Club Med is hosting as many agent conferences as possible having seen “staggering” uplifts in bookings by agents who have experienced its product.
The all-inclusive worldwide resort operator hosted the Freedom and CPTA Conference in December last year, and the Advantage Travel Partnership Conference in May this year, at its Opio property in the south of France.
It also hosted 32 new agents from Not Just Travel at its Gregolimano resort on the Greek island of Evia in May, and will host the homeworking agency’s ‘Millionaires’ Retreat’ for 50 new starters at Club Med’s Bordeaux resort in September.
Club Med is also hosting a conference for homeworking agency Holidaysplease at its Da Balaia resort in Portugal, and has welcomed a large number of UK agents to its ski resorts including Valmorel in France.
As well as taking agents to its properties, Club Med has been announced as headline sponsor of Travel Counsellors’ conference in Bolton for the third year running.
Head of agency sales Yann Richard said sponsoring the event was a “no-brainer”, having seen the homeworking agency jump from being ranked among its top 30 agents in terms of sales to become its fourth best-seller.
Commenting on his trade strategy, Richard said: “We know that when agents experience the product, they sell it better. So it’s a big investment, but it’s an investment that pays off.”
Richard said Freedom agents had delivered “double-digit growth” in sales since attending the conference at the Club Med resort in Cannes, France, last year.
“Our main strength is our product, but our main problem is explaining it,” he said. “That’s why it works to get agents to see it for themselves.”
Paul Harrison, co-owner of Not Just Travel, said: “We assumed Club Med would be like Club 18‑30, but we were blown away by the whole experience and the quality.”