Travel Directors Have a Home
Activism is something I am taking too. No……..I am not running out to blockade the local WalMart or chain myself to a lamppost in protest of some corporate or government misdeed, my activism is a little more subtle.
I am getting sick and tired of the status quo in the meetings and events industry. I am tired of the old guard (and trust me, I could almost qualify as the old guard) who are so reluctant to change. They want things to stay exactly as they were in 1991 (or 1978) which is really setting our industry back.
Through my efforts and energy, I am finding many people that feel the same way I do and are working hard to make a difference.
One of those people is Alison Ray. Never heard of her? You will know her soon, especially if you are a corporate or association planner, or one of the unsung heroes of the meetings and events industry…….the Travel Director.
Travel Directors are the people that live only to work at your event. They go to far flung places, they work the floor, the reg desk, at the airport greeting your attendees……usually with a smile and a wink.
Alison noticed that this huge segment of the industry was being underserved…………well, maybe not underserved, more like not served at all.
They had no voice and nowhere to call home. They don’t fit with MPI, or PCMA or ISES (which by the way is no fault of these organizations). So she decided to do something about it, she started the International Network of Travel Directors. Their very own association. Honestly, I was one of those people who thought there was already an association for everybody….now there is.
In her words:
“INTD membership provides an online resource for experienced Travel Directors who are hired specifically to oversee and implement on-site logistics for meetings, incentive programs or events. Areas of expertise may range from lead program manager, dinner meeting host, ground transportation, hotel room block, registration/hospitality desk, audio visual, food & beverage, activities, etc. Additionally, many Travel Directors also have experience as independent meeting managers assisting with program management and pre-planning projects”.
For the Travel Director, it allows them to learn from the experiences of other Travel Directors, from industry experts and network with their peers, for Corporate and Association Planners it allows us a place job ads and get responses from qualified, experienced professionals that can help make our meetings and events a huge success without having to weed through 8 million resumes from applicants that are looking to make a career change or aren’t qualified to pick me up at the airport, never mind picking up my VIP’s.
So, if you are a Travel Director, Join. Join today. If you are a corporate, association or third party planner looking for qualified Travel Directors, post an ad and see the results you get.
Change does not happen overnight, it happens when we all do something a little different……..
Just a thought.
Keith
I am getting sick and tired of the status quo in the meetings and events industry. I am tired of the old guard (and trust me, I could almost qualify as the old guard) who are so reluctant to change. They want things to stay exactly as they were in 1991 (or 1978) which is really setting our industry back.
Through my efforts and energy, I am finding many people that feel the same way I do and are working hard to make a difference.
One of those people is Alison Ray. Never heard of her? You will know her soon, especially if you are a corporate or association planner, or one of the unsung heroes of the meetings and events industry…….the Travel Director.
Travel Directors are the people that live only to work at your event. They go to far flung places, they work the floor, the reg desk, at the airport greeting your attendees……usually with a smile and a wink.
Alison noticed that this huge segment of the industry was being underserved…………well, maybe not underserved, more like not served at all.
They had no voice and nowhere to call home. They don’t fit with MPI, or PCMA or ISES (which by the way is no fault of these organizations). So she decided to do something about it, she started the International Network of Travel Directors. Their very own association. Honestly, I was one of those people who thought there was already an association for everybody….now there is.
In her words:
“INTD membership provides an online resource for experienced Travel Directors who are hired specifically to oversee and implement on-site logistics for meetings, incentive programs or events. Areas of expertise may range from lead program manager, dinner meeting host, ground transportation, hotel room block, registration/hospitality desk, audio visual, food & beverage, activities, etc. Additionally, many Travel Directors also have experience as independent meeting managers assisting with program management and pre-planning projects”.
For the Travel Director, it allows them to learn from the experiences of other Travel Directors, from industry experts and network with their peers, for Corporate and Association Planners it allows us a place job ads and get responses from qualified, experienced professionals that can help make our meetings and events a huge success without having to weed through 8 million resumes from applicants that are looking to make a career change or aren’t qualified to pick me up at the airport, never mind picking up my VIP’s.
So, if you are a Travel Director, Join. Join today. If you are a corporate, association or third party planner looking for qualified Travel Directors, post an ad and see the results you get.
Change does not happen overnight, it happens when we all do something a little different……..
Just a thought.
Keith
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