Travel Centres Conference Programme 2022 (Royal Caribbean)

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TravelCentres CONFERENCE 2022

Why your people strategy will be the most important part of your business strategy

Welcome to the Conference

If recent years have taught us anything, it is that the current retail revenue model is no longer fit for purpose. Travel agents can no longer afford for the profit they earn on every transaction to be dependent on whether or not the customer consumes the services that have been booked on their behalf. Is it too much to ask that travel professionals be compensated for the time, effort and expertise they provide when their services are contracted for? Should travel agents become more like other professionals and start charging for their time? Indeed, should we, as an industry, start valuing ourselves before we can realistically expect others to do the same?

These and other fundamental questions need to be asked as we explore some of the fallout that has occurred since Covid changed the rules of engagement within our industry. The future and viability of travel agents depends on it. Let’s start the conversation.

Sponsors

Headline Sponsors

Co-sponsor, Friday Lunch

Pre-dinner drinks, Gala Dinner Conference transportation

Keynote speaker, Russell Beck

Friday Dinner

Friday dinner wines

Friday pre-dinner drinks

Gala dinner wines

co-sponsor, Friday Lunch

360 Video Booth

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Events such as this depend on the generous sponsorship that underpins much of the content featured over the course of today’s programme. Although all our suppliers have contributed to the central funding that covers much of the main running costs, these suppliers in particular have dug deep into their pockets in order to show their appreciation for the business that you, our members generate for them year-round. It is therefore only right and fitting that we should acknowledge them here.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Publisher’s Note: Whilst care has been taken in compiling the information contained in this manual, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. © Travel Centres 2022.

FRIDAY,

NOV 12TH

Table Plans for Gala Dinner

Blank table plans for the Gala Dinner will be displayed on notice boards in the main function room throughout the day on Saturday. Please fill in your name on one of these table plans no later than 15.45 as the completed or partially completed table plans will be collected at 16.00. If your agency has five or more staff attending, a table plan with your name details will already have been pre-populated.

Awards

We’ve re-introduced a number of award categories for 2022 which have been voted on by the suppliers of those awards as we feel that that is the most equitable means of choosing both nominees and the eventual winner in each category. The final three nominees in each category have been chosen on the basis of a combination of their overall sales, year-on-year improvement and their observed activities in actively promoting the products or services of the trade partner in question. With the exception of Do Something Different who have elected to have one award category, all other trade partners will be recognizing both large and small agents with an award for each category. The decision to determine which category an agent falls into has

been at the sole discretion of each trade partner and is based on a combination of annual turnover and staff size. The decision of each trade partner is final and not open to dispute or challenge. The following suppliers have elected to recognise the efforts of agent partners: Accident & General, Breakaway Tours, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Holidays, Do Something Different, Hertz, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Tui. Three further award categories will recognize the contributions of the ‘Best Use of Social Media’, ‘Supplier of the Year’ and ‘Supplier Representative of the Year’. Two additional, once-off categories will be announced on the night. This year’s trophies have been created in an art deco style to reflect the theme of this year’s Gala Dinner — ‘The Roaring Twenties’!

Supplier ‘Speed Dating’ Workshop

The cornerstone of the conference each year is the speed-dating workshop that takes place on the Saturday. The challenge each year is trying to ensure that all conference delegates fully engage with their supplier partners throughout the day so that, ideally, all agents visit all suppliers in equal measure. What tends to happen is that agents only end up visiting those suppliers that they already do business with, thus defeating the whole point of learning about new preferred suppliers that have been added to the portfolio.

As there are more suppliers in attendance than there will be available speed-dating slots in which to visit them all, agency staff are encouraged to split up across the room so that, collectively, they get to meet more suppliers/ exhibitors within the

allocated time. Each agent will be provided with a passport when registering in the morning and each passport will contain details of all exhibitors participating in the room, listed in alphabetical order. Each agent will have to have their passport manually time-stamped at each desk by the supplier/exhibitor in question. The order of exhibitors/suppliers within the room will, however, be completely random. All passports must be personalized by writing in your full name and agency in the spaces provided on the front. They must also be time-stamped, every time you visit an exhibitor desk. Passports must be surrendered at the end of the afternoon by placing them in the boxes provided as these will be used to choose some additional, random winners of some great prizes that will be raffled off during the gala dinner.

General Information

Check in

Please note that check in at the hotel is not before 12.00 noon so if you are arriving on Saturday, please proceed directly to registration and either leave your luggage in the car (if using own transport) or leave in the care of the porter (if arriving via public transport). All luggage will be kept in a secure location until such time as you are in a position to check-in later — i.e. after 5.30 p.m. when the supplier workshop finishes.

Punctuality

As we are working to extremely tight schedules, it is important that every agent delegate and exhibitor observe the times allocated for each event throughout the conference weekend such as closed sessions, workshop segments, presentations and meals etc. This will ensure the smooth running of the event and a better overall conference experience for all concerned.

Closed Forum

Please note that the morning sessions before 11.15 a.m. on Saturday are closed to non-members, trade press and suppliers but all are welcome to attend all presentations which starts immediately after the midmorning refreshment break which finishes at 11.30 a.m. Interim

Presentations

There will be two short presentations from Air Canada and United Airlines just before lunch break on Saturday. Both airlines are joint sponsors of the Saturday Lunch.

There will also be two short presentations from Royal Caribbean and Silversea (joint Headline sponsors) immediately before and after the mid-afternoon refreshment break at 16.00 – 16.15

The Commission for Aviation Regulation

Liam O’Connor, interim travel trade licensing manager and his colleague, Mairead Doyle, will attend the conference from 11.15 a.m. onwards, should members have any questions they would like to ask or seek oneon-one private consultations.

ITAA Benevolent Fund

Carrie Day will be in attendance throughout the conference, representing the ITAA Benevolent Fund (https://www.itaabenevolentfund.com/eap-portal/) should any members know of anyone who requires confidential counselling and wellbeing support. This free service is available to all ITAA employees, past and present, their partner/spouse and dependent children over 16 living at home.

Suggestions

A lot of thought and planning goes into arranging each year’s conference but we’re always receptive to new suggestions as to how we can improve on the delegate experience and make the content of these events more relevant to your business. Ideas on a postcard please. (Better still, just email them!)

Testimonials

Some of your colleagues will be absent from this year’s event and for a variety of reasons. If you enjoy yourself this weekend, then we’d like to hear from you so we can share your comments/observations with those who perhaps take a little bit more convincing that such events are both relevant and worthwhile.

Conference Hashtag #travelcconf

Help us promote this year’s conference through social media by tweeting your comments and observations to the Twitterverse at large by using the following designated hashtag #travelcconf. We will be monitoring all communications and the most engaging tweets, travel quotes and selfies will receive some nice spot prizes — courtesy of Travel Centres.

Best dressed Lady/Man

This year’s gala dinner theme is the Roaring Twenties and also the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Star Alliance airline consortium which was founded on May 14th, 1997 and who are headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. To celebrate their anniversary, Star Alliance have decided to generously donate two amazing hampers for the best dressed male and female attendees at this year’s gala dinner. Both prizes will be presented by Martina Coogan, Country Manager of United Airlines.

Advisory Board

The advisory board comprises seven member agents who, between them, represent the interests of the general membership and who, in conjunction with the management team, define the policies and supplier preferences of the group. The board positions are voluntary, so board members donate freely of their time and expertise throughout the year in order to help drive the collective agenda of members. The board meets periodically throughout the year. The advisory board currently consists of the following members:

Carolyn Davis

Liberty Travel, Letterkenny

In 2002 and with over thirty years’ experience working in the travel and hospitality sectors in the UK, Cyprus and Ireland, Carolyn established Liberty Travel in Letterkenny. The agency has since grown in size and reputation to become Donegal’s leading travel agency. Her team of six staff has vast experience and love to travel themselves, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the client. Carolyn has embraced digital marketing and social media and identifies this as an important strategy for the way forward. Carolyn is the ‘Travel Section Expert’ for Highland Radio, Irelands leading independent radio station.

Maria Dilworth

Blackpool Travel, Cork

Maria has been involved in the travel industry since 1976 and opened the doors of Blackpool Travel in 2000.

After many years of living and breathing travel, Maria took a sabbatical from the industry and earned her BCL Law Degree from UCC and practised as a solicitor specialising in Employment Law. Maria made a return to the travel industry in recent years and favours America and Spain as her holiday destinations!

Michael Bowe Bowe Travel, Thurles

Michael Bowe Jnr. is the 4th Generation of the Bowe family to run Bowe Travel. First established in 1906 by Michael’s great- grandfather — it has continued to thrive down through the intervening decades and is based in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Michael was reared in the travel industry and like the rest of us, loves to travel!

Andrew Lynch Travel Advisors, Ratoath

Andrew opened his own agency in 2012 Travel Advisors. Travel Advisors is an award winning agency that offers a professional and personal travel service. Andrew has over 28 years’ experience within the Travel Industry and has worked for well-established travel companies over the years, gaining his wealth of knowledge. He enjoys travelling with his family and friends and has a big passion for sport.

Clare Dunne

The Travel Broker, Dublin

Clare began her travel career with Aer Lingus in 1979 and since then has experienced many aspects of the travel business. She established her own independent travel company The Travel Broker in 1994, providing corporate, leisure and incentive travel services to a wide range of customers, in Ireland and abroad, offline and online. She has also developed and taught several ‘What Do Travel Agents Do’ introductory courses for job seekers. Clare has served as President of Network Ireland both in Dublin and Nationally. She served as President of ITAA from 2012-2014. Clare is currently a member of the board of ITAA, on the committee of Clontarf Business Association and on the Advisory Board of Travel Centres. She is also an active member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and North Dublin Business Network.

Jeff Collins

Best4travel group

Jeff began his travel career in the early 90’s, when he worked for Delta airlines for 10 years —based mainly at Dublin airport. From there, he progressed to senior positions within both American holidays and needahotel.com . In 2005, Jeff, together with his father Jim, established www.globehotels.com as a wholesale trade-only worldwide accommodation website. In 2010, Jeff established the Best4travel group which now boasts 10 retail shops, a home working division and an online team . The company currently employs close to 60 staff and is ample proof that people still need travel professionals to arrange their travel requirements .

John Barrett

Magic Vacations, Kinsale Co. Cork

A Marketing & French graduate John started his career with EuroDisney back in April 1992. Magic Vacations are an award winning agency based in Kinsale and employ 8 people. An early adapter of Digital media they launched their highly successful MVTV travel series in 2020. John loves to discover new destinations and is very passionate about travel.

SPEAKERS

Russell Beck Keynote Speaker

Widely acknowledged as a thought-leader across people management and leadership, Russell is not your average people-person. He brings an engineer’s desire for knowledge, an inquisitive need for evidence and a belief that things can be better with an inspirational, passionate and charismatic style. He connects dots in informative and novel ways to challenge organisations and leaders to think differently about, and to take tangible actions to unlock, the potential and productivity of their most expensive asset, their people. Often acting as a catalyst, he captivates people, motivating them and providing the impetus to change and transform, enabling them to move quicker and further than they

previously thought possible.

Russell draws on a diverse background having worked as an engineering project leader in 26 countries, as a Managing Director of a £120m turnover outsourcing business, and as a global people strategy consultant. He has consulted with and supported leadership teams of companies of all sizes from SME to FTSE100 – and across many sectors including technology, engineering, pharma, retail, finance, hospitality, public and the 3rd sector.

Russell delivers conference keynotes, ‘inspire and challenge’ talks and interactive workshops. He has delivered the keynote talks at Vodafone’s global hackathon, at annual conferences for ACAS HR Leaders, CIMA and Chartered Accountants Ireland, and at the launch of the Irish Government’s ‘future of retail’ event. He has lectured at the Cambridge

University Judge School of Management, UCSD and Nottingham Trent University and has worked with executives of many organisations including Top Employers Institute, dnata, Bionical EMAS, SafeLives and others. His key topics of interest include:

The future of work – future proofing your business and your career

Overcoming the great resignation

High performing teams

Leadership and management after Covid

Meaning and Purpose –

embedding the ‘why?’

Productivity, wellness and sleep – what you and your business can do about it

The challenges and opportunities of a multi-generational workforce

Russell’s has a 1st class degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering, a Masters through research (both from Bath University) and a Diploma in Business Studies from Henley Business School.

Andy Harmer Managing Director, CLIA UK & Ireland

Andy first joined the Association in 2006 after many years in the travel industry, including as a travel agent. Andy re-launched CLIA’s travel agent programme in the UK and later extended it to European countries, during which time agent and cruise line membership reached record levels.

CLIA now offers a multi-layered programme that encompasses blended learning to recognise different learning styles. Last year Andy was recognised by Travel Weekly UK for his outstanding contribution to the UK travel industry, and in 2021 was promoted to Managing Director.

He was awarded an OBE in the most recent Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for services to the maritime sector.

THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL

To say that the past couple of years within the travel industry have been turbulent would be an understatement but, as the famous saying goes, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and the silver lining in this instance has been the general realisation that when things go pear-shaped, it’s critically important to have a travel agent watching your back and looking after your best interests. Not only have a lot of people come to that realisation and started using travel agents again but our industry has attracted a whole new cohort of admirers from the ranks of people who have never used a travel agent before. Could this sea change represent a potentially new golden age of travel? It’s too early to say just yet but what is clear and which

practically everyone agrees on is that there is a pent-up demand for travel which will need to be satiated and that’s why we have chosen the ‘Roaring Twenties’ as the theme for this year’s gala event as we feel it best epitomises the times that we are living in!

As always, there will be prizes for the best-dressed male and female — this year, courtesy of the Star Alliance who are celebrating their 25th anniversary! If ever there was a time for letting your hair down (or putting it up!), now is that time so let’s have some fun and enjoy ourselves. We certainly deserve it after all we’ve been through!

Entertainment BENTLEY BOYS

If it’s one thing that the annual Travel Centres bash has become renowned for is the quality of the musical entertainment that we provide each year and 2022 will be no exception. For this year’s gala dinner event, we have chosen the fabulous Bentley Boys as your musical entertainment for the evening and we’re confident that you will not be disappointed.

CARY POSAVITZ

Cary has been performing professionally since the age of 17 in a variety of shows and venues all over the world. He spent four years performing in Riverdance.

In the US, Cary starred in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, had lead roles in Cruisin’

’57 for Dick Clark Productions, The Magnificent Gospel Showcase for Sky Television and has been a featured entertainer for Regency, Radisson and Celebrity Cruise Lines. Cary has also performed with Celtic Women for their PBS Television Special.

‘Thanks also for yet another mind-blowing conference and for just being the brilliant people you are.’

‘A huge thank you from all of us for a brilliant conference.’

‘The conference and the weekend was absolutely super! It was by far the best conference I have ever attended.’

Thanks a million for a fantastic conference. We really don’t know how you keep coming up with new ideas!’

‘It was so informative and the evening was spectacular.’

‘It was fabulous! Thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of the event.’

‘You can’t beat the attention to detail at this conference.’

‘Not sure how you do it but it seems to get better every year.’

‘Huge congratulations to you all on an amazing event! Fantastic weekend from start to finish!’

‘Just wanted to say thank you so much again for an amazing weekend. It was the best Travel Centres conferenceI have been to yet.’

‘The conference this year was super — really well organised as ever so a big pat on the back to you’

Local Visitor Attractions & Discounts*:

Kildare Town Heritage Centre

Free admission

Kildare Village Designer Outlet

Extra 10% off for guests of Killashee Hotel

National Stud & Japanese Gardens

Tully, Co. Kildare. 2 for the price of 1

offer for guests of Killashee Hotel

Naas Shopping Centre

10% Discount Card with agreed retailers

Newbridge Silver Visitors Centre

10% Discount

Killashee Treat Sheet

Discounts exclusive to guests for local shopping activities

Nicola Ross Boutique, Main St, Naas

10% Discount

Pamela Scott, Whitewater Shopping

Centre, Newbridge 10% Discount

Tricky Tricksters Magic Castle

Toughers Business Pk, Kildare

10% off admission

Straffan Butterfly Farm

10% off admission

Kildare Maze

Family Pass €25, Adult

€8, Children €6

Killashee Leisure Facilities

25m pool plus kiddies’ pool.

Steam room, sauna, exercise room and weights area

Golf: Nearby courses include: The K Club (16km)

Craddockstown (1.5km)

Naas (1.5km)

Dunmurray Springs (28km)

*Contact front desk at Killashee Hotel for further details

www.hertz-gsa.ie

royal caribbean team ireland

Jennifer Callister Head of Ireland

Mob: +353 86 8227010 | Email: jcallister@rccl.com

John Booty

Key Account Manager Ireland

Mob: +353 87 9785859 | Email: jbooty@rccl.com

Michelle Ryan

Sales Development Manager Ireland

Mob: +353 86 1895339 | Email: michelleryan@rccl.com

THIS IS A DAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER PERFECT DAY ® AT COCOCAY ®