KHM Travel Celebrates 2015 Achievements on Crystal Awards Cruise
Written by: Guest on February 25, 2016
KHM Travel Group rocked the Norwegian Sky this past weekend, February 19th-22nd, during our Crystal Awards FAM.
For the first time, this premiere travel agent event was held at sea. And for the first time, our preferred supplier partners joined us on board and helped us recognize the achievements of our agents in 2015. Overall, we had 167 attendees including agents and their guests, supplier partners, and KHM Travel staff.
The FAM was hosted by Norwegian Cruise Line and was sponsored by 15 of our preferred suppliers. We would first like to thank all of you for your support in putting on this unforgettable event!
KHM Travel Group staff welcomed agents aboard the Norwegian Sky on Friday with a special check-in area, swag bags, and photo ops with our custom-made signs and props.
Getting ready to set sail on board the Norwegian Sky in Miami!
We kicked off the cruise with a Meet & Greet reception at Outrigger Lounge on Deck 11, and then attendees were free to explore the Sky for the remainder of their evening.
The Sky boasts Norwegian’s Freestyle Cruising program, which gave FAM attendees the opportunity to explore the ship’s 12 restaurants, dine wherever and whenever they wanted, and enjoy select beverages included in the cruise price!
Saturday morning brought KHM Travel back to the Outrigger Lounge for our Supplier Trade Show. Agents got to network one-on-one with our preferred supplier reps, and had the chance to win several special giveaways.
Karen Sharpe of Holland America Line discussing products with agents at our trade show.
Four lucky KHM Travel agents even won free cruises given away by Viking River Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Avalon River Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line!
Chris Schutz, our Carnival BDM, meeting with an agent at the trade show.
“Our own personal tradeshow! What a wonderful idea,” said Dee Gilmore, one of KHM Travel’s Pinnacle agents. “I want to thank all of KHM staff for the rockstar weekend. You all did an exemplary job and I truly appreciate all that you do.”
Saturday morning also brought the Sky to Nassau, Bahamas. After the trade show, we spent a few hours exploring the sunny, colorful island before heading back to the ship for the main event.
The Crystal Awards ceremony was held Saturday afternoon in the glamorous Stardust Theater on Deck 6 of the Sky.
KHM Travel Group staff and suppliers recognized our top-performing agents of 2015 in style. Congratulations again to all of our agents on an outstanding year! We will share more details on the awards ceremony and all of the winners in an upcoming post.
These agents are smiling because they reached Pinnacle level – selling over $100K in travel in the past year!
Attendees spent the evening dining and enjoying the Sky’s amenities at their leisure. The highlight was the poolside White Hot Party, hosted by Norwegian’s lively entertainment staff. The band and cruise director led the dance party, ensuring everyone had a blast!
Our General Training Session got started bright and early on Sunday morning. Agents heard presentations from KHM Travel Group’s Vice President of Agent Operations Lisa Morris, and Supplier Relations Director Geoff Cox.
During Sunday morning’s General Session, agents were invited to come up and share their success stories.
Several supplier partners also did short presentations on their products, including Norwegian, Mark Travel, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival Cruise Lines.
Char Lyons, an agent from Michigan, commented, “Thanks KHM and all the awesome suppliers for allowing us these great adventures that help educate us and service our clients better!”
By noon, we were hitting the beach at Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas. The KHM Travel crew had our own secluded group of cabanas on the far side of the Cay, with a special food and drink menu!
Agents soaking up all the shades of blue and sunshine at Great Stirrup Cay.
Back on the ship that evening, attendees looked to their Freestyle Daily schedule for the evening’s lineup of activities. This included everything from the nightly dance party, to a captivating evening at the piano bar, to just relaxing at the spa.
The following morning we disembarked in Miami, and went our separate ways. Our staff sincerely enjoyed spending time with the agents and suppliers in attendance. From the feedback we’ve received so far, it sounds like the feeling is mutual!
“I had a great time on the Norwegian Sky getting to meet new friends!” said KHM Travel agent Sarah Williams. “Thank you so much for putting together such a wonderful event! There was a lot of effort put into planning the awards, trade show, and training.”
We hope all of the Crystal Award attendees made it home safely!
Check out more photos and posts from this memorable trip on social media with the hashtags #KHMatSea and #KHMRocks. We will also be creating a Flickr album to share more photos from onboard, at port and of our award winners!
Want access to the best travel agent events and training? Work with the most innovative, fastest-growing host agency in the country, KHM Travel Group. You could even be at next year Crystal Awards FAM trip!
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