After a week back home to regroup and re-energize, the road was calling again for another busy month

Monthly Archives 2014 April 2014 (1) March 2014 (2) January 2014 (1) 2013 November 2013 (1) October 2013 (1) September 2013 (1) August travel agencies 2013 (1) July 2013 (1) June 2013 (2) May 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) March 2013 (1) February 2013 (1) 2012 December 2012 (1) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (3) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) May 2012 (1) April 2012 (1) March 2012 (1) February 2012 (1) January 2012 (1) 2011 December 2011 (1) November 2011 (2) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (1) August 2011 (2) July 2011 (1) June 2011 (4) May 2011 (3) April 2011 (4) March 2011 (3) February 2011 (4) January 2011 (1) 2010 December 2010 (3) October 2010 (2) July 2010 (1) June 2010 (1) April 2010 (1) March 2010 (1) February 2010 (1) January 2010 (1) 2009 December 2009 (1) November 2009 (1) October travel agencies 2009 (2) September 2009 (1) August 2009 (1) July 2009 (1) June 2009 (1) May 2009 (1) April 2009 (1) March 2009 (1) February 2009 (1) January 2009 (1) 2008 December 2008 (1) November 2008 (1) October 2008 (1) September 2008 (1) August 2008 (1) July 2008 (1) May 2008 (1) April 2008 (1) March 2008 (1) February 2008 (2) January 2008 (3) 2007 October 2007 (3) September 2007 (3) August 2007 (2) July 2007 (3) June 2007 (5) May 2007 (4) April 2007 (2) March 2007 (3) February 2007 (1) 2006 December 2006 (1) November 2006 (1) October 2006 (1) September 2006 (1) August 2006 (2) June 2006 (2) May 2006 (3) April 2006 (1)
After a week back home to regroup and re-energize, the road was calling again for another busy month of three weeks of mid-week travel. It is always good to be home on the weekends, especially for the Easter holiday, and the destinations travel agencies and lodging companies I was visiting. travel agencies But first up was what has now become an annual trip with my son Adam to attend the Wrestlemania XXX event in New Orleans. We had a wonderful father / son trip and really enjoy spending time together. As usual the event was action packed. He was most happy to see some of his favorite wrestlers such as John Ciena and Daniel Brian win. The only bad part was seeing travel agencies The Undertaker's surprising loss end his streak at 21-0. The best part for me was just being together and seeing Adam have such a great time.
I returned home with Adam on Monday night just in time to see my alma matter University of Kentucky Wildcats narrowly lose the NCAA National Championship. Worse yet, Vanessa our Senior Trainer is a UConn Alumni so I had to endure her boasts. Then the next AM the road was calling again and I found myself on a cross-continent trip to Long Beach, CA where I was to train the Hotel Queen Mary. I recall when my parents stayed there many years ago and so I knew what an iconic hotel it was, but it was so exciting to pull into the parking lot and see this massive structure that has been docked at the Long Beach harbor and operating as a hotel since 1969. Here is a picture of the view as you arrive:
How exciting it was to walk across the ramp and to step back into time into the 1930's when she first launched. Everything looks mostly the same, including the cabins travel agencies that are now hotel rooms. Here's a picture of my cabin:
travel agencies Although I did not personally see any ghosts, it is famous on those TV shows about haunted hotels. I can't speak for that, but I can say one has an incredible sense of history as a walk down the corridors travel agencies seems like a walk back in time. What a wonderful experience I had in training the reservations sales team that day. One of the agents has been working in various positions there for 34 years; others just a few months. Everyone was very engaged and I hope to have brought travel agencies value to help them accurately sell the experience of being a guest here, which I would recommend for all. At the top of this entry is a picture of me with some of those who attended the afternoon session; we are by the ship's bell.
Next up was only a short drive over to Santa Ana, CA to return to the call center for Evolution Hospitality, where I had trained almost travel agencies 7 years ago. It was wonderful to be back and to see my good client friend Mea Posecion, the call center manager who oversees the team. Although most of the staff was new, a few were still there and I also met a lot of brand new hospitality travel agencies superstars. This is definitely one of the best private call centers I have ever trained and they do a great job of personalizing the interactions and engaging callers in authentic conversations. Below are pictures of me with two of the four groups I trained those days. In the first picture below Mea Posecion is the second from the left.
After a weekend back at home to reconnect with the family and giving my cat Shadow some badly needed attention it was time to head out again, this time for a much shorter journey to St. George Island in the Florida Panhandle area. Once again I was returning to training a client from about 7 years ago, which was Resort Vacation travel agencies Properties of St. George Island. Once again I found myself staying in an ultra-luxury accommodation, this time a 7 bedroom vacation home right on the bay, complete with a gourmet kitchen, a heated pool, hot-tub and even kayaks. Although travel agencies I didn't do much other than work it sure made me want to vacation there in the future with friends travel agencies and family. Here's a picture travel agencies of my home on the bay:
They had made arrangements with a competitor, travel agencies Collins Vacation Rentals, to bring me there for two days of sales and hospitality/guest service excellence training. They are the top two companies on the island, and it was smart that they join together for initiatives like this to improve the overall guest experience, realizing as smart destinations do that "the rising tide floats all the boats." It was great to reconnect with my client friends Beth and Dana, who are two of the owners of RVPSGI, and also Susan who is the manager of Collins who said she "...has been going through my training classes since I was a baby." Well maybe a baby-face might be true as we figured out it had been about 15 years since she first went through a program with me at the VRMA. Here are pictures travel agencies of me with some of the participants from two of my workshops that day.
After another pit-stop back home it was time for my last trip of the month, which was to conduct the first in a series of workshops we'll be doing this year for the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, RI. I had last been to Newport many years ago when I lived in Connecticut, and as their driver took me through the city center of this small seaport town I was enjoying the view of the historic buildings, quaint shops, and the many yachts and sailing vessels in the harbor. When we arrived at the inn, it was once again like stepping travel agencies back into history as the main building is in the former mansion of Alexander Agazzi, the famous scientist travel agencies who had called it home. My room was atop the building of his former laboratory and as I always try to do I paused upon entry to count my blessings of staying in such luxurious travel agencies accommodations for my business travel. Here's a picture of my the bedroom of my three room suite that day:
Immediately upon arrival Brian Young took me to lunch at the dining room, which has views of the Narragansett Bay that are almost as spectacular as the culinary experience of dining there. This picture fails to capture the ambiance but one can imagine:
I had a wonderful time training their front desk and reservations team that day, and I look forward to coming back again in about a month when their seasonal staff comes on board. I'm sure the rest of our KTN team will enjoy working travel agencies with such a professional crew too. Here's a picture travel agencies of me with some of the participants that day: