Travel Leaders to Run Host Agency Forum in Chicago

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Photo by Freeimages.com/Richard Rowley

Travel Leaders Associates has announced that Travel Leaders’ Independent Contractor (IC) Center of Excellence will convene its second annual Host Agency Forum at the Chicago Fairmont Hotel on April 26-27. The forum is offered as a networking and training opportunity for Travel Leaders Associates and managers of all agency sizes who are interested in learning how to expand their relationships with ICs or better manage their existing relationships. Registration for Travel Leaders’ Host Agency Forum is complimentary and exclusive to Travel Leaders members.

Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, said that the company had decided to expand the forum to two days due to high demand following last year’s inaugural event. 

Each day during the Travel Leaders Host Agency Forum, there will be industry subject matter experts to facilitate panel discussions that address important host agency management matters, including current legal issues, fraud avoidance, supplier views on IC sales and best practices in IC recruitment.  Participants will hear from a broad range of speakers including:

Pam Bonin, ASTA Membership Director, will discuss the growing role of Independent Contractors in the industry and the new ASTA membership level/benefits.

Debbie Erickson, Manager of Loss Prevention, ARC, will discuss the ins and outs of fraud prevention as it relates to ICs.

Globus family of brands’ Colleen McGuire, along with Funjet Vacations’ Terry Morrison and Kathy Mehring, will provide their views on the evolving world of Independent Contractors and discuss how suppliers can work with host agencies on challenging subjects such as commissions, communications, direct bookings and managed sales growth.

Bob Brill, Travel Leaders Group’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel, will provide an in-depth review of the current Department of Labor issues regarding ICs.

Veronique Deblois, Travel Leaders Group Hotel Division Senior Director, will share new ideas and technologies to improve IC hotel sales with an emphasis on incentives.

Registration is available through Cvent