SURVIVAL GUIDE 2018 Supplier Edition
KHM TRAVEL GROUP S 2018 CRYSTAL CONFERENCE AND AWARDS SUPPLIER SURVIVAL GUIDE Thank you for partnering with KHM Travel Group to attend our Crystal Conference and Awards. This guide was created to help you prepare and navigate the conference and have the best experience possible. Our 2018 Crystal Conference & Awards will take place aboard Royal Caribbean s Independence of the Seas from January 27th February 1st. We recommend coming into Ft. Lauderdale a day early so you can be on board the ship by 1:00 pm on the 27th for our first event scheduled at 1:30 pm. On February 1st the ship arrives back in Ft. Lauderdale at 7:00 am. Please allow ample time to get off the ship before scheduling your flight home, and do not schedule your flight before 11:30 am in accordance with Royal Caribbean s recommendations. This year s theme is The Value of You. We want to express to our agents the value they can offer clients as a travel agent. Think about this and possibly incorporate this into your training and your discussions with agents. Consider sharing the value of your brand, the value of your partnership, and the value of the agent. 2
SUPPLIER RESPONSIBILITIES Checklist DUE BY AUGUST 21 ST Register for conference by responding to registration email Pay for Sponsor or Exhibitor level. Pay by credit card contact bri@khmtravel.com Pay by invoice contact lisa@khmtravel.com DUE BY OCTOBER 2 ND Send logo, name and title, and headshot (see Program Material section, page 6) of conference attendee(s) to marketing@khmtravel.com Send program book ad (see Program Material section, page 6) to marketing@khmtravel.com Choose a door prize and email details to lisa@khmtravel.com Notify KHM Travel Group of any planned shore excursions by emailing events@khmtravel.com DUE BY JANUARY 19 TH Attend Supplier Webinar or watch the recording if you cannot attend Plan your 35-minute training if you re a sponsor and send a copy of any digital files to events@khmtravel.com so we can have a back-up copy for you. PRIOR TO JANUARY 27 TH Book air and hotel as needed recommended to arrive a day early. Reach out to agents prior to sailing to plan meetings, shore excursions, etc. Complete your online check-in at www.royalcaribbean.com and print out important documentation. 3
KHM TRAVEL GROUP S RESPONSIBILITIES Checklist Here is what KHM Travel Group will do in the coming months: Confirm your registration and provide confirmation number when available. Email list of registered agents in mid-december. List to include Pinnacle, Basecamp, Boot Camp attendee in 2016 or 2017, and if they re a new agent within the past 12 months. Provide individual schedule so you know where you need to be & when. Beth will host informational webinar for suppliers. Notify you of Crystal Award winners in mid-january. Email you post-conference with door prize winner s name, Flickr account, attendees list, and survey. 4
Before the Crystal Conference and Awards Planning ahead for Crystal is just as important as actually attending and we want to prepare you as much as possible. In addition to this survival guide, we will also be hosting a supplier webinar. Please keep an eye on your email for additional information closer to the event. ENGAGING AGENTS The first step in successful participation in this event is promoting that you will be in attendance. Our agents want to spend time with you and it s important to get the word out and invite them to meet with you on Crystal. We encourage you to reach out to the agents to schedule times to meet with you prior to leaving on the cruise. KHM Travel Group will provide you with a list of the agents who will be attending. You will also be able to do a live Facebook video when at the KHM Travel Group Corporate Office for one of our events. In mid-december you will receive a list of agents registered to attend Crystal. Included in this list will be: if they re Pinnacle or Basecamp agents, if they attended Boot Camp in 2016 or 2017, or if they are a new agent within the year. This should help you decide on the agents you d like to meet. PLEASE NOTE All suppliers will receive this list on the same day. It s up to you to be vigilant in reaching out to agents and scheduling dinners, shore excursions, etc. Top producing agents will most likely be asked to attend meetings with multiple suppliers so acting quickly when reaching out to them is important. REGISTRATION You will receive an email to verify your registration and personal information, and to determine payment of $5,500 for sponsors or $3,500 for exhibitors. If paying with a credit card, please contact bri@khmtravel.com to set up a phone call. If you prefer to be invoiced, please contact lisa@khmtravel.com. ADDITIONAL GUEST OR CABIN If you need an extra cabin or would like to bring a guest, please contact events@khmtravel.com as soon as possible to do so. Adding a guest to your cabin will cost an additional $300. Additional cabins will cost our normal group rate. 5
Program Material Needed From You If you have sent this information in for previous conferences, you DO NOT need to re-submit your information if there have been no changes. To verify what we have on file for you, if there are changes to the following, or you have not previously submitted, please contact marketing@khmtravel.com with subject line: Crystal Conference Supplier Material no later than October 2 nd, 2017. Your Company Logo: Please send a high-resolution file of your company s logo in the following format:.eps,.ai or.pdf Names and Professional Titles of all Cruise Attendees: Please provide a list of correct names and professional titles for our Supplier Attendee List in print/ online event promotional materials. Professional Headshot for All Attendees: Please submit a high-resolution headshot for the Supplier Attendee Listing in the Program Book and Crystal Awards Presentation slideshow. The image should be a.jpg or.pdf file, no smaller than 375 x 525 pixels. Program Book Ads: Select sponsorship levels receive either a full or half page ad in our event Program Book to be distributed to all event attendees and their travel companions. Some sponsors may wish to take this opportunity to thank our KHM Travel Group agents for their support or share a general congratulations to all the winners. 6 FULL PAGE AD (Sponsors only) 5.5 wide x 8.5 high + Bleed (vertical placement only) ADVERTISEMENT SPECS HALF PAGE AD (Exhibitors only) 5.5 wide x 4.125 high+bleed (horizontal placement only) Bleed:.125 Color Mode: CMYK File Type:.pdf,.indd Resolution: 300ppi or higher
Trade Show Materials DOOR PRIZE If an agent attends the trade show, they re automatically entered to win a door prize. If you choose to give out a door prize, please email lisa@khmtravel.com to notify her of what the prize will be. You will also need to bring the prize/certificate with you to Crystal, as well as the terms to redeem the prize if a trip is being given away. The winners will be chosen randomly from agents who attend the trade show. TRADE SHOW RECOMMENDATIONS Keep handouts to a minimum. You will be provided with a table. If you plan on bringing items on board think: less is more. You are responsible for getting your own materials on the ship. Use this opportunity to set up special incentives for agents attending Crystal. If you chose to do this, please notify our Supplier Relations Team as you normally do with incentives and promotions. Try to keep conversations short, as a lot of agents will need to make it through the trade show. Your elevator pitch works well here. Use this time to continue scheduling one-on-one meetings as needed. REMEMBER: You re responsible for bringing any trade show material and trinkets on board with you and storing it until the trade show or other time. 7
RACE TO CRYSTAL The Race to Crystal is a fun challenge we promote to our agents. It helps us to build excitement about the Crystal Conference and Awards and encourages agents to continue to grow their business with suppliers. The Race to Crystal begins in August and provides our agents with a monthly update on the Agent Portal of the top 5 agents in the running to receive a Crystal Award. KHM Travel Group runs monthly reports based on travelled sales for the calendar year. We scramble the order of the top 5 agents so agents don t know the winners prior to the Crystal Award Ceremony. Since the winners are based on travelled sales, we will do our best to notify you of your winner in mid-january prior to the Crystal Conference and Awards. WE DO ASK THAT YOU KEEP THIS INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL. 8
Once On-Board OPTIONAL ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS After last year s Crystal Conference, many agents expressed that they would have liked to meet one-on-one with suppliers but didn t feel comfortable approaching them. This year, if you choose, you can let us know what time you will be available and we will inform the agents of your specific time slots available and location. You will be responsible for using your time and space how you see fit, but we have found that many agents just like to pick your brain and seek advice on growing their business with your brand. These meetings can be some of the most valuable time spent during the conference! Keep in mind you re also able to schedule informal meet-ups throughout the length of the conference in any location you find available, i.e. pool, lounges, bars. If you would like to schedule a time for one-on-one meetings in advance, please contact events@khmtravel.com with your availability. 9
THINK OUTSIDE the Box While there are scheduled opportunities to be in front of agents, think outside the box too! Solidifying existing relationships and establishing new ones are key to a successful conference. Here are some ideas: Excursions Excursions can be booked via: www.royalcaribbean.com once you receive your confirmation number. Costa Maya has 46 excursions to choose from and Cozumel has 62 to choose from. If you plan an excursion, please notify events@khmtravel.com with details and estimated number of agents and guests attending. This will help the staff should agents have questions while we re traveling. Inviting agents out to specialty dining Dining reservations can be made online 90 days prior to sailing. Please do not feel you need to invite KHM Travel Group staff to dinner. As much as we appreciate the offer, this conference is intended for you to spend time with the agents. Having drinks after dinner or any time! If staying in the main dining room, change up your table when another table has an opening to meet new people. We recommend spending at least one night in the main dining room to give you a better opportunity to meet agents you may not know yet. 10
CRYSTAL CONFERENCE AND AWARDS 2018 Schedule All schedules are subject to change, but our planned schedule is as follows. Supplier events or events you are invited to have been highlighted with the exception of Day 2. Sunday, Day 2, is our big training and trade show day and has a specialized color code for time blocks and rooms. Please be courteous of our schedule and do not plan to be with agents when there is a scheduled event happening. Aside from our group photo, we have kept both port days open for you to take agents on excursions or site inspections if you so choose. We ve also planned for you to have one-on-one meetings if you re interested. 11
DAY 1 SATURDAY, JANUARY 27TH Embarkation/Ft. Lauderdale, FL 1:30 PM 3:00 PM 3:30 PM Supplier Meet & Greet Appointment Scheduling Mandatory Muster Drill Conference Center Deck 2 Mid 5:30 PM 6:00 PM Welcome and Greeting Alhambra Theater 6:00 PM 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM Early Dining KHM Travel Group & Supplier Reception Macbeth Dining Room Deck 4 Aft Alhambra Theater Highlighted events are required. Highlighted events are required and sectioned off by room and time slot. Exhibitors are invited to all dinners, the Trade Show (with table), the Crystal Awards, and the Welcome and Post-Award Ceremony cocktail parties. 12
6:30 AM DAY 2 SUNDAY, JANUARY 28TH Day at Sea Early Bird Breakfast Jade Deck 2 7:00 AM 8:00 AM 8:40 AM 8:00 AM 8:40 AM 8:45 AM 9:25 AM 9:30 AM 10:10 AM 11:00 AM 11:30 AM 12:00 PM 11:45 AM 12:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM Breakfast Royal Caribbean Apple Vacations Walt Disney Travel Company Princess Cruises Vacation Express Expedia TAAP Carnival Cruise Line Mark Travel Corporation Celebrity Cruise Line Delta Vacations Globus family of brands Viking River Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line GOGO Vacations Holland America Line Travel Impressions Lunch Supplier Set-Up Trade Show Lunch Trade Show Welcome Cocktail Reception Early Dining Windjammer Café Deck 2 Pyramid Lounge Jamaica Con. Rm. Aruba Con. Rm. St. Thomas Con. Rm. Barbados Con. Rm. Labyrinth Lounge Jamaica Con. Rm. Aruba Con. Rm. St. Thomas Con. Rm. Barbados Con. Rm. Labyrinth Lounge Jamaica Con. Rm. Aruba Con. Rm. St. Thomas Con. Rm. Barbados Con. Rm. Labyrinth Lounge Sorrento s Pizzaria Café Promenade Deck 5 Conference Center Windjammer Café Deck 2 Conference Center Solarium Deck 11 Forward Macbeth Dining Room 13
DAY 3 MONDAY, JANUARY 29TH Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico 9:00 am - 6:00 pm All Aboard at 5:30 pm 6:30 AM Early Bird Breakfast Jade Deck 2 7:00 AM Breakfast Windjammer Café Deck 2 8:30 AM Group Photo Helipad 9:00 AM Arrival in Puerto Costa Maya Docked TBA Agent to Agent Panel Jamaica Con. Rm. TBA KHM Travel Group mytravelcrm Aruba Con. Rm. All Day Optional Supplier & Agent Scheduled Meeting Time St. Thomas & Barbados Con. Rm. 5:00 PM 6:00 PM Producing Agent Reception Pyramid Lounge 6:00 PM Early Dining Macbeth Dining Room Highlighted events are required. 14 Highlighted events are required and sectioned off by room and time slot. Exhibitors are invited to all dinners, the Trade Show (with table), the Crystal Awards, and the Welcome and Post-Award Ceremony cocktail parties.
DAY 4 TUESDAY, JANUARY 30TH Cozumel, Mexico 8:00 am - 6:30 pm All Aboard at 6:00 pm 6:30 AM Early Bird Breakfast Jade Deck 2 7:00 AM Breakfast Windjammer Café Deck 2 8:00 AM Arrival in Cozumel Docked All Day Optional Supplier & Agent Scheduled Meeting Time Jamaica, Aruba, St. Thomas & Barbados Con. Rm. 6:00 PM Early Dining Macbeth Dining Room Highlighted events are required. Highlighted events are required and sectioned off by room and time slot. Exhibitors are invited to all dinners, the Trade Show (with table), the Crystal Awards, and the Welcome and Post-Award Ceremony cocktail parties. 15
DAY 5 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31ST Day at Sea 6:30 AM Early Bird Breakfast Jade Deck 2 7:00 AM Breakfast Windjammer Café Deck 2 8:00 AM 9:30 AM 9:35 AM 10:35 AM 11:00 AM 11:45 AM KHM Travel Training: Compliance KHM Travel Training: mytravelcrm Lunch Lunch Conference Center Conference Center Sorrento s Pizzaria Café Promenade Deck 5 Jade & Windjammer Café Deck 2 12:00 PM *Dress Rehearsal with Suppliers Alhambra Theatre 1:30 PM 4:30 PM Crystal Award Ceremony Alhambra Theatre 5:00 PM 6:00 PM Post-Award Ceremony Cocktail Event Solarium 6:00 PM Early Dining Macbeth Dining Room * Please come dressed for the Crystal Award Ceremony when you arrive for the Dress Rehearsal. 16 Highlighted events are required. Highlighted events are required and sectioned off by room and time slot. Exhibitors are invited to all dinners, the Trade Show (with table), the Crystal Awards, and the Welcome and Post-Award Ceremony cocktail parties.
AFTER THE Crystal Conference & Awards In the weeks following the conference, we will email you the following: Your door prize winner s name and contact info Link to our Flickr account to find photos from the conference Attendee list Link to online survey for you to complete We may also ask you to film a testimonial video. 17
2017 CRYSTAL CONFERENCE & AWARDS Survey Feedback To better help you prepare, below is some of the feedback from agents who attended the Crystal Conference last year. AGENTS ENJOYED: I liked that we had so much time to meet one on one with suppliers in a casual setting. I liked being able to have training from the vendors and to interact with them with any questions or concerns. Also, it was a good time to network with other KHM agents. [A supplier] shared marketing tips and ideas and focused on making us better agents and not just pushing the product on us. AGENTS WANTED IMPROVEMENT ON: I was very disappointed that the training consisted mainly of supplier presentations. The Friday morning training lacked any stated objectives, no audio visuals, and seemed like the presenters were winging it. Too many events with suppliers providing the same information over and over. The training sessions that I participated in were kind of lacking. I did enjoy the finding your past and passion one though. It focused on the agent and how to grow our business. The trainings on Thursday seemed very rushed and didn t provide a lot of information. I didn t think it was very easy to track down a supplier and sit down with them. Wish we have more time for training and meeting with suppliers and not just one day, lots of time spent telling how awesome we are but we need more face-to-face time with suppliers. 18 Some agent responses may have been edited for length and/or clarity.
SUGGESTED DO S & DON TS for Your Training Do Give teasers or sneak peeks of what s coming this year with your company. DON T Spend the entire time talking about special promotions Agents receive this information on a weekly basis via email. Do Use this time to talk about the perks of your brand. Do you have an agent rewards program? DON T Show promo videos the entire time. Do Remember you re talking to a diverse crowd of new and seasoned agents. What may be common knowledge to some, may spark interest in someone who is unfamiliar with your brand. DON T Go over your 35-minute time frame. Going over your time will not allow for questions after your presentation. All sponsors are given the same 40 minutes and we ask that you stick to that time so we can stay on schedule. Do Bring your own laptop for training and a back-up of your training on a flash drive. You may also want to bring any adaptors you may need to connect to VGA, as we will not have access to these if needed. 19
Contact Information For general questions regarding the Crystal Conference, contact the Events Team: events@khmtravel.com For questions about your Program Materials, contact the Marketing Team: marketing@khmtravel.com 2017 KHM Consulting Inc. All Rights Reserved. KHM Travel Group is a trademark registration of KHM Consulting Inc. California Seller of Travel Registration # 2089491-50. Registration as a seller of travel in California does not constitute the state s approval. Agent is not a participant in the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund. Florida Seller of Travel Registration # ST37113. Hawaii Seller of Travel License # TAR 7231. Iowa Seller of Travel Travel Agency # 960. Washington Seller of Travel UBI # 602 775 122.