Jeffrey Pawid, Business Development Manager, Events 365 | Travel Research Online

Image
Image

Jeffrey Pawid, Business Development Manager, Events 365

Jeff Pic 2Jeffrey Pawid, Business Development Manager for Events 365, powered by Ticket Evolution, has been a traveler at heart since a young age. Jeffrey started his career in travel working in sales, but since making the switch to the supplier’s side he has never looked back. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, and currently finds himself working with the suite of booking solutions that are custom built for the travel agency community, where consultants can now make commission on shows, concerts, sporting events, theatre, and so much more. Jeffrey is thrilled to be in a position to help travel companies evolve by being able to offer their clients a wider variety of ticketing options.

Travel Research Online (TRO): Your initial foray into the travel industry was in the role of Sales Coordinator for Global Sales at Carlson. What about travel and the travel industry was so appealing that you decided to get into it?

Jeffrey Pawid (JP): I took my first international trip when I was 6 years old and have been passionate about travel, exploring different cultures, and meeting new people ever since. When I was exploring career options, my mom introduced me to a friend of hers who worked in the travel industry. I instantly knew that these were people I wanted to work with. Carlson afforded me the opportunity to be passionate about travel, to work with like-minded people, and explore various aspects of a business and industry. There is so much opportunity right now for the travel industry to evolve and adapt to changing client demographics and preferences, and I am excited to see what happens.

 

TRO: You went from being a leisure travel consultant at Liberty Travel to your current position of Business Development Manager for Events 365, powered by Ticket Evolution. What motivated you to make the switch to the supplier side of the industry?

JP: When I was a travel consultant, I would book events for my clients using various ticket-resale websites, and I would do this mostly to build client relationships. Having a live booking platform that automatically pays commission was unheard of, until Events 365. Additionally, with the growth of event-based travel, Events 365 offers a new business opportunity for the travel industry. When I learned about Events 365, I knew I wanted to be a part of something special that has so much potential to benefit the travel industry.

 

TRO: How do you feel your previous experience with sales has benefited you as Business Development Manager for Events 365, powered by Ticket Evolution?

JP: Having been on the sales side of the industry, I understand how agents think, their pain points and what clients are looking for. In my current role, this experience helps me customize our offering to best serve the needs of consultants.

 

TRO: Can you tell us more about the day-to-day activities and responsibilities of your position? Are you often traveling?

JP: I spend the majority of my day working with agencies to educate them on the features and benefits of Events 365, and the new exciting opportunities it creates for them. I also work directly with consultants via email, phone, or webinar trainings to help them maximize the features of Events 365, and keep them informed on updates. I also work internally to understand how Events 365, as a whole, can continue improving and helping agents sell event ticketing for clients. Our team has grown a lot in the last few months, so we have a lot of exciting changes coming up soon!

 

TRO: You work with custom built booking solutions for the travel agency community that allow consultants to make commission on an array of ticketing options. What insight into the process of how these booking solutions work can you give us?

JP: The Events 365 booking platform is intuitive and extremely user-friendly, and our ticketing inventory is huge! It contains over 80,000 events, which means travel consultants can book nearly any event their clients may be interested in. It also gives travel agents the ability to give their clientele a truly full-service, end-to-end experience. By building event-based packages, travel consultants are gaining an edge when they offer clients something that is new, fun, and unique.

 

TRO: You are also a part of the Board of Directors for ASTA’s Young Professional Society (YPS). Can you tell us a little more ASTA’s Young Professional Society and your role on the board?

JP: YPS was created by ASTA for the travel industry, so that travel consultants 40 years and younger can network and learn more about the industry from like-minded peers. I work on supplier committee within the YPS Board and focus on finding sponsors for our many activities.

 

TRO: You graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Rutgers University. How has your background in communications helped you in your current career?

JP: Having a Communications degree from Rutgers provided me with the tools to interact with people in a variety of ways, based on person to person and situation to situation. My education also trained me to work well within teams and to craft unique and specific messaging for a each travel agency that I work with.

 

TRO: What do you feel is the most valuable piece of information you have learned so far in the travel industry? How has it helped you?

JP: The ability to adapt and be open to change, especially in the travel industry which continues to evolve. We are in the golden age of event based travel where people fly to a destination, go to an event, and build their vacations around the city where the event takes place in.

 

TRO: What can we expect to see from Events 365, powered by Ticket Evolution, this year?

JP: A lot! With a bigger team than we had last year, we have a lot of fresh talent on board working hard to implement a ton of exciting changes. We have already begun making strong headway in improving the interface with our web-based portal, and we continue to increase our inventory, especially with the number of events we are offering overseas. But most importantly, we’ve begun to roll out a package of client-facing marketing materials to help educate agents on what events to sell and how to sell them. Beyond that, you’ll just have to stay tuned!

Share your thoughts on “Jeffrey Pawid, Business Development Manager, Events 365”

You must be a registered user and be logged in to post a comment.