Travel Edge convened roughly 200 luxury travel advisors and supplier partners at the recently opened Kimpton Santo Hotel in San Antonio for the first iteration of its “Limitless Live” event. Since the pandemic, “Limitless” has taken the form of a virtual event but Travel Edge President Andrew Pilkington told Luxury Travel Advisor that members of the agency had been wanting more opportunities to meet in person to connect.
“Limitless Live” included two days of one-to-one networking, along with off-site experiences and dinners, multiple advisor and supplier panels—which discussed such topics as “Beyond the Itinerary: Selling Experiential & Exotic Travel Destinations” and “The Power of Personalization: Crafting Unforgettable Client Experiences”—and more.
“The ‘why we’re here’ is really by popular demand,” said Pilkington. “I heard so many times over the past year or so that I’ve been at Travel Edge that we need to get together, that we need to create more community. And that’s really the purpose of this event.”
Advisors also had the chance to meet several new members to Travel Edge’s team, including new Senior Vice President, Travel Edge Network Gail Banack. Only on the job for two months, she told us that her top priorities have been working on the event and getting to know as many members of the network as possible.
She explains that in deciding to put on the “Limitless Live” event, Travel Edge leaders focused on getting “the best partners,” ensuring that it was exclusive, and that it was “a highly personalized event.” And once she was on site, she said, “I've been trying to meet as many advisors as I can and kind of get up to speed. I'm new to travel, I'm new to the industry; I'm kind of drinking from a fire hose and soaking it all in.”
Other new members to Travel Edge’s team include Jenn Carson, who has been named to the new role of VP, partner relations, and Lauren Miller, relationship director, hotels, who Pilkington jokingly referred to as “Mary Kleen’s replacement.” Kleen had built Travel Edge’s hotel program and in December retired from the company after 16 years; she was honored during a “Sunset Soirée” on the final night of the conference.
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