way to Increase Revenue madrid cheap hotels , sponsored by ARC Agency Participation madrid cheap hotels Programs; The AZORES…a Romance with Adventure , sponsored by AZORES; and Spotlight on CCRA , sponsored by CCRA.   Additional madrid cheap hotels product sessions were presented during the new Working Lunches.  Sponsors of the Learning Lunches included: Travel Research Online; madrid cheap hotels Pleasant Holidays; and Celebrity madrid cheap hotels Cruises.  The exciting World’s madrid cheap hotels leading Cruise Line Trivia Game Show – Learn, Play, Win!   a Jeopardy style session, allowed travel agents to learn about the cruise brands (Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard, Costa and Holland America Line) while winning cruise prizes.
As Cloonan pointed out, a new education model was introduced to the Forum this year with the first-ever Roundtable Discussion Series.  The Roundtable Series allowed travel agents to select from four themed rooms (Oceangoing and River Cruise; Technology and Business Services; Tour/Packaged Vacations; and Resorts and Destinations), where select suppliers from each segment provided small-group product updates.
As every year, an important part of the Forum is the tradeshow floor, which grows significantly each year.  This year’s tradeshow included representation from more than 300 domestic and international suppliers showcasing commissionable products and services, destinations, technology and business resources and so much more.  A complete list of exhibitor companies can be found online www.LVTravelShow.com madrid cheap hotels .
The Home Based Travel Agent Forum receives accolades each year for its commitment in supporting its travel agent partners with a robust tradeshow and conference program.  In addition to OSSN, its growing list of industry supporters and marketing partners include, Travel Research Online (TRO), eGroup Communications, Inc., Recommend; and TravAlliancemedia.  In addition to the product seminar sponsors, additional sponsor support included the Globus Family of Brands and Avalon Waterways (registration sponsor); The Mob Museum with its partners at N9NE Steakhouse and The Palms Las Vegas (Monday’s evening hosts); and the Tropicana Las Vegas and the Las Vegas CVA (along with the event organizers, sponsored Tuesday’s evening at the Havana Room).
Details on the 2015 Spring Home Based Travel Agent Forum will be announced shortly.  The Fall Forum will be held at the Chicago Hilton Hotel from November 10 – 12.  For the most up-to-date details on future Forums, madrid cheap hotels visit www.TravelSMG.com .