Image courtesy of Cruise Planners.

The sponsors are lining up for our Agent@Home Travel Summits this September. Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, and a leading travel agent network, is sponsoring the summits scheduled for both coasts — Sept. 15-18 in Long Beach, Calif., and Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Vicky Garcia, chief operating officer and co-owner of Cruise Planners, explains why her organization has signed up as a Silver Sponsor. “Cruise Planners is participating in the Agent@Home Summit to network with our own Cruise Planners travel advisors in attendance as well as showcase our business model to those who may not have an affiliation with a host agency, consortia or franchisor,” she says.

“We feel strongly that travel agents should look at joining an organization that not only offers them top commissions, but also provides them with strong marketing tools, exclusive offers, cutting-edge technology, training and business development support,” Garcia continues. “There is way too much information in the travel industry, and home-based agents should have the support so they aren’t alone.”

Cruise Planners is a work-from-home franchise opportunity for those who have a passion for travel. “Our franchisees can operate their business part-time or full-time, from home, on a glacier or from the beach,” Garcia says. “We have turnkey solutions. We offer a ‘Business in a Box.’ Cruise Planners’ headquarters office does not sell travel, so 100 percent of our success is built on the success of our travel advisors — and we are behind them all the way!”

Some travel suppliers say they have a hard time finding and working with home-based travel agents. The Agent@Home Travel Summit is designed so those suppliers can learn about the home-based agent market and get in front of those agents.

Supplier Networking

“The Agent@Home Summit is a great venue for suppliers and can introduce them to new agents who are home-based but affiliated with a host or franchise, since those agents have the marketing and technology support and back-end tools to allow the agent to focus on relationship building and selling,” Garcia says.

And that can lead to a fruitful relationship that benefits both the travel agency franchisees and the suppliers.

“Our franchisees have strong relationships with all of our preferred partners and many of them recognize the Cruise Planners ‘Sea of Green’ that is at all travel industry events,” Garcia says, referring to the company’s trademark color evident in agent shirts as well as company logos. “We are very transparent with suppliers, offering them the ability to identify and work closely with our travel advisors in their local markets.”

The twin summits will feature a wide variety of workshops and seminars, as well as a tradeshow with exhibits from an array of top travel suppliers.

Keynote speakers will include Mark Murphy, president and CEO of travAlliancemedia, publisher of Agent@Home magazine, as well as Vacation Agent magazine and TravelPulse.com. Named by EXPO magazine as a “Change Agent” in the industry for his work in developing the first virtual tradeshows for travel agents, Murphy has an understanding of both the travel industry and media space.

“The Agent@Home events are addressing the same issues that the magazine set out to address and continues to address today,” Murphy says. “The need to bring a unique perspective and approach to events is sorely lacking in the market today, especially when it comes to travel agents who work from home. If you’re going to invest time and money to be at a conference, it has to be more than walking a floor or listening to a canned presentation. It has to be interactive and provide takeaways that can be put into action.”

One highlight of the Agent@Home Travel Summits will be the Town Hall, which will feature a panel of four top travel CEOs, who will discuss the state of the industry and where it’s headed in 2015 and beyond. Attendees will then be able to ask questions of the panelists and supplier and destination partners, as well as the Agent@Home magazine editorial team.

For more information or to view full agenda, visit www.agentathometravelsummit.com.

Suppliers who are interested in exhibiting at the summits can email ahts@msemgmt.com.