The travel industry likes to give out awards. Retail organizations do it, suppliers do it, tourist boards and even the trade media is in on the act. Winning a professional award is validation that you --or your organization-- have been recognized for your products and services.

Some awards are based solely on results such as top sales or highest earnings—but others are for innovation, achieving excellence, helping others, investing in education and training --- and being a visionary.

Probably the most meaningful of these awards though are the ones that are voted on. Being judged by other agents or supplier employees mean the most because these are the people who know best. They deal with companies and individuals day in and day out.

However, and this is a big “however”, you need to understand the voting system behind the awards, because some are easily manipulated by companies getting all their employees to vote for them. In these cases, the largest company will win.

So why should you pay attention to who is winning these awards? Well, because it can be a guide to what they are like to do business with and how they are perceived within the industry for the calibre of their products and services.

Whether you are choosing a supplier, a consortium, a host agency, or an employer, it can be one of the facts that you can consider. This is especially true for companies that have won multiple awards. If you are winning multiple awards, you are doing something right!

The other measure you want to pay attention to is the criteria for the award – this will give you a clear picture of the company or person who won it.

Of course awards are only one measure of a company. Most of them end up on the board room wall or a shelf somewhere. It is the daily dedication and energy that individuals invest in companies that determines their value to agents.

So you should always ultimately be guided by your experience of a company and your clients’ experience as well.

If the awards are deserved, then the two will match up – the really good companies and really good individuals will be the ones winning the awards.

When you do things right, people notice!

***This is part of a series of articles by travel industry veteran Jill Wykes about the home based agent and host agency trend that is changing how travel is sold in Canada. The articles are sponsored by The Travel Agent Next Door.