We posed the question in March's VTC enewsletter: How was business in the first three months of 2010?
Also, what made business boom or bust for you in the past couple of months? The goal of this post is to get a different reading on how business is going for VTCs, rather than polls that may not reflect as accurately the markets VTCs are targeting, and the various factors that contribute to a VTC's success. Sometimes word-of-mouth reporting is a lot easier to draw solutions from than statistics.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
2009 Successful, Marriott Now Recognizing VTCs
Happy New Year! Hopefully everyone has had the opportunity to see this press release in one of the trades. If you have not, simply click the link at the bottom of this post.
2009 was a great year for the VTC Program, in terms of new participants. We have lots planned for the year and we hope you stay tuned. The first exciting bit of news for the New Year is Marriott's agreement to recognize VTCs and the VTC's ARC Number. In 2009 Marriott conducted a review of a number of travel intermediary channel partners, which included the VTC Program. We are very pleased they concluded that the VTC Program is one of the strongest in the industry and are encouraged to partner with us going forward. VTCs join a short list of accredited entities able to do business with Marriott and can now book and receive commissions, take advantage of Marriott’s industry-leading Hotel Excellence Program, and will have access to Marriott’s Fam-Tastic Rates and Certificates.
So, I strongly suggest that VTCs visit https://www.cprpt.com/ARC/10000/redirect.asp?sid=10474&vid=0&lid=1022878&o=1&rt=1&mk=47602&eid=cflores@arccorp.com today and begin learning how you can take advantage of all of the great opportunities Marriott has to offer. Also, be on the lookout for future Marriott messages and special offers on ARC MarketPlace like this one, which ends on January 22nd - http://www.arcmarketplace.com/marriott_grb.pdf.
PRESS RELEASE - http://www.arccorp.com/news/pr20100105.pdf
2009 was a great year for the VTC Program, in terms of new participants. We have lots planned for the year and we hope you stay tuned. The first exciting bit of news for the New Year is Marriott's agreement to recognize VTCs and the VTC's ARC Number. In 2009 Marriott conducted a review of a number of travel intermediary channel partners, which included the VTC Program. We are very pleased they concluded that the VTC Program is one of the strongest in the industry and are encouraged to partner with us going forward. VTCs join a short list of accredited entities able to do business with Marriott and can now book and receive commissions, take advantage of Marriott’s industry-leading Hotel Excellence Program, and will have access to Marriott’s Fam-Tastic Rates and Certificates.
So, I strongly suggest that VTCs visit https://www.cprpt.com/ARC/10000/redirect.asp?sid=10474&vid=0&lid=1022878&o=1&rt=1&mk=47602&eid=cflores@arccorp.com today and begin learning how you can take advantage of all of the great opportunities Marriott has to offer. Also, be on the lookout for future Marriott messages and special offers on ARC MarketPlace like this one, which ends on January 22nd - http://www.arcmarketplace.com/marriott_grb.pdf.
PRESS RELEASE - http://www.arccorp.com/news/pr20100105.pdf
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What do you want to see from ARC & The VTC Program in 2010?
Tell us what you'd like to see from the VTC program in 2010. We want to know what you like about the program, and areas you’d like to see changed.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Agent’s Choice to Move Behind MyARC Portal
MyARC is the centralized access point for a growing list of ARC tools and resources for our customers. For the VTCs, this list will soon include Agent’s Choice, in addition to IAR which is already behind MyARC. Soon you’ll be able to access Agent’s Choice through MyARC without the requirement of an additional login.
Benefits of MyARC:
• Self-service password resets
• Single sign-on to IAR and Agent’s Choice
• Delegated administrative capabilities such as granting or revoking Agent’s Choice access via simple administrative interface
To take advantage of all the features and benefits MyARC has to offer, we encourage you to have your Agent’s Choice account in active status.
We will send VTCs an e-mail when Agent’s Choice integration behind MyARC is complete.
Please contact ARC’s Customer Care Center at +1 703.816.8003 if you have any other questions about MyARC or Agent’s Choice.
Benefits of MyARC:
• Self-service password resets
• Single sign-on to IAR and Agent’s Choice
• Delegated administrative capabilities such as granting or revoking Agent’s Choice access via simple administrative interface
To take advantage of all the features and benefits MyARC has to offer, we encourage you to have your Agent’s Choice account in active status.
We will send VTCs an e-mail when Agent’s Choice integration behind MyARC is complete.
Please contact ARC’s Customer Care Center at +1 703.816.8003 if you have any other questions about MyARC or Agent’s Choice.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Travel Trade's Cruise-A-Thon
I arrived in NYC yesterday (June 4) morning; just in time to hear Peter Yesawich speak and just in time for the cruise panel afterwards. Both sessions were great and everyone is extremely optimistic given the current economic conditions. Attendance at the show is on the low side, but the agents are extremely engaged.
Travel Trade invited me to speak during this morning's (June 5) general session. I was prepared to speak before Dan Hanrahan, President & CEO of Celebrity/Azamara Cruises and before Andy Stuart, EVP, Global Sales & Passenger Services. But last night I was informed that I would follow these fine gentlemen. What a hard act! Dan is a great speaker, if you haven't heard him before. And Andy is clearly a crowd pleaser. He had stolen a few laughs from the audience, which I had hoped to get from my time. We were running a little over schedule so I had accommodate the fine people in attendance and cut a few minutes short. All-in-all I think everyone appreciated the speakers this morning. I look forward to fielding questions from eager attendees tomorrow afternoon, during the trade show.
Continuing on my welcomed responsibility of creating VTC impressions...
Chris Flores
Product Manager, VTC Program
Travel Trade invited me to speak during this morning's (June 5) general session. I was prepared to speak before Dan Hanrahan, President & CEO of Celebrity/Azamara Cruises and before Andy Stuart, EVP, Global Sales & Passenger Services. But last night I was informed that I would follow these fine gentlemen. What a hard act! Dan is a great speaker, if you haven't heard him before. And Andy is clearly a crowd pleaser. He had stolen a few laughs from the audience, which I had hoped to get from my time. We were running a little over schedule so I had accommodate the fine people in attendance and cut a few minutes short. All-in-all I think everyone appreciated the speakers this morning. I look forward to fielding questions from eager attendees tomorrow afternoon, during the trade show.
Continuing on my welcomed responsibility of creating VTC impressions...
Chris Flores
Product Manager, VTC Program
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Do you know more "sellers of travel" or "traveling sellers"?
I know FAM trips are important. Your knowledge of product is key to you selling a dream vacation to your clients. But sometimes the over interest in FAM trips concerns me. From time to time I encounter folks who seem more interested in taking FAM trips than they are about selling an unbelievable experience. Again, I totally understand the importance of FAMs and there's a "chicken before the egg" approach to the business, but when the first question to me, while I'm in a trade show booth, is "Can we go on FAM trips with the VTC #?", I worry and wonder.
So, do you know more sellers of travel or traveling sellers?
Chris Flores
VTC Program
So, do you know more sellers of travel or traveling sellers?
Chris Flores
VTC Program
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Why should I join the VTC Program?
I get that question a lot. I could dedicate several paragraphs to this topic, but will leave my thoughts in a few short sentences...
There are obviously options out there for the travel professional. Can you join/participate in other programs out there today? Sure! It's your business and your decision to make. That's the key sentence..."It's your business and your decision to make." I oftentimes tell my travel professional friends this...perform due diligence on your options and determine if you can actually measure an ROI.
I won't enter into a public battle of "my program is better than this other program" because I believe that hurts the industry, not helps it. BUT, I do not have a problem with highlighting the VTC Program's benefits, products, and services because they are second to none and they can yield an ROI.
-Your ARC VTC #
-ARC MarketPlace = commissions on products and services
-ARC MasterCard Travel Card = commissions
-ARC Agent's Choice = collect revenue thru service fees
-Agency List File = suppliers identify and market
Feel free to ping me with questions at cflores@arccorp.com. AND, if you have an idea...I welcome it.
Chris Flores
Product Manager, VTC Program
There are obviously options out there for the travel professional. Can you join/participate in other programs out there today? Sure! It's your business and your decision to make. That's the key sentence..."It's your business and your decision to make." I oftentimes tell my travel professional friends this...perform due diligence on your options and determine if you can actually measure an ROI.
I won't enter into a public battle of "my program is better than this other program" because I believe that hurts the industry, not helps it. BUT, I do not have a problem with highlighting the VTC Program's benefits, products, and services because they are second to none and they can yield an ROI.
-Your ARC VTC #
-ARC MarketPlace = commissions on products and services
-ARC MasterCard Travel Card = commissions
-ARC Agent's Choice = collect revenue thru service fees
-Agency List File = suppliers identify and market
Feel free to ping me with questions at cflores@arccorp.com. AND, if you have an idea...I welcome it.
Chris Flores
Product Manager, VTC Program
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