Headquarter Happenings: Ensemble Soars into the Future ‘On Purpose’ with New CEO
经过杰拉尔丁·里伊(Geraldine Ree)/
上周在西雅图举行的Ensemble年度会议上,宴会厅的每个角落都散发出了高昂的期望,这是该组织新任首席执行官和总统戴维·哈里斯(David Harris)的第一场比赛。
个人旅行管理的资深代理商老板Rikki Hepburn评论说:“这是我今年来的主要原因。我想听听自己的新方向。”
Taking the stage, Harris made points with member advisors and staff early on by demonstrating his “People First” strategy. He started by introducing the entire Ensemble team and thanking them for their “amazing efforts,” with high-fives across the stage. Check. The team appeared happy, and relieved that the moment was behind them, so they could get on with delivering the conference.
当被问及最初90天的优先事项时,哈里斯回答:“球队排名第一。即使我知道他们中的大多数成员,我还是需要从不同的角度了解和理解它们。这比我预期的要长,但这是完全必要的。”
哈里斯继续发表了另外两个值得注意的领导声明。首先,他的目标是对成员负责。他的角色是帮助合奏成员赢得胜利,为此,必须了解得分。“数据是国王。信息和分析的价值对于每天建立您的业务至关重要。”
Harris leaned in on his experience to share why data matters. “As an agency owner, imagine the power we would all have if we learned that, for example, August was the worst booking month for cruise sales. I could have used that time better. I know that, in my business, I could have made much more informed decisions.”
新首席执行官也是旅行社
这个作为旅行顾问的tick盒与许多旅行市场报告在整个会议期间都交谈的代理商所有者获得了重大积分。beplay客服“大卫是一名经纪人,所以他了解我们的需求,”仅旅行的所有者帕特里克·卢西安(Patrick Luciani)说,他刚刚庆祝旅行50年。“我对新方向有任何信心,因为大卫来自代理背景。”
Harris went on to reveal, in what seemed like a bold statement, that they had in the past, reported the wrong numbers. “For years, we’ve shared incorrectly that we’re a $2-billion-dollar organization with 850 members. The true number of our members is currently 719 in North America, and a further 44 in Australia and New Zealand, for a grand total of 765 members worldwide.”
Yet, from a volume perspective, their business was more than twice the size. The reason for this discrepancy was that they had traditionally only tracked their managed business.
In doing the analysis, they’ve come to validate that their unmanaged business was closer to $4 billion, with 1.5 billion in unmanaged air business alone. This represents untapped potential for agency members.
第二个值得注意的观点以及整个会议的推力是哈里斯和合奏旅行集团如何使可持续旅行的重要性翻倍。“故意”的主题创造了一个慈善背景,该背景是催化剂,将小组以统一的力量向前推进。
主任Chris Lackstrom供应商and market development, “It’s been incredible to see the kind of impact even the small things we’re doing can have. We’ve got reusable water bottles, recycled fabrics in our tote bags, and wooden name badges. We’re even donating the computers we’re using for the tech lab to inner city schools.”
致力于“故意”原因
It was announced that Ensemble will join forces with two powerhouses in the field of reducing the impact of travel on the environment. Travel Care Code, with Dr. Jonathan Day, will provide Ensemble agents with educational and marketing resources to share such as, “10 Easy Steps for Responsible Tourism.”
They will also partner with Cool Effects. This nonprofit group fights climate change by donating the proceeds of carbon offsets to the highest quality and verifiable carbon reduction projects throughout the world. Their carbon offsetting tool will be placed on the Ensemble platform to seamlessly calculate the carbon offset of air travel.
合奏通过捐赠900多名与会者名单来捐赠碳偏移来强调他们的承诺。
会议供应商和主旨演讲者体重
Suppliers attending the Ensemble Conference were able to hook their presentations to the “On Purpose” theme as they gave agencies the “why” behind their products.
Travel Corporation lives behind the company’s pledge to “Treadright” and gave a powerful presentation behind how sustainable travel is at the heart of every brand. Globus Family of Brands hooked to a variety of sustainable projects, including ocean clean up; and bracelets created by women in poverty to provide education, business skills and financial support. Afar Magazine entered into the consumer media with a vision of making “Travel a Force for Good.”
WestJet, known for their community-minded culture said it will increase fuel efficiency by 14% and give out blankets made from 100% recycled materials. Visa for Venice is installing vending machines for donations throughout the city to help the three-year effort to repair the impact of overtourism.
The keynote speech by Spencer West gave new meaning to “making travel matter” by demonstrating that anything is possible. Having lost his lower-body mobility at the age of two, among other remarkable achievements in his lifetime, West succeeded in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on his hands. In the end, he actually helped his friends who had been stricken by altitude sickness to reach the final pinnacle.
The last-minute addition at the conference of entrepreneurial dynamos, Scott and Ally Svenson, who are the founders of Mod Pizza, provided another “On Purpose” lens. “Our mission is to be in the people business, by serving pizza.” Unlike other small businesses, Mod Pizza looks to make a positive social impact by providing second-chance employment to ex-convicts; and by teaming with Best Buddies to provide jobs to people with Down syndrome, autism, and other intellectual disabilities.
教育是支柱
Education was highlighted at the conference as a competitive advantage, with the goal of providing the best-in-class education in the industry. It is now mandatory for the group’s U.S. agents to belong to ASTA, which Harris says is a no-brainer, as it is critical to support the industry association that advocates on advisors’ behalf.
ACTA Canada was in full support, with Doreen Lynch saying this: “It is always very rewarding to connect with Ensemble members at their conferences and events. This year was especially energized, as it focused on improving the lives of clients and the positive impact travel can make on the future of our planet. ACTA is proud to play a part of that positive momentum.”
The Travel Institute announced that Ensemble will be the first consortia to offer a scholarship for certification to every shareholder member. For the next year, Ensemble will underwrite 50% of the certification costs for each shareholder and will offer a 15% discount for all other members.
这个问责制和目标驱动的旅游业的使命会得到回报吗?根据Skift的说法,有60%的旅行者表示,选择优先考虑可持续商业惯例的旅行业务很重要。Travel Market Reports’ “2019 Outlook on Niche Travel and Specialization” also reported that while only 6% of survey respondents specialize in sustainable travel today, close to 30% plan on specializing in it in the future, higher than any other specialization including luxury and family travel.
Ensemble Travel Group’s “On Purpose” conference laid out a comprehensive slate with a major focus on education, learning labs, hands-on tech demonstrations, and social media.
在整个为期4天的会议上创建了1,000个帖子,标志着由营销副总裁卡尔·施密特(Carl Schmitt)领导的一个充满活力的年轻营销团队策划的高水平参与。