Travel Quest Celebrates an Amazing Year
As 2014 is coming to a close, Travel Quest looks back on one heck of a year!
Awards Galore!
Travel Quest started the year off right by winning their first ever Magellan Award from Travel Weekly Magazine for their innovative Content Crusader; an inclusive program that makes managing your social media a breeze. That wasn’t the only award Content Crusader won either. At Travel Leaders’ National Meeting in November, the Content Crusader program was honored with the Above & Beyond Award in the technology category.Travel Quest was also presented with Travel Leaders’ Excellence Award for being one of the top 25 Travel Leaders agencies. “We truly couldn’t have done this without the amazing network of agents we have,” said Bonnie Lee, TQ’s CEO. “I know that is what everyone says, but we really wouldn’t be who we are or where we are without our agents and for that, I’m so, so grateful!”
TQ agents were not left out in the cold; Travel Quest had more agents than any other agency graduate from the Certified Leisure Travel Specialist Program and receive their Leisure Specialist Certification. “We think training and education are so important, especially in an industry that is always changing,” says Angie Habiger, TQ’s Program Director. “This year we offered incentives for our agents who were furthering their education with the CLTS program and were so happy with the response that we are expanding 2015’s training incentive to include more programs and offer more rewards.”
Spectacular Launches
2014 was jam packed full of new programs and features for TQ. With such great feedback on their Platinum Program that launched in 2013, Travel Quest added another tier for agents who sell $500,000 or more in annual sales – The Gold Program. One of the biggest perks of the Gold and Platinum Programs are the waived fees; specifically the startup cost for new agents. “We just think if you’re selling that much,” says Lee, “you deserve a little something special from your host.”
Travel Quest also launched their super intuitive online portal that allows agents to easily network with each other, find and watch trainings, view specials (for agents and clients), locate vendor information and so much more. Bridget Lee, TQ’s Creative Director, says the new Portal, which was unveiled in September, was in the works for most of 2014. “You only get one shot to unveil something like this and we wanted to get it right,” says Lee, “the content, the look, the flow and ease of navigation, it is all so important. We beta tested it and tweaked things as we got feedback. We couldn’t be happier with the love agents have shown for the Portal and the amount of interaction we are seeing!”
Last, but certainly not least, Travel Quest held their 1st National Meeting in Minneapolis, MN. With over 20% of their agents attending, it was a huge success. Piggybacked on the weekend of MLTU, both current and prospective agents were able to get reduced airfare to attend a training packed weekend starting with TQ’s all day National Meeting. There were 16 breakout sessions ranging from niche market selling to social media how-to’s, a Discovery Concourse full of vendors for agents to network with and, of course, an awesome happy hour. “We couldn’t have asked for a better first year,” says Lee, “we’ve already started planning TQNM 2015 and have expanded it to 2 days to fit all the great content. The discounted air and consolidation of training was a huge perk for our agents last year so we’ll be holding it right before MLTU again on September 24th and 25th.” To make it even more convenient for attending agents, TQ has officially moved the 2015 TQNM to the Minneapolis Convention Center, the same location as MLTU.
For a perfect ending to a great year, Travel Quest rounded it out by celebrating their 15 year anniversary. They’ve come a long way from their humble beginnings in the basement of Bonnie Lee; it seems so fitting that their 15th year be such a remarkable one. “I see it as a culmination of everything I wanted Travel Quest to be from the beginning and so much more,” says Lee. “I set out to create an honest and personable host agency that I would want to be a part of. To have been able to do just that while continuing to grow with an amazing network of agents is just so much more than I ever thought possible.”
About Travel Quest
We are a family owned and operated host agency that has been in the business since 1999. We began as a one-woman show, with Bonnie Lee working out of her home. No big money investors, no huge corporate backing… just one agent wanting to provide what she wasn’t getting from her host agency. Today Travel Quest is a secure, reputable $60 million host agency that is known for our dedication to our agents and the transparency of our program. Our network has grown to include 450+ agents across the United States and continues to expand. If you would like to hear more about any of our programs or have additional questions, please contact us at [email protected] We pride ourselves on our personable customer service, providing top commissions, and dedication to staying on the cutting edge of the travel industry. We pay top commissions as part of our affiliation with Travel Leaders, and we have four agent plans to choose from. More information on our plans can be found here.
