Supplement to Travel Trade

John Werner
Executive Director & CEO

Innovation drives the MAST organization helping to propel MAST members to new heights. Members are earning more income than ever before. Our business model openly shares sales figures, sales goals, and override revenue with members as achieved by the entire organization. Creating greater value and developing new methods of meeting member needs is our commitment to the travel agency community in the Midwest.
Our four-pillar strategy begins with our commitment to solutions created uniquely for MAST members.
Our small, yet diverse and growing agency network requires solutions customized to their needs as opposed to broad, generic programs to fit all.
Secondly, we are committed to brand development, agency by agency. Each office seeks to maintain its own identity within its location and travel community. We help agencies accomplish that with our training and marketing programs.
The third pillar is our relationships – within the network, with our preferred suppliers and within the travel industry at-large. We foster a community atmosphere in which each agency and each individual, agent or supplier, feels they are an integral part of our success.
Fourth, and the sole reason for being in business, is sales and profitability. MAST is a sales-focused and goal-oriented organization. We provide close monitoring of preferred supplier sales and promote greater member accountability. Our new programs and unique educational and networking events help to increase sales and improve profitability for each member.
Increased membership value stems from our Platinum and Gold Plus programs in which members receive direct mail credits to apply to our consumer publications, which we mail on their behalf throughout the year. Members receive tremendous savings over the cost of sending their own direct mail, and their overall expenses are far less than the cost of postage alone. These two membership programs include the standard membership fee, presenting additional savings to members at these levels. Current MAST members receive incentives for recruiting agencies to become members, while new members receive incentives valued up to $1,500 for joining.
MAST helps drive business into our members’ offices through our Web site co-branded with Apple Vacations, our tollfree consumer call routing program and our direct mail reply cards. MAST members receive discounted overnight shipping, low rates in credit card merchant fees, and on our hotel discount rate program. Members have access to commissionable shore excursions, commissionable rates on Park ‘N Stay programs and money-saving subscriptions to industry reference guides. With MAST, agencies earn more money selling American Airlines.
Our GDS contract with Amadeus still offers a profit center opportunity for our members, large or small, despite the changes in the GDS landscape over the past year. Our enhanced members-only intranet provides all the tools and resources needed to be efficient and productive with user-friendly navigation and well-organized information pages. Message boards, blogging, and social networking functionality are being introduced.
Webinars, online training programs and conference calls are recorded, and members can review entire presentations online at their convenience, or download audio podcasts. We offer Web site hosting, content management, and booking tools through our MAST Web Solutions program.
Four times a year, MAST members receive reports on progress they have made toward their individual sales goals. Each March, members are recognized in front of their peers and preferred suppliers for their annual sales achievements during a festive and elegant awards ceremony and dinner. In May 2008, MAST will host its 17th Annual Conference in Tampa/Clearwater Beach, FL, at the Marriott Suites on Sand Key.
Excitement, value, opportunity, and of course, financial rewards are the cornerstones of MAST membership. Your success is our success story.