The Beatles kick off the conference!
Ensemble Co-presidents Libbie Rice & Lindsay Pearlman continue the Beatlemania theme with a 'Come Together' opening presentation
Supplier round tables
Lindsay Pearlman & Libbie Rice host the press tent
TravCorp & Ensemble get hitched! Lindsay Pearlman makes a dashing groom & TravCorp President, Jeff Element - the blushing bride.
John Kirk, Master Auctioneer
Dante from the Children's Wish Foundation stole the show
I was recently on the town with about 800 Ensemble members at the Red Rock Resort outside Las Vegas. I will confess that never having been to Vegas before, the conference agenda was not the first thing I was drawn to.
The strip with its bright lights, booze and betting lay just across the way from the resort... beckoning. Truth is, the bright lights among the Ensemble members were plenty of excitement for me right at the Red Rock. I spoke with so many sharp agents, it was a delight to spend time on the conference floor. You can bet there is nothing more invigorating than hearing about a successful business.
The message members are sending is that travel agents are not only alive and well, they are optimistic about their businesses. It is one thing to read the Phocuswright research which points to a return to traditional retail agents – it is quite another to hear directly from retailers about the growth in demand from desperate clients who no longer want to battle the web.
The biggest challenge now is recruiting and training qualified staff. I chatted with Lesley Paull of Paull Travel about the issue.
“Nina, we are so busy, it’s amazing. We are 18 now, but there isn’t enough time in the day to handle all the requests," Paull said. "We even turn away clients who only want to book a cheap product that we can’t support. But they come back and ask us what should they book! We invest in training new recruits, but it takes time before they are able to fully contribute.”
Co-presidents Lindsay Pearlman and Libbie Rice made themselves available to members 24/7, literally. And many long time members sought out their company to discuss issues, give feedback, or just have drink and a laugh.
The news coming from the conference is that the U.S. and Canadian chapters will join forces forming 1 cooperative association (i.e. an ‘ensemble’ of U.S. and Canadian agents).
The highlight of the show had to be the Beatles performance – but running a very close 2nd was attending the marriage of TravCorp to Ensemble, presided by Elvis (aka Brad Ford). Oh ya.
As for the after-hours performances ... what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Before we leave the building, a big shout out to John Kirk of Porter Airlines, the Master Auctioneer, who not only had the gala attendees in stitches, he helped raise $75,000 for the Children’s Wish Foundation. Congratulations to all for a great show.
Air Canada Vacations wins Tour Op award at the Ensemble Conference
Royal Caribbean wins Cruise Partner of the Year at the Ensemble Conference
