WAGcademy 2018 Conference

AMAZING. LIFE-CHANGING. EMPOWERING. FUN

Just some of the words our attendees used to describe the inaugural WAGcademy Conference. 

We're recapping the highlights right here. At WAGcademy 2018, more than 50 WAGS from football, basketball, boxing, baseball, and hockey gathered in downtown Los Angeles to UNITE AND IGNITE! We felt the love. These photos will give you the feels too. Check it out. 

For a detailed recap, read this WAGcademy review by moderator and committee member, Asia Saffold. 

And watch this vlog by MAKING A DIFFERENCE panelist Brittany Ross.

Date: July 21, 2018

Location: Hudson Loft, Los Angeles

Photography: Jennifer Johnson (IG: @jenjphoto)

The FIRST EVER conference for wives and significant others of professional athletes across various sports was a successful event hosted by WAGS Redefined and presented by Bank of America. More than 50 WAGS gathered to unite and ignite!

PHOTO GALLERY

 Check out the photos below (CLICK ON A PHOTO TO ENLARGE)!

WAGcademy 2018 Community Service x Dream Center

The WAGS Redefined team thanks our 2018 WAGcademy Conference community partner, the LA Dream Center, for working with us to give back to the Los Angeles community. A portion of WAGcademy ticket sales (10%) was donated to the nonprofit organization fighting poverty, addiction, and abuse. On Friday, July 20, 2018, WAGS Redefined members, WAGcademy attendees and WAGcademy sponsors gathered at The LA Dream Center in downtown Los Angeles to pack 2,500 backpacks with necessary school supplies for the upcoming school year for youth in need. The day was full of good vibes: LA sunshine, uplifting music, and a group of people there to serve and spread love! The backpacks were distributed by members of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization on August 4th. Thank you to everyone who made it a success! 

Date: July 20, 2018 

Location: Los Angeles Dream Center

Host: WAGS REDEFINED

Photography: Jennifer Johnson (IG: @jenjphoto)

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Travel Thursday: Travel Like Pros with Pro Athlete Travel

WAGS are far from amateurs when it comes to travel (#gypsylife). Aside from supporting our partners all across the globe, we tend to enjoy our share of vacations and trips (destination weddings, engagement shoots, anniversaries, birthdays, annual girl trips, etc). Who doesn't? I'm always looking for ways to travel better and more effective, especially with a business and household to run. Meet Pro Athlete Travel, a premiere travel agency for women like you. I sat down with Tim May, Managing Partner of the company, to discuss why WAGS should know about Pro Athlete Travel. 

**WAGS attending the inaugural WAGcademy conference will have the chance to connect with Pro Athlete Travel on a personal level!

Our travel agents create a custom itinerary, pulling together flights, transfers, accommodations, tours, meals and exclusive visits based on your preferences—so you can spend your time on other things. And, this is a completely free service to pros, WAGS and their families.

Who is Pro Athlete Travel?

Pro Athlete Travel is a full service travel agency, servicing the travel planning needs of current and former pro athletes and their families, in season and out of season.

“When on vacation, a room with a private pool on a private strip of the beach can do wonders for your marriage...if you catch our drift”

— Follow @proathletetravel on IG

What are the advantages of BOOKING THROUGH PRO ATHLETE TRAVEL?

We have an elevated status and exclusive relationship with almost every hotel brand, resort, airline, private jet company, cruise line and rental car company. These professional travel connections mean we get our clients more for their money than they would if they were to book their own travel. Our clients often get complimentary upgrades and amenities that otherwise would have to be paid for.

We also save our clients a ton of time. Studies show that the average person spends 4 to 8 hours total, over multiple days, planning their own vacation, from the time they begin to research the needed aspects for their trip, to booking the trip, to what to do while on the trip. Our travel agents create a custom itinerary, pulling together flights, transfers, accommodations, tours, meals and exclusive visits based on your preferences—so you can spend your time on other things. And, this is a completely free service to pros, WAGS and their families.

“One thing many consumers are not aware of is airlines are now engaging in dynamic (or customized) pricing, which uses identifying information like your IP address or browser history to calculate exactly how much you are willing to pay. ”

What's A GOOD TRAVEL TIP WE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT?

One thing many consumers are not aware of is airlines are now engaging in dynamic (or customized) pricing, which uses identifying information like your IP address or browser history to calculate exactly how much you are willing to pay. Dynamic pricing makes it even more difficult than it already is for consumers booking their own travel to get an unbiased price comparison because in many cases their personal details are being used by the airline when browsing online to upsell them on an airfare purchase. While there is no guarantee that it will always work, a consumer can attempt to get around dynamic pricing by clearing their history or hiding their device type. Pro Athlete Travel alleviates the uncertainty of it's clients knowing whether they are getting the best pricing because our system is directly connected with each airlines' reservation system, bypassing any personal data gathering mechanisms that may increase pricing.   

Who are some OF YOUR CLIENTS?

We have the pleasure of servicing the newly drafted pro to the seasoned veteran to the retired pro athlete. We service the wives and girlfriends, the moms and dads, and everyone in between within their family circle. Without revealing their names, we recently planned and booked a honeymoon for a couple who had been married for almost 3 years, but the husband was in his last year with the Giants after a 10 year NFL career when they got married and his wife, a former Olympian, had recently transitioned from a very successful professional track and field career, so timing wasn't right for them to go on their honeymoon right after their wedding. The wife worked with us to surprise her husband. They came back from the trip so excited and satisfied and because we planned a trip for them that was only about half of what the wife thought she would have to spend, they are already having us plan their next trip for this December. 

We do more than just vacation planning for our clients. We also arrange the travel needs and logistics for game days and in season and off season business trips. For example, we just arranged the flights and rental cars for a large family for a current Green Bay Packer and his wife, who were putting on their 2nd Annual Football Camp for youth in his hometown. When their flight was delayed on their return flight which was going to cause them to miss their connection back home, our client didn't have to spend any time working with the airline to rebook all 8 family members on the same flight. Our team of travel agents were able to be proactive and got all 8 of them on another flight before that flight sold out. That was music to the ears of both the pro athlete and his pregnant wife.

Where can we find you to learn more?

Unlike when you book your own travel online, having Pro Athlete Travel take care of you means you get US, a real team of dedicated, experienced travel agents. No 1-800 #s to call where you have to dial 1, then 4, then 2 just to then be routed back to the first prompt. Call us at 804-213-2683, email us at travel@proathletetravel.com or direct message us on Instagram at @proathletetravel. We are also very ecstatic to be a participating vendor at WAGcademy Conference 2018 in Los Angeles this month. What an incredible opportunity for wives and girlfriends from all phases of life, to be able to get together under one roof to learn from and be inspired by each other!

This post has been sponsored by Pro Athlete Travel.