CCRA Launches New Membership Opportunities, Events for 2016

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Photo by Freeimages.com/Doru Lupeneau

CCRA Travel Commerce Network has announced that in 2016 the company is launching a new company website, new travel agent membership opportunities and new travel industry events. 

The former Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) memberships have been fully transitioned to CCRA’s new 2016 membership structure that is now featured on the new CCRA.com website. CCRA said it expects sold-out attendance at its 2016 PowerSolutions Events that will take place in seven cities across the U.S. and are free for registered travel agents to attend. CCRA will debut its new "StaySelect" hotel reservations portal that will be made available to all qualified travel agents by the end of the first quarter of 2016. Finally, CCRA reports a rapidly growing social media presence and enters new international markets with the launch of its Global Network powered by TRUE.

New CCRA.com Website and Travel Agent Membership Opportunities

CCRA has re-launched its new and modernized CCRA.com website that provides travel professionals with a one-stop destination to quickly access all CCRA offerings, including its new 2016 membership opportunities for travel agents and agencies in both domestic and international markets. In addition to the introduction of CCRA’s streamlined website, over the past several months, OSSN members were transitioned to CCRA’s new consolidated 2016 membership structures. 

The new membership offerings range from a fully inclusive accredited travel agency membership that includes TRUE accreditation and affords a wealth of additional benefits from CCRA for up to five agents to independent association memberships for single agents. CCRA now provides accreditation and identification to travel agencies around the world, backed by the TRUE code, which remains a flagship offering from CCRA. CCRA’s enhanced membership options for travel agents provide all the existing benefits of OSSN membership plus an array of additional benefits, including discounted rates, educational and online training platforms, discounts on industry trade shows, executive coaching from industry experts, local support at CCRA chapter meetings and much more. 

Travel agents may learn more about the new membership options and added benefits at https://www.ccra.com/join/.

To oversee all aspects of CCRA’s membership experience for travel agents, a new CCRA Membership Services Department has been formed, led by Margie Jordan, CCRA’s vice president of membership services. 

CCRA’s New StaySelect Hotel Booking Platform to Launch in Early 2016

CCRA also said it plans to release its brand new hotel booking portal for travel professionals, StaySelect, by the end of the first quarter of 2016. StaySelect will replace the existing CCRATravel.com hotel portal that currently has 13,119 registered travel agent users. Available for use by all 2016 CCRA travel agent members, the new StaySelect hotel portal will provide travel professionals with a much easier user interface and a visually stunning hotel search and booking platform, the company said.

CCRA’s PowerSolutions Events Expand to Additional Cities in 2016

CCRA’s PowerSolutions events are free educational networking opportunities that allow travel agents to mingle with suppliers and fellow chapter members in an intimate after-work cocktail hour setting. Last year, CCRA’s sold-out PowerSolutions Events attracted an average of 200 travel professional registrations per show. Due to increased travel agent and supplier demand, CCRA has expanded its 2016 PowerSolutions events to span seven cities across the U.S. 

The event calendar and more information can be found online at https://www.ccra.com/powersolutions/. Registration is already available for travel agents interested in attending the following two PowerSolutions events:

February 24, 2016: San Diego, CA: Held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, San Diego, CA: CCRA PowerSolutions San Diego, CA

June 20, 2016: New Orleans, LA: Held at The Westin New Orleans Canal Place, New Orleans, LA: CCRA PowerSolutions New Orleans, LA

The five additional PowerSolution event dates will be announced through the CCRA.com site and will take place in Philadelphia, South Florida, Minneapolis, Orlando and San Francisco.

CCRA’s Expansion Into New International Markets and Social Media

Since January, CCRA said it has acquired more than 10,000 new social media followers through its Facebook business page alone. CCRA said it expects its social media presence to significantly grow in 2016, as the company continues to place a greater emphasis on providing relevant and useful information to help travel professionals become more profitable, tech-savvy, and knowledgeable via CCRA’s social media accounts, that currently include: Facebook Twitter, vimeo, flickr, LinkedIn and the CCRA Community blog.

CCRA has also launched its Global Market powered by TRUE, where travel agents can access all of CCRA’s global suppliers that accept the TRUE code. CCRA’s expanding Global Market network currently includes Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Ecuador and more. These suppliers have never worked in the U.S. market. Since its launch, CCRA’s Global Market has added more than 20 new suppliers and hundreds of new members from outside the U.S. 

Visit https://www.ccra.com/globalmarket/