Delray Beach, FL – July 10, 2014: HICKORY GLOBAL PARTNERS ("HICKORY"; www.HickoryTravel.com), a travel management services company providing innovative service, distribution and technology to its network of travel agency and supplier partners, is pleased to share the highly favorable participant survey results of its 2014 Annual Conference. The travel industry thought leader, HICKORY’s new, annual conference provides a forum for sharing and exchanging valuable, relevant information that the company and its partners can effectively use to grow their businesses.
The event was held May 7-9, 2014 at The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach, FL, just steps from HICKORY’s headquarters. HICKORY’s staff hosted this gathering of the company’s agency members and partners, supplier partners, guest speakers and industry experts. Attendees had the opportunity to interact openly with presenters and speakers, and to learn more about all-things HICKORY.
Guest speakers and additional presenters came together in four interactive and moderated panel discussions to share industry knowledge, explore trends, and preview new opportunities approaching while also diving deeply into each topic. Panelists and speakers included experts and senior executives from major car companies, hoteliers, airlines, digital marketing firms and industry research specialists, with many acting as sponsors and trade show exhibitors, too. A notable panel was dedicated to GDS, with speakers from Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport presenting, in turn, and participating in a lively Q&A session; all three GDSs participated as sponsors as well.
A successful event by any measures, HICKORY’s annual conference has quickly and firmly established itself as an ideal forum for meeting periodically with company partners and additional supporters, all valuing HICKORY’s track record of innovation and delivering on its promises.
The company is pleased to share that 2014 conference attendees agree that HICKORY is most definitely well on its way – and, on the right track as the industry thought leader.
High marks all around
HICKORY is particularly pleased to report that it enjoyed a notably high response rate to its 2014 conference participant survey; nearly two-thirds of conference attendees submitted written feedback.
"I am extremely pleased with the outstanding survey response rate and am excited to share a summary of our 2014 conference participant survey results,” stated Chris Dane, President of HICKORY. “As you can appreciate, I am excited to have the opportunity to report that our inaugural conference received high marks all around. These survey results further validate our mission and dedicated efforts in recent years to lead, blaze the trail, and achieve success through business partnerships and ongoing collaboration. We simply couldn’t be where we are today without our valued partners,” continued Dane.
Survey results highlights & additional feedback
Survey results yielded high marks in all categories:
- 96% of attendees rated their overall satisfaction with the conference as Excellent/Very Good
- HICKORY staff, in particular, received among the highest Excellent rating of all categories surveyed: 81%
- A full 100% of attendees expressed an entirely favorable response to this year’s theme and related topics: “Connect Your World: Solutions. Technology. Revenue.”
- 96% of attendees are likely to recommend HICKORY’s annual conference to their colleagues, industry peers, teams, friends, and others.
In addition to the quantitative feedback, the qualitative feedback received reveals that HICKORY’s intimate gathering and welcoming “Hospitality approach” to its annual conference were well-received by all in attendance. Open invitations to all supplier partners and opportunities to network, meet new people, exchange ideas, learn from one another, and personally experience HICKORY’s leadership of the travel industry were all duly noted as well.
The picturesque seaside location, high caliber of speakers, and variety of supplier partner representatives within all of HICKORY’s vertical businesses contributed to making the conference a “must.”
A special focus on HICKORY’s travel technology supplier partners, and their emerging technology offerings, was particularly appreciated.
Shaping the company’s annual conference in 2015 – and beyond
HICKORY has finished pouring over the participant survey results and additional feedback from 2014. The company is taking all feedback received into account, using both the general response and individual comments to help shape the company’s annual conference in 2015 – and beyond.
A “save-the-date” email for next year’s conference will be announced at summer’s end. Attendees of HICKORY’s 2015 Annual Conference can already look forward to even more opportunities to learn about HICKORY, and to network – with one another and HICKORY staff, too, in a highly interactive and relaxed setting.
Meanwhile, the event agenda, photos and a collection of participant testimonials are available online. Click here to view the information.
About HICKORY - Hickory Global Partners, An INTRAVEL Company
Positioning itself as a travel management services company rather than a consortium, HICKORY’s unique approach focuses on return on investment for agency and supplier partners alike. HICKORY guarantees its agency partners a positive ROI. With a suite of services including a visionary hotel incentive program, a robust and one-of-a kind air program, a car rental program, and 24/7 support products, HICKORY is an important strategic partner to travel agencies. Proprietary, innovative tools designed to share data with agency partners allow agencies to make better, faster decisions, thus driving more revenue. These tools also enable HICKORY to aggregate bookings from agency partners. Hotelier partners gain access to a reporting platform that illustrates daily, weekly and monthly booking trends across the HICKORY network. Supplier partners also benefit from measurable results and extensive distribution and marketing opportunities across the HICKORY global network. For more information, please visit www.HickoryTravel.com.
