Hawaii Travel Exchange Alumni Ambassadors to Mentor New Advisors

NEW YORK (Sept. 29, 2014) ─ First-time travel advisors attending Questex Hospitality + Travel’s fifth-annual Hawaii Travel Exchange event, to be held Nov. 16-19 at the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Resort, on the island of Maui, will have plenty of mentorship and guidance thanks to the event’s Alumni Ambassadors.

Presented by Travel Agent and Luxury Travel Advisor magazines along with partner Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, the popular program is designed to educate travel professionals on the unique selling opportunities each Hawaiian Island has to offer.

Hawaii Travel Exchange is designed to connect Hawaii suppliers with top-producing travel professionals who actively book leisure travel. The four-day event will deliver in-depth educational seminars, prescheduled one-to-one meetings with exhibitors and exclusive networking opportunities.

Advisors also will take part in a three-day, post-familiarization trip hosted by the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau’s individual Island Chapters, showcasing their respective destinations.

The role of the Alumni Ambassadors is to mentor those advisors who are attending for the first time. Melody Tauchman, director of attendee relations for the event, said the ambassadors were selected based on their leadership skills, positive outlook, passion for Hawaii and successful sales history selling the Hawaiian Islands.

“Throughout the Exchange and post fam trips, the ambassadors do an amazing job of answering questions, directing and guiding advisors and introducing advisors and suppliers during networking sessions,” she said.
 

The ambassadors also will sit on a panel entitled Making the Most of One-to-Ones, just before the one-to-one appointments begin and share a brief overview of their sales successes and key insights about how to make the most of a six-minute appointment with suppliers by turning it in to a relationship that translates into future business.

“Last year’s panel was so well received that we are not only offering it again this year, but expanding it,” said Robyn Basso, the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau’s senior director travel industry partnerships. “Because Alumni Ambassadors have attended several past events and are successful sellers of Hawaii, they can be tremendous resources for new attendees. We are grateful for their passion and willingness to help new delegates get the most out of their participation.”

This year’s Alumni Ambassadors are:

• Neal Miller, Neal Miller Travel Company, Atlanta, Georgia
• Sandy Keel, Avoya Travel/AX, Jacksonville, Florida
• Todd DuBose, Springdale Travel, Mobile, Alabama
• Patti Lehman, The Travel Agent Inc, Carmel, Indiana

Applications for advisor positions are available at www.HawaiiTravelExchange.com.