One of the reasons so many Canadian travel agents are drawn to the home-based option is the freedom to work at your own pace, choose your own hours – and avoid the distractions of a noisy office. And while this can be great for productivity, it does mean you miss out on the social aspect of the industry.

This came through loud and clear at our annual Power of Vision conference last month in Ottawa, attended by over 300 Vision Travel advisors, including 150 who work from home offices.

It was wonderful to see these tremendous people get to meet their colleagues face-to-face, many for the first time. Refreshing to see how they were so informed and inspired by the preferred supplier presentations, one-on-one meetings and professional development – not to mention a keynote speech by talented Olympic gold medalist Adam Kreek from Vancouver. Above all it was heartwarming to see how the team, big as it is, gelled and really felt like family after just three days.

Vision is certainly not the only retail group with home-based agents to hold an annual conference, and I’ll bet we aren’t the only one with such intangible but important results. I’d like to warmly encourage you to attend your conference when it next rolls around. Yes, there will be a cost, in dollars. But there will be a benefit, in connections, friendships and learning that you’ll immeasurable.

Are you a home-based agent?

This article appears in Sphere, Travelweek’s monthly e-newsletter for home-based agents.

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