KHM Travel Group Agents Take on Delta Vacations University
Written by: Michelle on September 27, 2017
KHM Travel Group always has a huge a presence at the annual Delta Vacations University event and this year was no different!
106 KHM Travel Group Agents traveled to Atlanta on September 16-17 for a weekend of classes, speakers, and networking opportunities.
The weekend kicked off on Friday evening with an exclusive meet and greet, just for KHM Travel Group Agents. One-by-one agents stood up and introduced themselves, sharing where they were from and how long they’ve been with KHM Travel Group. Agents had anywhere from eight months to eight years of experience. Many of them were attending DVU for the first time!
To close the meet and greet, David Bentz, Vince Marsala, and Lucretia Webb from Delta Vacations stopped by to welcome everyone to Atlanta. They shared how awesome it was to see so many KHM Travel Agents. They emphasized that we are all in this together, with enough success to go around. Before they said goodbye for the night, they revealed a KHM Travel Group exclusive incentive contest to win two roundtrip Delta Air Lines tickets!
Saturday started early at the Georgia International Convention Center with welcome addresses from Delta Vacations Vice President of Sales Steve Diggelmann and the newly appointed President Jennie Ho. They both thanked everyone for taking the time to come to the event, despite being busy helping clients affected by the hurricanes.
During Jennie’s speech, she introduced Delta Vacations’ Core Brand Attributes–thoughtful, reliable, and innovative. More than just words, these three feelings would prove to be a reoccurring theme throughout the event.
The seventy-four different classes offered at Delta Vacations University ranged from destination-based sessions, to more business and sales-focused courses.
Author and founder of Bore No More Jon Petz delivered an entertaining class on Excellence in Customer Service, complete with magic. He shared how travel agents can create significance in the simplest of moments and turn the phrase “It’s not my job” into “That’s why I’m here.”
Throughout the day, members of the Delta Vacations team also led informative sessions on groups, sales tips, luxury travel, and romantic getaways. There were even Basic and Advanced classes about Delta Vacations’ newly enhanced Marketing Hub.
At lunch, CEO of WhiteSpace at Work Juliet Funt gave a humorous, but realistic, take on the non-stop overload that most people face at work. She offered some insight into the power of finding WhiteSpace to pause and recharge.i
As an owner of a Diamond Elite Agency, KHM Travel Group President Rick Zimmerman was invited to attend the exclusive Presidential Forum. It was here that Jennie Ho introduced her fellow executives and shared data on Delta’s impressive three-year growth. Product updates included the launch of service to Tahiti, the expansion of their hotel portfolio, growth in serviced apartments, more experiential tours, and a new romance program.
After an informative day of classes, everyone headed to the Partner Tradeshow, which featured more than 200 destination, resort, and hotel partners. Interactive booths, contests, and giveaways kept everyone busy until the evening Welcome Reception at The Roof at Ponce Market.
Agents and industry partners mingled as they enjoyed drinks and carnival-themed bites like walking tacos, sliders, and cotton candy. There were also games and activities like mini golf, skee-ball, ring toss, and even a giant slide for everyone to enjoy.
Sunday was another jam-packed day of classes with a special keynote address from Bob Somers, Senior Vice President – Global Sales for Delta Air Lines.
In his speech, Bob said “This business is about people enjoying life…You’ll never know how important you are to your clients until they book with you again.”
Bob shared that Delta Air Lines operated 168 days with zero mainline cancellations with fifty-one brand perfect days. He concluded by saying that Delta University’s theme of Travelling Forward Together is about staying ahead of the game.
As the event drew to a close, everyone packed up and prepared to use their new knowledge to offer their clients better vacation experiences.
Current KHM Travel Group Agents have the opportunity to offer their clients exclusive savings! Find more information about KHM Travel Group’s Delta Vacations University incentives in the Agent Portal next week.
Check out photos from Delta Vacations University 2017 in our Flickr album.
Are you interested in attending exciting industry events like Delta Vacations University as a KHM Travel Group Agent? For more information about becoming an independent travel agent with us, request our free information packet! Just fill out the form on the right side of the screen or call 1-888-611-1220.