Having a designated Travel Coordinator has significantly improved the tournament and travel experience for The Academy Volleyball Club. A couple of years after hiring Marketing Director Katelyn Storms full-time, travel coordination was added to her list of responsibilities. Managing the tournament travel planning for three locations, 1,500 athletes and 250 club coaches, is not for the faint of heart.
As the Travel Coordinator, Katelyn’s main responsibilities include coordinating all travel accommodations for the club coaches, as well as and securing and communicating hotel blocks for all of the families. Time management, work ethic and organization skills are extremely important in the role of travel coordinator. From November to June, the workload is the highest, but preparation begins in May, leaving little down time. Katelyn works two days in the office and two days from home but she is usually working and “on call” every weekend during the club season answering calls if issues arise. These issues usually consist of a flight cancellation or delay, bad weather that impacts check-in, and CCA forms.
There are many details and moving parts to keep up with, along with an influx of emails and back and forth communication. In Katelyn’s first year in this role she learned about attrition, what’s important to families when picking a hotel, the best ways to communicate information to the families, and a long list of other things.
“When I took on the role of travel coordinator, the main changes I made were regarding streamlining processes and improving customer service and communication. We began working with a travel company that helps me secure blocks for certain tournaments which was a huge help. This freed up time for me setting up blocks and negotiating contracts. I still do those things, but the travel company provides a ton of assistance,” said Katelyn.
In addition, she improved her communication method and frequency to the coaches and families. This consisted of making a webpage that housed all the housing information, sending reminder emails of deadlines, and providing updates via GroupMe.
The thing Katelyn loves the most about her job are the relationships she has with the Academy families and coaches. With having such a large club, it can be difficult to learn names, and build relationships. With coordinating travel, Katelyn talks with families all the time. She knows what team their child plays on and their coach, and then takes that knowledge into the next club season with putting names and faces together.
The same thing goes for coaches. With over 250 coaches, Katelyn has talked to all of them and could name nearly all of them. She feels this is a huge benefit that helps with retention and morale the overall mission of the volleyball club.
With costs increasing, it has sometimes been difficult to negotiate lower hotel rates while ensuring a quality hotel/experience. When communicating with families, Katelyn tries to sweeten the price by highlighting free breakfast, distance to the venue, discounted parking, etc. In certain cases she also has multiple price points and options for families to choose from.
“My role is constantly developing and evolving as I’m always looking to improve the experience for our coaches and families. Is there a better way to communicate than email? What app will take off next and will it impact my job? Lots of things that I’m always trying to navigate and evolve with,” added Katelyn.
Creating relationships with people in the industry has also been valuable for this position. Katelyn has been fortunate to work with great people and mentors along her career that stressed the concept that “everyone you meet is important.” She earned a Business Degree with a major in Sports Management from Trine University, and since graduating, she’s held positions consisting of marketing, event planning in higher education and in athletics.
“Every job I have had put an emphasis on customer service and organization. Whether planning events or creating marketing campaigns, clear, direct and get communication goes a long way,” said Katelyn.
Having a travel point person for the club makes a huge difference. Many times it’s really difficult to get through to hotels or travel companies and that can send a stressed out parent over the edge. In her role, Katelyn can diffuse the situation by contacting someone she knows at the hotel or company and providing some solutions if an unexpected situation arises. Establishing and maintaining contacts with hotel personnel, travel coordinators, and club directors has helped tremendously with securing hotel blocks, fixing issues, and asking for the occasional last minute changes.
“A simple THANK YOU goes a long way. Whether that’s a thank you email or a thank you gift/email… ALWAYS send it. It makes a huge difference,” expressed Katelyn.
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The Academy Volleyball Club (Indianapolis, IN) is a member of the Junior Volleyball Association, an organization committed to enhancing the junior volleyball experience for club directors, coaches, players, and fans.
