Direct/Vision Making Town Hall Connection

There’s no doubt that training – and sharing – have always been an important part of communications between a head office and its travel advisors, but these days, it has never been more critical.

COVID-19 has brought with it a lot of worry and uncertainty for the Canadian travel industry over the past months, and Direct Travel/Vision Travel’s president of Western Canada, Brian Robertson says that’s why “we decided to ramp up our internal communications by way of Town Hall meetings.”

The Zoom get-togethers have been held weekly since March and they alternate between features for all leisure advisors in North America to those just in Canada.

As many as 400 advisors have tuned into the 90-minute sessions which have ranged in topic from insurance to airline updates, government support to supplier stability.

Upcoming topics include how to implement service fees and a focus on hotels offering special amenities unique to Direct/Vision customers.

Said Robertson: “Independent travel advisors especially tell us how pleased and relieved they are to participate in these events.”

The company’s program for home-based agents is gearing up for expansion later this year, with Robertson observing: “We believe they must feel in the loop and are encouraging all advisors to use this time to communicate with clients while enhancing their overall knowledge as they take advantage of government programs available.”

Independent Travel Advisor Cathy Wasserman has attended all the Town Halls and recently shared “I wanted to let you know how much I have felt supported by our amazing team. I initially had some resistance to working from home, but I can honestly say that because of the wonderful support and your frequent Town Hall meetings I still feel very much connected and am quite enjoying it.”

And Robertson points out that: “One of the sectors predicted to come back strongly is luxury travel and we are doing our utmost to help our advisors increase their knowledge in this important niche.”

For more, go to www.dt.com or check out www.visiontravel.ca.