We are headed for Las Vegas where each year we meet with our travel suppliers one to one for four straight days. It is called Travelmart. I call it speed dating! We meet with hotel general managers and owners , concierge’s and cruise line presidents.

Many of you think since we are headed for Las Vegas it is a big party, but far from it. From Monday to Thursday we begin at 8:00 a.m. and have a supplier appointment every four minutes. We end at 4:45 p.m. so if you do the math that is 106 appointments per day. These meetings -Grueling ? Yes! Invaluable to our clients? Yes!

Oh I won’t lie. we do find the time to have some fun too!

Check back the end of August and  I will tell you all about it!

Kathleen

We’re Back!!!!!!!!! Bellagio Room #12098! August 12th- 20th, 2010

This year’s theme, “Defining Moments” refers to the power that travel has to transcend a mere transaction to something much more meaningful and lasting. That may be working together to create unforgettable experiences for our clients or special turning points in our career brought about by our network reationships.

Well we survived. This year there were 3,300 attendees representing 85 countries. We were welcomed back by the Bellagio Hotel. This was the 10th year Bellagio has hosted Travelmart and they were committed to creating special experiences for us and they strive to provide defining moments for our clients each and every day. Bellagio hosted an opening cocktail reception for us. We were greeted at the entrance by hundreds of employees applauding us as we entered, many of whom were not even on the clock. As a matter of fact, no employees are allowed vacation time the week of our Travelmart every year.

Our Opening Session guest speaker was Simon Sinek. He is the author of Start With Why-How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action. He was fabulous and I can’t wait to start reading the copy of his book I received and he personally autographed with “Choose to Inspire”.

One thrill of attending every year is a breakfast held by Micato Safaris. Although it starts very early you never want to miss it. In years past they have brought Jack Hanna and his animals. This year we were treated to an emotional story presented by a child that is sponsored by AmericaShare. Micato supports over one thousand children in schools and orphanages around Nairobi. Actually for every Micato safari you take, you personally sponsor a child. The breakfast ended with  23 members ( ages 8 to 11) of the African Children’s Choir performing.  The African Children’s Choir helps Africa’s most vulnerable children today, so they can help Africa tomorrow. Dr. Robert Kalyesubula, a former member of the choir said ” I can proudly say that I am who I am today because someone was willing to leave their comfort zone and help a young boy.”

The final evening was the awards gala. The theme “Travel Unites- an evening of cultural celebration’s”. It was held at the new Aria Hotel. We were all encouraged to wear a costume reflecting a country we are from or inspire to visit.

“No matter how many places we’ve seen or how many destinations we’ve experienced there’s still more of the world to discover. And just as our time at Travel Mart connected us, travel unites-bridging the gap between generations …drawing us closer…transforming us. Travel ties us to the heritage, traditional, history, nature, art, and people we’ll never forget. Thank you for a night of unforgettable cultural celebration.

We returned a little weary but refreshed with the prefessional travel knowledge to assist us in exceeding our clients expectations!