Becky Helms

Experience

• 

  AAA Carolinas

  May 2004 - Mar 2011

  Travel Sales Specialist

  Leading travel agency in the Carolinas; Current membership base of almost 2 million members• Achieved top agent status 5 out of 6 years by being detail oriented when working with members to plan both domestic and international travel• Provided excellent customer service in order to provide members with the best vacation experience possible and gain repeat clients• Built positive relationships with travel vendors to leverage partnerships when necessary• Continued education of destinations by completing training courses such as Trafalgar Tours, Insight Vacations, Disney College of Knowledge, Universal Specialist, Princess Commodore, Cruise West and SuperClubs• Received my CTA, Destination Specialist for North America (2005) and Hawaii Destination Specialist (2008) Show less

• 

  LEGOLAND Florida Resort

  Feb 2011 - Jul 2020

  • Promoted in 2014 to manage a team of 8 domestic and international sales representatives to meet and exceed volume and revenue targets. Overcame multiple political and economic challenges in key markets to grow visitation by 17% over the last 4 years• Managed the sales plans for Top 10 Strategic Accounts (including Costco, Groupon, Expedia and TripAdvisor) representing approximately 60% of total trade revenue by building strong client partnerships, maintaining steady communication, and consistently evaluating progress. Grew several key accounts by 70% year over year• Collaborated with the Head of Sales to develop and execute the sales strategy for the team as well as analyze market trends and competitor offers, both locally and nationally to achieve and exceed a goal of 33% of total park attendance• Managed the multimillion-dollar Sales Budget to maximize exposure across the sales channels by negotiating and implementing co-op marketing plans. Strategic negotiation of placements allowed LEGOLAND to steal market share from other Orlando theme parks.• Developed the team via biweekly meetings and one on one coaching sessions• Collaborated with the Marketing Manager to ensure promotions and sales have the proper distribution throughout the year and do not have competing offers• Proactively contributed to launch campaigns for the opening of the LEGOLAND Florida Hotel in May 2015, Beach Retreat in April 2017 and Pirate Island Hotel in June 2020 further enhancing the Resort proposition• Collaborated across multiple teams to ensure a successful opening of the Merlin Entertainments attractions in Orlando – The Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE in 2015 Show less • Launched an opening Sales Plan including initial contracting of sales clients as part of the Grand Opening of LEGOLAND Florida • Managed AAA, Wholesale, Military, and Travel Agent market segments growing the volume by 72% from year 2 to 3• Developed and managed the market segment budgets to maximize client marketing exposure, attended trade shows, and provided training for the front-line agents. Negotiated LEGOLAND placements on par with the other Orlando theme parks• Hired, trained and managed the Trade Account Executive responsible for the Canadian, Receptive and Retail market segments• Developed and marketed an online Training Course for LEGOLAND Florida which educated over 10,000 travel and ticket agents in year one• Continued personal development by applying and successfully gaining placements in Merlin Entertainments Leadership CORE classes in 2012 and Merlin Management Program in 2014• Organized and implemented strategy annually for IPW (largest International inbound travel trade show hosting over 6,200 delegates from over 70 countries and driving $5.5 billion in future travel to the US) Show less

  • Senior Strategic Sales Manager

    Oct 2014 - Jul 2020

  • Travel Industry Trade Sales Executive

    Feb 2011 - Oct 2014
• 

  LEGOLAND Florida Resort

  Jun 2021 - Jul 2022

  Learning And Development Specialist

  • Develop and create relevant, impactful, and engaging resort-wide training to ensure employees have the skills, knowledge, and experience to fulfill organizational needs and achieve employee goals• Redesigned New Hire Orientation from concept to activation including working with a third-party company to develop and implement a digital park experience to enable new hires to learn about the Resort• Evaluate current training programs to ensure efficiency and modify training delivery methods to 1500+ LEGOLAND Florida Resort employees to ensure company goals are met• Lead development of Internship Program including recruitment, creation of development opportunities, Masterclasses and Workshops, and management of participants• Develop online training using Articulate 360 implement via Cornerstone• Conceptualize and prepare Guest Obsession communications monthly, monitor progress of initiatives and adjust the approach if targets are not achieved• Drive a culture of continuous professional development of the team by communicating development opportunities • Co-facilitate the GO Team, which is responsible for resort wide initiatives around Guest Obsession activations• Member of Autism taskforce responsible for designing, implementing, and reporting on a resort-wide training for the Resort to become a Certified Autism Center• Using blending learning to reach adult learners, including content creation, video filming, editing and cross department collaboration Show less

• 

  Hurtigruten Group

  Jul 2022 - Dec 2023

  Sales Director - Americas East and National Accounts

  Responsible for delivering revenue from the East Region by creating strategic sales and marketing plans with focused accounts and building relationships with account managers and travel advisors.◼ Deliver revenue targets by creating strategic and tactical activations with accounts◼ Manage a team of Business Development Managers and Inside Sales Specialist◼ Create annual co-op marketing plans with key accounts◼ Analyze sales results and provide reports to accounts during monthly management calls◼ Conduct weekly team meetings and 1:1 calls to build team comradery and develop team members Show less

• 

  Lindblad Expeditions

  Jan 2024 - now

  Regional Sales Director - East