America's Vacation Center, a member of the American Express Travel Representative Network, has announced the impending launch of the Travel Executive Forum, a monthly series of agent-education programs featuring presentations from industry leaders. Each forum will be open to 1,000 agents and will combine a large-scale conference call with an online component. Each presentation will address a different theme and will be followed by a Q&A session. There is no cost to register, and even agents who are not affiliated with AVC are allowed to participate. The first Travel Executive Forum will take place at 12 p.m. EST on March 20 and will feature Bob Dickinson, president/CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, who will discuss tips for closing the sale. In April, Lisa Bauer and Adam Goldstein of Royal Caribbean International will discuss strategies to improve relationships with clients. For more information or to register, visit [www.joinavc.com]. In other news, AVC recently announced that it has reserved more than 25,000 select staterooms on various cruise lines, an increase of 66 percent from June 2006, due to customer needs and AVC's continued growth. In addition, the host agency has launched Agent Power 5.0, an upgrade to its web-based software that provides AVC's network of independently owned and operated agencies access to book live inventory customer relationship management and automatic commission tracking.
