TravelManagers Wraps Up 2018 with Christmas Celebrations
With 2018 rapidly drawing to a close, TravelManagers has completed their final series of state meetings for the year, bringing together personal travel managers (PTMs) from around the country in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to mark the end of another successful year. For Tasmania-based PTMs, the format was slightly different, with each PTM having a one-on-one catch-up with their Business Partnership Manager (BPM) during November, followed by a Christmas get-together.
All five state meetings included updates from National Partnership Office (NPO) representatives, covering a range of subjects including famils, product training and marketing. They were also able to attend a ‘Fireside Chat’ with TravelManagers’ Executive team.
PTM Georgina Grandi, who is representative for Terranora, NSW, describes this latest round of state meetings as “the best ever.”
“I got so much out of it, met some totally awesome new and experienced PTMs I’ve never met before and I am totally amped for 2019,” she enthuses. “Thanks so much for all the updates and to everyone at NPO for making the trip – 2019 is going to be mega!”
Grandi’s enthusiasm is shared by her fellow PTMs, including one of her newest colleagues, Hayley Morrison, who attended the Victoria state meeting in Melbourne in her capacity as representative for Swan Hill, VIC.
“As a new PTM, I was unsure what to expect from my very first state meeting, but my expectations for the day were far exceeded,” Morrison reports. “It was awesome to see so many members from the National Partnership Office as well as so many fellow Victoria-based PTMs, and I came away feeling refreshed and proud to be part of the TravelManagers family, all of whom are incredibly passionate and professional.”
The Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland meetings were supplemented by optional, one-day cruise master-classes that were timed to coincide with the state meetings in order to maximise convenience for attendees. All five meetings were followed by Christmas functions which allowed attendees time to celebrate the conclusion of a successful year and mingle with their colleagues on a more informal basis.
“What a fantastic state meeting – I had a blast!” exclaims Linda Naake, who is representative for Kalgoorlie. “From the bottom of my heart, I feel so lucky to be with TravelManagers – the WA team are so easy-going, and I love being able to catch up with them.”
Executive General Manager, Michael Gazal, says the meetings were attended by more than twenty partner suppliers, along with a record number of PTMs.
“Across the five meetings, we had nearly three hundred PTMs in attendance, which represents more than half the entire network, and many of whom travelled significant distances to participate,” he explains. “It’s such a busy time of year for everyone, so to achieve such strong attendance is a great reflection of the value placed on these meetings by our members.”
According to Gazal, the State Meetings also provided an opportunity to recognize and reward 24 PTMs across all states for achieving five years with TravelManagers.
“We now have a total of 229 PTMs who have achieved this milestone, which means 42% of our entire network have been with us for five years or longer. That represents a vast wealth of experience and expertise available to our clients.”
Sue Wright, who is TravelManagers’ representative for Shoal Point in northern Queensland, travelled more than 1300 kilometres to Brisbane for her state meeting.
“I simply love the vibe of this amazing community and all that TravelManagers represents,” she says. “The meeting itself is a great opportunity to catch up on what’s happening in the industry, and the Christmas party which followed was a fun way to wrap up the year with friends and colleagues.”
