TBEX 2012: Kelley’s 5 Takeaways from the 2012 Travel Blog Exchange in Keystone

“Rocky Mountain High…” was running through our mind’s as we breathed in the crisp, green air of Keystone, Colorado. The scenery of Keystone was pretty hard to beat–gorgeous peaks, bright blue skies, an overdose of greenery at every turn. Many travel industry veterans and newcomers came out to the 4th Annual Travel Blog Exchange Conference and with the recent BlogWorld acquisition, the pressure was on.
In short, they succeeded.

The conference was run smoothly and had useful enhancements like a pre-conference networking & an appointment interface that allowed attendees to arrange quick “speed-date” style meetings during Sunday’s free time.

Keystone Mountain & Vail Resorts went above and beyond, literally, to make sure that we were fed and well taken care of. From the opening celebrations at 11,000 feet on Keystone’s summit, to the shuttle vans that always seemed to be ready to take you door to door, it felt like the whole town of Keystone was trying to make sure all TBEX-ers were happy.

A standout panel was hosted by Expedia and they discussed their success at working with bloggers & vloggers (several which are Tripfilms’ own all stars). It was refreshing to see big brands see the value in blogging and vlogging, and accepting that these voices are some of the most influential in travel right now.

I was very excited to have almost everyone at the conference know about Tripfilms and to have so many people come up to me to ask about how they can start making videos or include videos on their sites, or how they can make their current videos better. The time of video is upon us and we are excited to be at the helm!

The best moments of TBEX though are never planned–the casual conversation in the hallway between sessions, the jokes shared in line for lunch or the introduction to a new future partner over hors d’oeuvres–just being there opens you up to your own community and together we can only bring each other up! A great man once told me, “rising Waters lifts all boats.” And that’s what I feel TBEX was for me this year.

My Five Biggest Takeaways From TBEX 2012

1. Meeting many NEW people in travel and building upon past relationships

2. A better handle on the state of travel industry today and the trends to jump on for the future (ahem video…)

3. An introduction to new concept and ideas that inspires yourself to start thinking in new ways

4. To be able to learn techniques from leaders in the field and how to improve your own brand/company

5. A unification and strengthening of the travel community as a whole

*I was going to add lots of free delicious foods (chocolate towers?!) and free drinks (margaritas on the ranch) but figured that just contributes to the success of the 5 takeaways!