Agenda - ASTA Global Convention

It is estimated that a lawsuit is filed every 30 seconds in America and there are more than 100 million lawsuits pending. In this session you will gain valuable insights about several subjects that will increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome should you be sued or even help you avoid a lawsuit altogether.  Moderated by Peter Lobasso, travel industry attorney Jeffrey Ment will answer questions on topics such as the use of social media, compliance with state seller of travel laws, considerations when using independent contractor agreements, the importance of errors and omissions insurance and protecting your intellectual property with a trademark registration.  

Location: Imperial A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Travel Leaders Network, Featuring Lindsay Pearlman.

AGC attendees receive an exclusive discount on tickets to the newest live Harry Potter show showing at The Curran Theatre, just 1 block from AGC Headquarters. Save up to 20% on tickets when you buy them here. This discount is good for the 7pm shows on Thursday, August 25 or Friday, August 26.

In addition, the theatre is hosting a pre-show reception at 5:30 on August 25th in the lobby. Please be sure to pre-register for this event in the Attendee Service Center. 

Catch up with Harry and the gang 19 years after saving the Wizarding World. Joined by a brave new generation, prepare for spectacular spells, a mind-blowing race through time, and an epic battle to stop mysterious forces, all while the future hangs in the balance. 

Location: Delarosa Downtown

Location: Plaza Room A

Location: Franciscan A, B, C

Location: Franciscan A, B, C

Location: Plaza Room A

For Premium Members:

Location: Imperial

Sponsored by Scenic & Emerald Cruises, Enterprise, BHW Hotel Group, and Hertz.

   

    

Location: Cityscape Lounge

ASTA’s Young Professional Society (YPS) is a network for travel advisors under the age of 45 years old which supports and creates high-performing, next-generation leaders who advance the travel advisor community through their advocacy and expertise. Our mission is to foster collaborative relationships that create innovations and support the evolution of the travel industry.

To RSVP for this event, please visit the Attendee Service Center. 

Location: 620 Jones

Sponsored by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism


 

Location: Grand Ballroom A & B

Knowing how to efficiently acquire new clients is critical to growing your travel business. This session will explore key strategies for client acquisition, ways to systematically measure success, as well as a roadmap for you to build a personal plan to acquire new clients. Join David Chait, the founder of Travefy, as he shares unique insights from his work with thousands of travel advisors.

Location: Yosemite Room

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Visit Lauderdale, Featuring Caitlan Etchevers.

A proven step-by-step system by destination wedding veteran reveals why now is the golden window of opportunity to double & triple you’re travel business with destination weddings.

During this session you’ll discover…

• A powerful strategy that effortlessly drives qualified clients to your business

• An advanced method that can easily be done by anyone to automatically weed out tire kickers and time wasters and only work with clients who value your services

• The formula to make $20,000 or more on one destination wedding & how to easily make a six-figure income with only 5-10 weddings per year!

Location: Yosemite Room

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Sandals Featuring Alice McCalla. 

ASTA Global Convention 2022 kicks off with a fast paced, timely session where ASTA President & CEO, Zane Kerby welcomes all and provides inspirational words setting the framework for this year’s convention. Joining us on stage, Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp, and Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines, will share their thoughts on the current state of the industry, identify opportunities and review the unprecedented and unchartered waters we’ve jointly experienced over the past 24 months. Also hear from an exclusive panel of sustainability experts moderated by ASTA’s Chairman Marc Casto, including Sheree Mitchell, President & Founder of Immersa Global, Shannon Guihan, Chief TreadRight & Sustainability Officer, The Travel Corporation, Paula Vlamings, Chief Impact Officer, Tourism Cares, and Ken Cruse, CEO, SCP Hospitality about the changes our industry can make to become more eco-friendly and more purposeful as we move forward. See you there!

Location: Continental 4-6

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Carnival Corporation, Featuring Arnold Donald.



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Apple Leisure Group, Featuring Jacki Marks and Scott Wiseman.



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Globus Family of Brands, Featuring Camille Olivere. 



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by AmaWaterways, Featuring Kristin Karst.



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International, Featuring Dondra Ritzenthaler and Vicki Freed. 

     

Location: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Francisco

Thank you to our Advocacy Dinner sponsors for contributing to the success of this phenomenal event. With bar refreshments sponsored by Avis, Dinner sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Line, and entertainment sponsored by Royal Caribbean International.
   

Join us after the tradeshow to celebrate the conclusion of another fabulous ASTA Global Convention! You’ll be dazzled with delicious bites, fun entertainment, and the chance to win some amazing prizes! We can’t wait to party with you.

Live music by La Mixta Criolla
A dynamic Bay Area ensemble with deep roots in the música criolla - the creole musical culture - of Puerto Rico and the Latin Caribbean. Blending instruments and styles from diverse traditions this hard swinging sextet has captivated dancers and music lovers everywhere with soulful performances of singular strength and beauty.  The band's repertoire of originals and funky renditions of classic tunes features a variety of Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean grooves from plena, bomba, aguinaldo and seis, to salsa, cumbia, merengue, son and rumba.  La Mixta was founded by percussionist, singer, song-writer and educator Héctor Lugo and features an all-star cast with Román “Ito” Carillo on bongó, pandero and barril, Ayla Dávila on bass, Camilo Landau on electric cuatro and vocals, Pedro Pastrana on güícharo and acoustic cuatro, and bomba dancer Shefali Shah on background vocals

Location: Grand Ballroom A & B

In this session Adam Lasevich, CEO of Spoondawer will build on the materials provided in Part 1.

Part 2 will focus on what content marketing is and how travel advisor can use it. Discussion of how you can use email marketing to turn leads into loyal customers, and wrap up with how to use online reviews to your advantage. Part 1 of this educational session will be available for review prior to joining this session.

Location: Continental 7, 8, & 9

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Allianz Partners, Featuring Suzanne Lustig.

If you’re looking for a handful of simple but powerful tips to supercharge your marketing efforts, this session is not to be missed. Travel Industry Marketing expert will count down the top 10 marketing tactics for travel advisors to close out the second half of 2022 and set them up for a consistent stream of new clients in 2023. From TV appearances to podcast hosting, ad placement to bridal store collaborations - you are guaranteed to walk away with a few strategies that will be perfect for your travel business. Attendees will be given all of her training slides, a worksheet for follow up, and an invitation to a post session virtual Q&A after the convention.

Location: Yosemite Room

Join Sandals for a delicious and informative featuring David Ridge.

Location: Yosemite A, B, & C

Join Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Robyn Basso.

Location: Continental 4-6

Join Silversea for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Joe Leon.

Location: Continental 7, 8, & 9
 

During this education orientation our panel of experts are going to discuss how best to use your ASTA Membership whether you are a Travel Advisor or a Supplier Partner member to make new and long-standing connections. We will also discuss how to best start using your membership and make the most of the benefits you have.

Location: Imperial A

Sponsored by Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Featuring Ann Chamberlin.

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by American Airlines, Featuring Louis De Joux.
 

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Internova Travel Group.

Today, we’ll wrap up this year’s ASTA Global Convention with a glimpse at future innovations and ideas that will lead the way in travel. Participate in our shark-tank style Entrepreneur of the Year competition sponsored by the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation with Omega World Travel’s founder, Gloria Bohan and ASTA CEO Zane Kirby presenting the $10,000 award to our winner selected by you, our audience. Closing our general session, we have the award-winning travel writer and actor, Andrew McCarthy, who will share his insights and stories on the importance of travel as we exit from the pandemic and move forward towards recovery. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to hear from this original “Brat Pack” member who frequently appeared with his peers during the teen-oriented coming-of-age film era from the 1980s.

Location: Continental 4-6

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Sandals, Featuring Gary Sadler



With a Special Presentation Sponsored Virgin Voyages, Featuring John Diorio.


With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Discover Puerto Rico, Featuring Ed Carey.



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Allianz Partners, Featuring Richard Aquino. 



With a Special Presentation Sponsored by AIG, Featuring Robert Ford.

Sponsored by Delta

Location: Hilton Lobby

Location: Continental Foyer

Sponsored by Globus Family of Brands

Join Visit Anchorage for an informative and delicious lunch featuring Tia Froehle. 

Location: Franciscan A, B & C

How to get a consistent stream of new clients.
Whether you’re just starting out in the industry, recovering from the past two years, or scaling an already profitable business, this workshop is a must-attend add-on to the ASTA Global Summit 2022.

This one-of-a-kind tactical workshop will walk through the 5 most critical decisions you need to make to run a successful travel business. You will then plan out an entire 2 years of marketing content for your travel business, based on the type of travel that you want to sell. By the end of this workshop you will have:

• A clear framework for writing content (website, emails, marketing materials) in your business that you can use for years to come.
• Clarity on what your niche is and who your ideal client is.
• A list of “focused suppliers” to match your business goals.
• A two-year marketing plan for your business.
• A solid list of destinations and experiences to promote on social media, your podcast, videos, and email marketing - one that actually matches your sales goals

All of this will be achieved as Sandra guides you through making 5 critical decisions for your travel business and then using that information to take the first steps to better marketing.

Location: Imperial B

Learn more about Sandra:
www.sandramclemoretv.com
www.travelmarketingandmedia.com

*Must be registered for the ASTA Global Convention to attend. Space is limited to 200. Register for this session when registering for ASTA Global Convention 2022 or in the Attendee Service Center.

Location: Yosemite Room

Sponsored by Carnival Cruise Line and Scenic & Emerald Cruises

   

Join this comprehensive session dedicated to helping you scale your group travel business effectively and efficiently. During this interactive session, discover techniques to automate workflows, identify productivity tools, and best practices to monetize your time and energy. Don't miss this jam-packed session with tons of nuggets that will translate into more money in your pockets.

Location: Franciscan A, B, & C

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by KHM Travel, Featuring Anita Pagliasso.
 

As a continuation… we’ll begin with a recap of Part 1 and take the elements learned during the previous session to build upon here.

In this session (Part 2), new and growing travel advisors will learn a variety of financial strategies and tactics that include:
 

• determining the most critical financial numbers they should be tracking routinely

• learning what to do with that key financial data to plan, project, and attain higher profit

• understanding how to create money goals based on past, current, and forecasted financials

• discovering how to project business cashflow to reach money goals faster
• tips to begin using financial tools to solve financial problems instead of marketing and sales tools to solve financial problems.

Don’t miss this value-filled session designed to help you prime your business to be exceedingly profitable by incorporating the use of “numbers”, financial tools, and sound money management practices.
 

Location: Franciscan A, B, & C

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Ensemble, Featuring Helen Enriquez.

An interactive session that will teach you how to elevate your brand so that you can:

1. attract more of your dream clients
2. build customer loyalty, and
3. increase your revenue!

Location: Imperial A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Carnival Corporation.

By attending this session travel advisors will: 

1. Learn about the increasing consumer demand for sustainable travel.  
2. Challenge the notion that luxury travel and sustainable travel are not compatible.  
3. Gain the tools to engage with suppliers about their sustainability initiatives in their destinations.  
4. Learn what drives the sustainable luxury consumer and understand how travel advisors can meet that demand.  
5. Learn how to market sustainable travel products to conscious consumers.  
6. Empower themselves and their clients to become conscious travelers at home and abroad. 

Location: Plaza Room A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Virtuoso, Featuring Stephanie Lee.

Location: Continental 4-6

Invitation Only:
During this exclusive opportunity, invited attendees will be able to meet award-winning travel writer and actor, Andrew McCarthy. Attendees receive an autograph copy of his book, “Longest Way Home”, and will have the special opportunity for a photo with Andrew McCarthy.
 

Location: Continental 3

Join MSC Cruises for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Antonia Couvertier.

Location: Plaza Room A & B

Location: Franciscan D

Join Israel Ministry of Tourism for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Jill Daly. 

Location: Continental 7, 8, & 9

Learn the tools you need to help you successfully de-escalate an encounter with an angry client and have a successful resolution. Steve, Heather, and Bill have decades of combined experience in customer service, an in-depth understanding of the situations that trigger a client, and the best way that travel advisors can handle these situations.

Location: Imperial A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Discover Puerto Rico, Featuring Ed Carey.

Get excited! We have a terrific lineup of food and fun ready for you. Enjoy eclectic culinary cuisines of San Francisco and check out the 360 photo experience. Be sure to bring your music requests and dancing shoes! The Killer Dueling Pianos will perform, ensuring this reception is non-stop fun. YOU get to decide what songs are played. We can’t wait to sing and dance the night away with you in San Francisco.

Location: Continental 4-6

Sponsored by Hilton & Hilton Union Square

   

In this session, we will identify how emotions play a pivotal role in the planning and decision making of any negotiations and why the travel industry must learn how to leverage emotions to create visibility, engage with its audience, and to become emotional stakeholders in the minds of their consumers.

Knowing how emotional marketing works can help you determine how to create a marketing campaign that makes a connection between your brand and customer on a deeper level. Learn how to evoke certain emotions to increase the chances of brand recognition while improving brand loyalty.
 

This sessions is for open to all travel advisors, travel companies and suppliers and tourism boards.

Location: Continental 7, 8, & 9

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Nexion Travel Group, Featuring Jackie Friedman.

The LGBTQ+ market is worth more than $215 billion in consumer spending every year. So what are you doing to make the most of it? Whether you have years of experience working with LGBTQ+ clients or are just starting out and looking for new revenue streams, you’ll be better equipped for growth after attending this lively session. Attendees will learn a variety about tactics, trends and strategies for success with this lucrative market, including:

• How LGBTQ travelers have evolved in recent years, and how they’re rebounding since the pandemic started.

• How suppliers have changed the way they market to LGBTQ travelers, and how you should, too.

• The best channels to communicate with LGBTQ travelers

• How to differentiate the many different types of travelers within the LGBTQ community and create your main areas of focus

• Insider tips from successful travel advisors and organizations about how to best target LGBTQ travelers.

Location: Franciscan A, B, & C

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Royal Caribbean International, Featuring Anthony Meloro. 

As travel advisors, it is essential that we use our own travels to create stories to share with our clients. Your stories may be shared through pictures, video, blogs, and more. In this session, you will learn how to put your expertise on display through the art of storytelling; inspire people to work with you; and create compelling content for your website and social accounts.

Location: Continental 7, 8, & 9

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Line, Featuring Brian Holmberg.




 

Location: Continental Foyer

Sponsored by Globus Family of Brands

Join Royal Caribbean International for a delicious and informative featuring Ginny Tujague and Janice Martinez.

Location: Imperial A & B

Join Tom Carpenter and Peter Lobasso for a deep dive into your terms and conditions. This document is more that just a procedure document. It can save your business from ruin.

Location: Plaza A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Signature Travel Network, Featuring Phil Cappelli.

Quantifying the success of your business should never be left to chance, or a guessing game. I know we’d all love to sell dream vacations instead of working with numbers, but at the end of the day we are in fact a for-profit business owner and entrepreneur. Acting off a hunch or an assumption versus proper measurement and management of finances can mean the difference between a thriving and highly profitable business and a declining one.

In this session (Part 1), new and growing travel advisors will learn a variety of financial strategies and tactics that include:

• identifying and understanding the specific challenges of operating a sales-based travel business and how those challenges can impact profitability
• discovering why tracking finances only for tax filings is negatively impacting your money decisions and financial success
• learning how to properly set up your business’ financial foundations and design a roadmap to efficiently identify and track your numbers on a routine basis
• the top financial tools that are available to support travel advisors today

Don’t miss this value-filled session designed to lay the foundation for decoding your numbers, finances, and money management process of your travel business.

Register for this webinar in the attendee service center, and by following this link.

Join Celebrity Cruises for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Dondra Ritzenthaler. 

Location: Imperial A & B

Join Discover Puerto Rico for a delicious and informative lunch featuring Francisco Blanch. 

Location: Yosemite A, B, & C
 

Location: Grand Ballroom A & B

Join Saxony Tourism for a delicious and informative lunch located in Plaza Room A & B, featuring Shireesh Sharma.

Location: Plaza room A & B

Location: Continental Foyer

Sponsored by Globus Family of Brands

Location: Vista Lounge

Location: Grand Ballroom A & B

Location: Grand Ballroom A & B

The luxury traveler market is an area of expansion and increased income when an you understand how to service this clientele. This session will focus on how you can be successful as a luxury travel advisor. Topics include client care, gifting, fee strategies, expectation management and, perhaps just as important, what doesn’t send the ‘luxury’ message. The luxury traveler is in every sector and region, and is one of the most underserved markets. Kareem George and Vanessa McGovern will share the secrets you need to up your luxury travel game.

Location: Plaza Room A & B

With a Special Presentation Sponsored by Scenic, Featuring Ann Chamberlin.

Location: Continental 4-6

ASTA’s advocacy efforts are at the core of the association. From grassroots efforts to political support to walking the halls of Congress, ASTA is your voice to policymakers. In this session, ASTA’s advocacy team will take a look back at the association’s recent legislative successes and our priorities for the rest of the year.

Location: Continental 3