Attended by: Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC (Co-Founder – Travel Professional NEWS)
New Orleans, Louisiana and its festive and lively energy is a destination not to be missed. This was the home of CoNexion 2024 and where Nexion advisors joined together to celebrate their partnership with Nexion Travel Group. The lively spirit and fun that emanates from this city is intoxicating and this was felt by all who had the pleasure of being apart of this year’s conference.
This year’s event took place at the iconic Hilton New Orleans Riverside which sits right on the shore of the Mississippi River. The location of the hotel is perfect for visitors looking to enjoy what this historic city has to offer all within easy walking distance. One can enjoy the luxury of this beautiful hotel and the peace and calm of its location on the beautiful river, but also be in the heart of the fun and frolic that New Orleans is famous for on Bourbon Street within minutes. Welcome to New Orleans and our overview of CoNexion 2024.
Sunday, September 8th
Agents were arriving from Canada and all over the United States in record numbers. According to the Nexion staff this conference set a record attendance with 525 Nexion advisors. Add to that number the suppliers and Nexion staff and I am sure the total attendance was well over 700. I ran into several friends and colleagues in the lobby and roaming the various venues that the hotel has to offer. Sunday was Co-Nexion Canada Day for the Canadian Advisors. There was a reception later for the Newbies in attendance at this year’s CoNexion.
Monday, September 9th
The day began early with breakfast and the opening remarks where Jackie Friedman, President of Nexion Travel Group and Mike Foster, President of Nexion Travel Group – Canada welcomed the Nexion Members and the supplier partners to what they promised would be a conference to remember. They encouraged everyone to take part in as many workshops and events as possible to be sure and gather all the tools to launch their businesses to even new heights.
We heard from representatives at Globus Family of Brands, AmaWaterways, Virgin Voyages, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Hilton with each sharing their welcomes to the event and current information on their respective brands during this first session.
Jackie provided the attendees with an update on the Family Bonds Foundation and challenged those in attendance to meet and exceed this year’s goal. She introduced Kelly Furtado, the recipient of funds for her husband’s battle with cancer. Kelly shared her heartfelt message of thanks for the assistance and support this provided her and her family during such a difficult journey.
Martin Mussey, Business Development Manager at Nexion was this year’s CoNexion emcee and he was fantastic in his role. His energy and wit really kept the crowd engaged throughout the event. Martin introduced Brandi Vincent, owner of Principal Travel to share the first NEXTalk of the conference. Brandi’s presentation “Creating Joyful Experiences” was terrific and her passion for her career was felt by all in attendance.
Next up were the “Rising Star Awards” that were awarded to April Marshall (see our interview with April in this coverage” and Lisa Dunne. This award, which is presented annually at Nexion’s conference and recognizes exceptional new Nexion member’s whose sales and engagement set the individual’s career off to a promising start.
This concluded the first General Session and was followed by a great selection of Workshop Rotations for attendees to attend which included:
- Inside Scoop About Selling Hilton Resort Properties
- Royal Caribbean International – Automation Your Way!
- Around the World with AmaWaterways
- Oceania Cruises – Your World, Your Way
- Rewrite your Agent Profiler to get High-Quality Leads
- Shining Bright: Mastering Brand Visibility – Beginner
- Ideas Exchange – Creating New Business
- Azamara Cruises: How Luxury Travel is Changing & How to Grow Your Business in Luxury
- CHUBB: Helping Your Clients Navigate the “What If’s” of Travel
- Delta Air Lines: It’s About the Journey
- Globus family of brands: Pack Your Bags & Pack Your Passions
- Experiencing River Cruising & Touring on a Whole New Level
- Celebrity Cruises: Discover the Galapagos Islands
- Realign Your Mind: How Mindset Impacts Your Success
- Nexion HQ Cruise Groups Program – Bigger and Better than Ever!
As you can see, the educational opportunities were simply amazing and enjoyed by all. These workshops were followed by lunch in the Grand Ballroom. The room was packed and agents were excited about what the rest of the day would bring.
We heard from Azamara, AIG Travel, ALG vacations, Cunard, Delta Airlines, Holland America Line, Hyatt Inclusive Collection as well as Princess Cruises. My dear friend and colleague Diane Petras, President of The Travel Institute shared a heartfelt presentation about the importance of continuing education and the many opportunities available through this amazing organization. We also heard from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and the work they are doing for the agency community on the Hill.
These presentations were followed by more awards presented to Nexion advisors. These included some of the following:
- The Nexion Townie of the Year, awarded to Harry McKenzie
- The Nexion Social Pro of the Year, awarded to Jessi Fleabane
- The Network Leaders of the Year were awarded to Emily Fengler and Whitney Snell
- The Everyone Is In Award, awarded to Anthony Roberts, Jr.
- The Ray of Positivity Awards were awarded to Michael Capps and Bernadette Parrott
- He Be Kind Aware, awarded to Zena Beaver
- The Eddy’s Choice Award – Pro Fisher, awarded to Joanne Parker
The coveted Nexion Travel Group’s Ambassador Award was presented to Helayne Hauw, from Ajax, ON. Please see our interview with Helayne in this coverage.
It was a busy day of learning all around and this session was followed by the ever-popular Supplier Round Robins where advisors get to spend time with suppliers face-to-face to learn about new information and program offerings. After a brief chance to freshen up, everyone headed to the Opening Party and all were encouraged to wear their Mardi Gras colors. The agents were tired from a long day of learning but as always, the Nexion Family of Advisors rallied and shared a wonderful opening celebration to CoNexion 2024.
Tuesday, September 10th
Day 2 of CoNexion was off to a roaring start at 7:45am with breakfast sponsored by Celebrity Cruises. Everyone was ready to start a new day of learning and fun. This morning everyone enjoyed an enlightening presentation which included Jackie Friedman as well as several others from the Internova Travel Group. The speakers on stage were J.D. O’Hara, CEO of Internova Travel Group, Peter Vlitas, Executive Vice President of Partner Relations at Internova Travel Group and Albert Herrera, Executive Vice President of Partner Relations at Internova Travel Group. This was a very interesting exchange and one that showed the attendees the incredible power behind the Internova Travel Group and all that it offers the Nexion family of advisors.
Michael Gaudet with Inspired Travel Adventures spoke about his experiences and successes focusing his business on escorted group travel. This is a niche that many of the agents in attendance were very interested in hearing more about. Presentations were also given by Royal Caribbean International as well as United Airlines. After this session the advisors headed off to enjoy Workshop Rotation 3 & 4 featuring:
- SNAP! Tool – Basic Guidelines & its Backstage
- NOW is the BEST Time to Engage with Hyatt Inclusive Collection
- Discover the Beauty of MSC Cruises
- Windstar Cruises: Setting Your Sales for Success
- Mastering Short-Form Video Reels and CapCut for Travel Advisors
- A VIP Backstage Pass to the World of Commission Processing
- Why Travel Insured International?
- Carnival Keys to Your Success!
- Growing Land Sales and Your Profitability is Easy with ALG Vacations
- Fighting Your Fears in Front of the Camera (Plus Other Social Media Tips)
- United Airlines: Deal or No Deal!
- Travel Safety with Bonnie Raschka
- Peer Pane – Embracing Diversity in LGBTAQIA+ Travel
Lunch and the next General Session followed the workshops. Everyone was looking forward to the announcement of the Circle of Excellence, MillionAire and Gateway to Circle of Excellence Award presentations! This is always a highlight of the conference and this years ceremony did not disappoint with more then.
In an earlier press conference Jackie Friedman shared that this year there would be more award winners than ever before. In 2024 there were 334 individual advisors who reached the Circle of Excellence level. To achieve this level advisors have to earn $55,000 in preferred supplier commissions. There is also a Million Air group that must sell 1 million in air sales.
With this amazing group of winners to award (28% of the advisors in attendance), this year’s events team had to work with a special events company and the New Orleans Fire Department to build a state large enough and screen background big enough to allow all the winners to come on stage and be recognized!
Jackie Friedman, President of Nexion Travel Group was next on the agenda where she delivered her Keynote Address to the attendees. Jackie is so loved by her Nexion family and you can feel the sense of genuine respect and admiration they have for her. Her words of encouragement and wisdom were met with resounding cheers and thanks.
The session also featured a presentation by John Chernesky, President of North America Sales with Norwegian Cruise Line who always has audiences laughing and enjoying his witty presentation. He never fails to get the audience enjoying a good laugh or two. This was followed by the Preferred Partner Awards. The afternoon session ended but the day was not over yet. The Preferred Partner Trade Show kicked off from 3:15pm – 5:45pm, where suppliers and advisors joined together to round out the day of learning.
Wednesday, September 11th
Day 3 began with Hurricane Francine making her way toward Louisiana. While nerves were a bit on edge as to what the storm might bring, it did not dampen the spirits of the advisors who were there to weather what may come and continue to enhance and learn to grow their respective businesses. Carnival Cruise Line presented all that is new with their fleet and their itineraries. CHUBB insurance was up next on stage.
Victoria Rios, Director of Industry Relations at Nexion Travel Group joined the stage to update the advisors on Nexion’s Cruise Group program and the new features and tools available. Nexion’s Cruise Group Space program features new supplier partners as well as new opportunities for advisors to promote cruise groups.
Robbi Jumaa Hamida, Senior Vice President at Nexion Travel Group was next on stage with his keynote presentation. Robbi announced a complete revamp of the MyNexion portal. This was very big and exciting news for the advisors in attendance. This already very robust portal will now offer even more tools and tricks in the coming months.
Matt Walker with Madison Travel presented his NEXtalk and talked about how he now sees himself as a marketing agency that sells travel versus a travel agency that does marketing. He has more than doubled his income since he began using marketing funnels in 2021.
Mai Da Pra, Senior Director at Nexion Travel Group provided the audience with a great explanation of the many new enhanced marketing tools and programs that are available to the advisors as well as other new advances in technology. The Marketing Expert Programs and Marketing Lab are new programs for the advisors to use in helping them create marketing assets and more.
Several more suppliers presented on the morning of Day 3 including MSC Cruises, RIU Hotels and Resorts, Seabourn, Viking Cruises and Windstar Cruises. This ended the morning session and the next set of workshop rotations were up next on the advisors agendas including:
- Princess Cruises – Love Fest 2024
- RIU Hotels & Resorts – Hotel RIU Palace Bavaria
- Viking Cruises – Your Best Business Partner
- Unlocking the Potential of Internova Travel Group’s Hotel & In-Country Programs
- Build Your Group Business with Norwegian Cruise Line
- Discover the Latest from American Airlines
- Peer Panel – Tips for Building Your Personal Nexion Community
- Insider Tips on How to Sell Holland America Line
- The Allianz Advantage
- Selling Vacation Express
- Virgin Voyages – Holy Ship, Bullship!
- Streamline Your Social Media Content Creation for Travel Advisors
- Digital Checkup & Fraud Awareness
- Group Air: the Journey to the Successful Experience
The afternoon featured more supplier presentations which included Allianz Partners, American Airlines, American Airlines Vacations, Marriott International, Oceania Cruises and Sandals & Beaches Resorts.
Heather Kindred, Vice President of Business Development Education, Marketing & Industry Relations at Nexion Travel Group shared with the audience all the exciting news about new educational platforms and opportunities. She revealed information on the all-new Cruise Sales Summit that will take place in the spring of 2025. This event will take place in Port Canaveral. The event is aimed those 50% of advisors that are not selling cruises or perhaps are not confident doing so. Approximately 35 will be selected to attend. She shared several other exciting initiatives for the coming year as well.
The final round of Workshop Rotations rounded out the afternoon featuring:
- How to Become Your Own Publicist
- Sandals & Beaches Resorts
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Flexibility is the Ultimate Luxury
- AIG Travel – Insurance 101: Taking the Fear Out of Selling Insurance
- Influence & Inspire: Advanced Brand Storytelling Techniques
- The Lifecycle of the Sale! Show Me the Money!
- Virtual Voyages: AI Magic for Modern Agents
The Final began at 4:30pm and several exciting announcements were shared with the attendees. One of those being the always anticipated news about where CoNexion 2025 will take place. Next years CoNexion in 2025 will take place at Universal Parks & Resorts in Orlando, Florida, September 8-10. Hopefully the attendees of next year’s event will be able to experience the new Universal Epic Universe if the timing is right.
As is always one of the favorites for the attendees, the Recap Video of the last few days together in New Orleans was shared with the audience. There were so many prizes awarded to lucky winners here at this final session from suppliers and supporters of Nexion.
Jackie shared her sincere and heartfelt thanks to her amazing staff and all those who had helped to make this CoNexion 2024 such an overwhelming success. Even with the threat of Hurricane Francine looming in the air, the spirits and energy of this group of travel professionals and suppliers was never dampened. My sincere thanks to Nexion Travel Group for allowing us to be a part of CoNexion 2024.