When people ask what I do for a living and I respond ''travel agent”, they automatically start telling me how cool it must be to stay everywhere for free. I’m here to tell you, that is not always the case. We do get some perks but that’s not why I’m a travel agent. The reason I’m a travel agent is because I want to help my clients save money, build a lasting relationship with them, and help them make lifetime family memories together.
To help with these tasks and learn other important skills, we host our own conference every year. This is a special conference that is only for Wizards, hosted by Wizards, with panels and speeches from the Wizards. October 2021 marked our 6th Wizard Con. Like the ones that have come before it, it was an amazing experience. We laughed, grew as agents, learned a lot, and walked more steps than our Fitbits could keep up with. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s conference.
We had some excellent speakers this year. We had representatives from Scooter Bug, Sandals/Beaches, Universal Parks, and our keynote speaker was Mike Marchev. Mr. Marchev gave an amazing talk on what skills someone in sales really needs in order to be successful. Spoiler alert: being a sleazy car salesman type will get you nowhere with your clients.
Listening to speakers is great but most of the time the real learning comes from seeing and experiencing your product first hand. We took a day to walk and explore 6 different hotels and resorts. They included Walt Disney World Swan, Walt Disney World Dolphin, Holiday Inn, Hilton Lake Buena Vista, Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, and the Grove. I personally really liked the Swan & Dolphin and the Grove. The Grove is great for larger families. They are set up as condos with up to 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, full kitchens, and washing machines. Some units can sleep as many as 10-12 guests and it's about 15-20 minutes from the Disney World parks.
Now with all of this work, we had to have some fun too. We had our annual scavenger hunt. This year’s theme was Hidden Mickeys. The objective was to find as many Mickeys as you could in about 3 hours throughout the resorts and parks. The winning team, the white team, found 50 Hidden Mickeys.
Other fun events included bowling at Splitsville, a gathering at the Barcelona Lounge, and a closing dinner at the La Mesa Patio with entertainment from Yehaa Bob Jackson. Then for our 4th annual Top Agent dinner, we ate at the top of the Gran Destino Tower in the Toledo Tapas, Steak, & Seafood restaurant.
Sad to say, Wizard Con 2021 is now officially over. Now it’s time to start counting down the days until Wizard Con 2022 at the beautiful Cabana Bay Resort at Universal Studios Orlando.