Agents Launch Association for Destination Wedding Specialists

A new association for travel sellers who specialize in destination weddings and honeymoons was launched this week, with a charter membership drive set to begin on Feb. 1.

“Many travel agents want to learn more about this enjoyable – and profitable – niche, but they don’t know where to start,” said Lisa Sheldon, CTC, MCC, executive director of the Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialist Association (DWHSA).

“And agents who who’ve been selling destination weddings and honeymoons for years want to network with professionals just like them. That’s why we started this group.”

How it started
Sheldon, who is owner of I Do Island Weddings in Janesville, Wisc., cofounded the association with John Hawks, a former president of the Association of Retail Travel Agents and former agency owner. Hawks will manage back office operations for the association.

The new association grew out of a series of regional workshops coordinated by the DWAgents.com training program, which Hawks administers. “In the past 18 months we’ve had more than 600 agents complete a class with us. Their No. 1 request for the future has been, ‘We need a group like this,’” he said.

The roots of DWHSA also stem from an invitation-only Facebook group that Sheldon established for destination wedding and honeymoon planners in July 2012.  

Key areas of focus
The new organization will focus on four key areas, according to Sheldon and Hawks:

•    Networking, primarily through a private Facebook group where agents may ask questions and exchange ideas.

•    Training, including a year-round schedule of half-hour webinars; 60-minute teleconferences called “coffee chats,” and half-day online conferences. The online conferences will focus on a range of topics, such as: dealing with difficult brides, capturing the bookings of wedding guests, working effectively with wholesalers, and using social media, websites and other tools to prospect for honeymoon business.

•    Marketing support, including sample client forms, sales material templates and a consumer-facing website that directs consumers to agent specialists.
 
•    Supplier relations, with features such as ratings of individual resorts and cruise ships and destination fam trips.
 
Unlike consortiums and host agencies, the association will not have preferred suppliers, but will welcome suppliers and DMOs as allied members, Hawks told Travel Market Report.

Training, networking, advocacy
“Our goal is to focus on this agent niche in the way CLIA does with cruising – primarily offering training and networking,” he said.

“We will also offer some advocacy on their behalf – for example, we may try to get our member agents’ clients shielded from the constant timeshare pitches that certain resorts use.”

Membership base
Membership is open to travel professionals in the U.S. and Canada who are engaged in planning and selling destination weddings, honeymoons, and romantic getaways.

“We want to build a huge membership base around two types of agents: those who’ve sold destination weddings and honeymoons for many years, and those who’re just getting their feet wet in this niche,” Sheldon said.
 
Charter member info
Applications for charter members will be accepted from Feb. 1 to April 30.

From May 1 through Sept. 15, the association will be closed to new members to allow the staff and DWHSA’s agent advisory board members to roll out programs and prepare for its first annual conference.

Charter membership information for both agents and suppliers is available at DWAgentds.com. Agents may also request a membership packet by emailing Hawks at john@dwagents.com.