V.com's John Lovell, President &
Christine James, V.P.
Mary Anne Lachance of MSC Cruises & Sunwing's Lorraine Brisbois
Sunquest & Alba Tours' Tanya States poses with Exotik & Boomerang Tours'
Justin Belford
Quite the coordinated pair, Elizabeth Skinner & Deborah Grant of Travel Time Wasaga
V.com's Matthew McCarthy & Oksana Scott man the registration table
The tradeshow hosted 35 preferred suppliers
It felt like the calm before a storm. 35 suppliers quietly set up their booths in preparation for the YTO tradeshow of Vacation.com’s most recent regional conference series. There were about 100 agents in attendance who were busy taking part in training sessions behind closed doors. And as if the flood gates opened, agents came pouring into the reception area. Instantly, the tradeshow sprung to life as everyone was eager to learn about their 2012/2013 preferred supplier products.
4 conferences were held across Canada, including YTO, Markham, YEG and YVR, comprising about 400 members in total. This year, V.com hosted a power sales session that focused on social media and how agents could position themselves as luxury travel experts using social media tools. With separate programs between owners and agents, training was especially formulated to target each role’s specific needs.
“This event has been very successful so far,” said Christine James, V.com’s V.P. “We’ve heard from suppliers that agents have actually approached them to say that they recognize the effort that we put into our agents.”
Their numbers support that too. V.com signed 80 new members in 2011. For 2012, the consortium has already exceeded their targeted goal and has welcomed 122 new members to date. According to James, the company has experienced growth organically in the last couple of years. “2012 has been the best year ever. It’s nice to see we are attracting quality members and larger agencies,” she said. “And members are knocking on our doors. We get a lot of referrals.”
Just like following a storm when the clouds break to reveal clear skies, the tradeshow ended and guests filtered into the dining room for a sit down dinner. For next year, James is predicting a sunny forecast and more success for V.com.
