MLT Vacations kicked off its 16th annual MLT University on Monday in St. Paul, MN, a gathering of close to 1600 travel agents who will participate in more than 40 classes taught by destination experts. The educational seminar runs through October 7.
A variety of classes will be presented by this year’s event sponsors, which include AM Resorts, Barcelo Hotels and Resorts, Catalonia Hotels, Palace Resorts, Sandals and Beaches Resorts, Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts and Tourism Ireland. MLT University looks to equip US and Canada–based travel agents with the latest destination information and selling tools.
On Tuesday, MLT Vacations, which operates three distinct brands: Worry Free Vacations, Delta Vacations and Continental Airlines Vacations, held a morning general session led by Vice President of Sales Terry Morrison. Though admitting that this was a tough operating environment, Morrison was bullish about the future of travel and, specifically, MLT Vacations. His message for agents: “For you to be successful, you need to have the most up to date information and technology to sell our packages.”
To that end, MLT is rolling out new initiatives and expanding its presence. For instance, it already has introduced 30 new destinations and plans to offer a total of 50 new destinations by year-end. Included is Los Cabos, which was announced yesterday as part of Continental’s SelectEscapes Luxury and Delta Vacations’ LIFESTYLE Collection featuring luxury.
Two items of big news were announced at the morning session. One, as of October 20, for all land-based bookings, a deposit of only $100 is necessary for bookings outside 45 days. Two, MLT Vacations will have a new Flexible Getaways program as of October 12. What does that mean? Well, for you? Simply, group travel without the group. Flexible Getaways makes it easy for people to get together. It’s designed for a minimum of 10 people who want to vacation together at the same resort but need flexibility with travel dates, flights, length of stay and where they are traveling from. The program is available at participating resorts in Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Las Vegas. Clients will save up to $200 per booking Flexible Getaways, along with a $50 per booking rebate up to the total price of the booking.
