Douglas Kennedy
Beginning on Monday, May 18 and spanning over four weeks, VRMA's virtual Spring Forum experience will feature both live-streamed content and on-demand sessions that you can access as your schedule permits. Don’t miss out on 14+ hours of live education, 20+ on-demand session recordings and 30+ suppliers to meet within our virtual tradeshow. Doug Kennedy, president of Kennedy Training Network, previews what attendees can expect to take away from his Tuesday, May 19 session, Train Your Reservations Team for the Coming Wave of Deal-Seekers.
In the past two months, most reservations teams have seen call volume slow to a trickle and for now, the phones are eerily quiet. So, what comes next? The most important time in voice reservations history! As the economy reopens and travel starts to rebound, reservations sales agents have a huge opportunity to become the superheroes of their vacation rental companies.
"As the economy reopens and travel starts to rebound, reservations sales agents have a huge opportunity to become the superheroes of their vacation rental companies."
I predict the voice reservations channel will return with a vengeance, as potential guests will have questions and concerns that can only be addressed by human interactions. Some of these questions will be specific to the latest updates on the availability of services on-site or nearby, but more challenging will be questions relating to discounts and specials.
There is sure to be a coming wave of "deal-seekers,” as the general public is well-aware that travel is now a "buyer's market." Also, with actual availability showing online at our websites, guests will be in no major hurry to commit unless we nudge them along.
Your agents are also going to be receiving calls from those who are experiencing displaced vacation traditions. Rather than taking that summer cruise or visiting overseas, these guests will be considering new destinations in drive markets. It’s a great time to sell our destinations, voluntarily offer local insider’s tips and to use needs-based recommendations.
Although we couldn’t be together in person in Chicago last month, I recorded a session in which I address these and other timely reservations sales tips to share with your reservations team.
See more event and session information for the 2020 VRMA Spring Forum Virtual Experience here.
