Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. agents invited to intimate summits for luxury, groups and land vacations.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Home-based travel franchises Dream Vacations and CruiseOne and host agency Cruises Inc. is launching in 2017 an Immersive Educational Series, which focuses on three unique training opportunities where agents can engage in niche content in an intimate setting. The three summits offered in 2017 focus on luxury, groups and land vacations. They are designed for seasoned agents who want to hone their skills and build relationships, as well as for those newbies who want to increase their business in a specific niche.
“Our network of agents requested more specialized training; we listened to their feedback and as a result we added the Immersive Educational Series to our curriculum,” said Drew Daly, general manager of network engagement and performance for Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “We are excited to launch this Series with three diverse summits that provide a more personal and hands-on approach to education. These trainings will be sure to have a profound impact on individual sales as luxury, groups and resort vacations have the highest earnings potential.”
The three-day Luxury Summit kicks off the Immersive Educational Series in Miami. Sixty agents will have the opportunity to attend this event which includes interactive workshops, engaging panels and educational presentations from top luxury vendors such as Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises, AmaWaterways, Villas of Distinction, Azamara Club Cruises, Windstar, SeaDream Yacht Club and Cunard. In addition, Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales at Celebrity Cruises, will give attendees a tour of the Celebrity Cruises Virtual Lab; they will hear from Edie Rodriguez, CEO of Crystal Cruises; and participate in a ship tour and luncheon aboard the Regent Seven Seas Navigator hosted by Jason Montague, President and CEO of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
The Immersive Educational Series continues in Fort Lauderdale in July with the Groups Summit. Seventy-five attendees will learn the secret to securing and selling groups from Chief Motivation Officer Stuart Cohen, who will lead his Group Boot Camp, as well as from groups representatives of various suppliers. Attendees will also hear from Groups Reconciliation Manager Troy McCoy on how to best utilize the new Groups Concierge service that Dream Vacations/CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. offer as a resource to its travel agents.
Held in Mexico in August and co-hosted by Playa Resorts and Mark Travel, the Land Summit concludes the Immersive Educational Series. Approximately 100 attendees will get an in-depth look at how to expand their resort and tour business through site inspections, workshops hosted by suppliers and more.
The Immersive Educational Series is just one facet of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc.’s extensive award-winning training program. Agents can attend weekly live webinars with subject matter experts from the headquarters team as well as cruise, resort and tour suppliers; and view roughly 800 on-demand courses through The Learning Center, an online learning management system. Or, they can learn in-person at one of five Regional Trainings nationwide, at one-on-one meetings with an assigned Business Development Manager; or at the annual National Conference which is always a weeklong and held entirely onboard a cruise ship.
“We recognize the need to provide rich educational content that meets the needs of a diverse audience who prefer to learn in a variety of ways,” noted Daly. “Adding these multiple layers of training has ultimately increased the engagement level of our agents, which is so important when working from home, and directly correlates with our overall sales growth and their individual growth each year.”
Existing travel agents and those who are passionate about travel, helping others and are eager to go into business for themselves, but not by themselves are ideal candidates to become travel agents.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
