MailPound MAC CHAT

 

Agents were treated to a special Icelandic dinner Saturday night at the Restaurant Reykjavik.  After enjoying a cocktail in the restaurant’s ‘cool’ Ice Bar, agents enjoyed an elaborate seafood buffet and fillet of lamb dinner.  Throughout our weekend, there was much discussion on the possibility of viewing the Northern Lights.  Unfortunately, the weather had not cooperated our first night in Iceland.  During Dinner, Dana informed us we could participate in the Northern Lights tour!  Thorunn arranged Reykjavik Excursions to pick us up at the restaurant immediately following dinner.   Our tour guide informed us we were going on a ‘hunt’ for the Northern Lights.  We spent the next couple of hours traveling around Iceland looking for the Northern Lights, while our guide told Icelandic stories.  Although the weather prohibited our viewing of the Lights, we all had a great experience and enjoyed the ‘hunt for the Northern Lights’.  We were offered a 50% discount off the tour if we chose to try again during our stay. 

 

‘Patti and Matt Venanzi at Restaurant Reykjavik’s IceBar’

‘Thorunn Reynisdottir, Bill Brown, Dana McPherson and Patti Venanzi’

Sadly, our trip had gone by far too quickly.  Before I knew it, I was packing and checking out of the hotel I had called home for the past 2 nights.  Our final excursion was a trip to the Blue Lagoon before heading to the airport.  We loaded our luggage onto one of Reykjavik Excursions’ luxury motor coaches and traveled through lava fields before arriving at the Blue Lagoon.  

 

 

Upon check-in you are given a bracelet, which is used to open your locker, as well as charge any food or drink purchases from the Lagoon Bar. Also available for rental are towels, bathrobes and bathing suits.  The locker rooms are modern and equipped with every convenience you could imagine, including shampoo/conditioner, hair dryers, dressing tables and even plastic bags for your wet bathing suit.  The owners have truly thought of everything!

 

 

The locker rooms exit to the Lagoon Bar area and an indoor swimming area.  Guests can enter the Lagoon either through the indoor swimming area or by going outside.  The active ingredients in the water are minerals, silica and algae.  The Blue Lagoon is known for its positive effects on skin and relaxing powers.  Water temperatures vary throughout the lagoon allowing for guests to find the perfect temperature for them.

The Blue Lagoon offers a full range of spa treatments and massages for guests.  I recommend making a reservation, as the treatments are very popular!  

 

‘Boutique offers Blue Lagoon skin products and Icelandic gifts’

 

‘Blue Café offering lighter fare’

‘Lava Restaurant offers a more formal setting’

 

The Blue Lagoon is a short distance to the airport, making it a great stop before heading home!

Thank you Bill, Dana and Thorunn for inviting me along on your Iceland Odyssey.  I truly enjoyed experiencing Iceland, luxury style! 

Saturday, we enjoyed another excellent breakfast at Vox, before departing on our full day tour with Reykjavik Excursions.  We were scheduled to take the Golden Circle Tour which included a visit to Hellisheidi Power Plant, Gullfoss waterfall, the Great Geysir and Pingvellir National Park.  After boarding our luxury motor coach, we were greeted by our tour guide who entertained us along the way with facts, storytelling and even a few Icelandic songs.

Our first stop was Iceland’s largest geothermal combined heat and power plant, Hellisheidi.  Located in South West Iceland on an active volcanic ridge, Hellisheidi produces electricity and hot water.   After an informative explanation of the plant and its processes, we toured the facilities.  The central building was modern and set up for visitors to learn more about geothermal energy, as well as, take a peak at their turbines and generators. 

 

‘Informative presentation on Hellisheidi Power Plant and it’s processes”

 

Our next stop was at Gullfoss waterfall.  Gullfoss, which means Golden Falls, is located at the upper part of River Hvita.  The falls were created towards the end of the Ice Age and are a spectacular natural wonder.  Visitors can catch a glimpse of the falls from multiple lookouts, and even get up fairly close to the falls.  A small café is located on site, along with a small shop showcasing Icelandic gifts and souvenirs. 

‘Gullfoss is two separate waterfalls. You can see the first waterfall in the center of the picture.  The second waterfall can be seen in the bottom left portion of the picture’

 

‘Gullfoss is by far Europe’s most powerful waterfall’

 

‘Notice the visitors in the bottom left corner.  You can get very close to the edge of the falls!’

 

‘On a sunny day, visitors will see magnificent rainbows!  Unfortunately, it was overcast on our visit’

 

Our visit to the world famous Geysir area was explosive!  The geothermal field is complete with hot springs, mud pools and erupting Geysirs.  Although the Great Geysir has been quiet in recent years, it’s smaller neighbor, Strokkur gave us a nice show and some of us a refreshing bath!   The geysir erupts every 2-3 minutes, so visitors do not have to wait long to see the magnificent display of force.  Across the road, visitors will find a hotel with a restaurant offering an extensive buffet.  If you are in the mood for some lighter fare, you can visit the Café, which offers soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches.  A multi-media museum is onsite to educate visitors, as well as, a large gift shop selling Icelandic goods and souvenirs.

 

‘Here is Strokkur in it’s ‘restful’ state.  The pool of water begins to bubble just prior to erupting’

 

‘Strokkur, also known as ‘The Churn’ erupting’

 

‘Walking around the field you will see many bubbling mud pools’

 

‘Be careful where you stand….you just may get sprayed by the geysir!’

Our final stop was the Pingvellir National Park.  Pingvellir, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List lies at the junction of the American and Eurasian tectonic plates.   Pingvellir, which means ‘Parliament Plains’, is the site where the Alping General Assembly met.   People would gather here to listen to the governing body of Iceland.  Today, many people visit for the park’s beautiful nature and panoramic views.  Hiking, camping, fishing, horseback riding and scuba diving are all popular sports here. 

 

‘Thingvellir church sits on the River Oxara’

       

Part 2

Following a brief break agents were treated to a tasty Icelandic luncheon, consisting of an array of fresh seafood, in one of the Hilton’s meeting rooms.  Throughout lunch, agents were educated on some of the many offerings found in Iceland.

Jonina Ben, founder of Detox ltd gave the first presentation.  Jonina, a sport and exercise Physiologist from Mc Gill University, explained to the agents why it is personally important to her to offer their unique therapy program to people.  The program is designed to help treat life style diseases, such as, obesity, anxiety, skin ailments, drug and alcohol abuse, to name a few.   The therapy consists of a special diet of vegetables and fruit, light exercise, lectures and counseling, Hydro Colon Therapy and relaxation techniques.  Guests can also enjoy special tours of Iceland and visits to the Blue Lagoon.  Their all-inclusive package which includes a 2 week stay in their 4 star Health Hotel is commissionable to travel agents.  Agents can find more information on their website at http://www.detox.is/.

 Hjordis Erlingsdottir, Sales Executive for Reykjavik Excursions presented an overview of the company’s three unique divisions; Iceland on Your own, Reykjavik Day Tours and Reykjavik Incentives.  Agents with clients looking for adventure can recommend one of their hiking tours to Thorsmork, one of Iceland’s greatest natural wonders, accessible only by specially equipped vehicles.  Clients can choose from an array of hiking trails and stay in remote mountain huts and tents.

Our final presenter was Edda Gisladottir who gave us an overview of the Blue Lagoon’s history and world-renowned spa facilities.   I will detail our visit to the Blue Lagoon in Thursday’s blog, but for now just know that no trip to Iceland is complete without a visit to this world-class facility and geothermal lagoon!

We had a few hours after our lunch.  It was difficult to decide how to spend our time, should we visit the hotel’s Nordica Spa, take a walk through Laugardalur Park, or stroll into town for sightseeing and shopping.  We decided to walk into town to get a better feel for the town of Reykjavik.  We stopped at the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral along the way and rode the elevator to the top of the tower, which afforded breathtaking views of the city, harbor and outlying mountains.

 

‘View of Reykjavik from Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral’s bell tower’

 

Although we did not have time to fully explore Reykjavik, we left with the longing to return one day and fully explore this wonderful city.   In my pre-Trip research, I stumbled across a couple that offers daily, complimentary bike tours of the city.  Agents who have active clients visiting Reykjavik, the bike tour would be an excellent way to get an overview of the city, as well as, a bit of history and exercise!  You can find more information on the bike tours by visiting their website at http://www.icelandbike.com/.

We ended our day with a site inspection of the Hotel Borg.  The hotel was built in 1930 and designed by Gudjon Samuelson (who also designed the city’s landmark Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral).  This hotel, centrally located in Austurvollur Square, combines old time elegance with modern, Art Deco style.  The hotel was completely renovated in 2006 and the owners were careful to recreate every detail from the original hotel.  During the renovation, many pictures and artifacts were uncovered and are currently on display in a small exhibit adjacent to the hotel lobby.

Here are a few pictures taken during our site inspection.

   

‘Hotel’s lobby, artifact exhibit can be found adjacent to the lobby’ 

Next, Grand Circle Tour…..

Dana McPherson and Patti Venanzi

I recently had the unique opportunity to join Platinum Seminars, Destination Europe and 15 luxury travel agents on an Iceland Odyssey.  Our hosts, Bill Brown, President of Platinum Seminars; Dana McPherson, Vice President, Platinum Seminars and Thorunn Reynisdottir, President, Destination Europe had planned an action packed weekend for us.  Thorunn is a native of Iceland and was able to give us a unique view of her country and its warm, friendly people.

Agents traveled First Class on Icelandair, arriving refreshed and ready to explore Iceland Friday morning.  Once we received our luggage, our hosts escorted us to the luxury motor coach waiting to take us to the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica.  The Hilton is ideally located in the business district of Reykjavik near Laugardalur  Park. The historic old town is an easy 25-minute stroll from the hotel.  The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to and from town.

Upon arrival agents were offered a delicious hot breakfast in the award winning restaurant, Vox.  The restaurant offers an extensive hot and cold breakfast buffet with local delicacies along with standard breakfast fare.  The décor is chic and the service staff were attentive and professional.

Following breakfast, agents were given free time to explore the hotel and settle in before their scheduled luncheon.

The Hilton is one of Iceland’s largest convention centers, able to accommodate upwards of 600 people.  The hotel is known for it’s spectacular events, as we witnessed on Saturday during Icelandair’s  Annual Party.  The convention hall was transformed into a magical winter wonderland complete with an elaborate Ice Bar.

The hotel’s spacious rooms and amenities make it the perfect hotel for families.  Families will find the hotel’s ‘Bedtime Stories’, Icelandic storytelling complete with hot cocoa, the perfect way to end the day.  Guests can participate in Bird watching lectures, explore modern Icelandic art exhibits or relax in their state-of-the-art Nordica Spa.

More to come tomorrow...

 

MailPound recently completed their first Focus Group at sea onboard Holland America’s Westerdam.  Over 40 travel agents joined Bob and Debbie on the Jazz Cruise’s inaugural Playboy Jazz Cruise sailing from Ft. Lauderdale.  Agents were given the unique opportunity to experience a full charter cruise while learning about MailPound’s newest marketing tool, Midnight Marketing.  Agents participated in a two-day focus group.

During the first session, Debbie gave the agents an overview of MailPound’s marketing products, including custom eBrochures, eFlyers and Ready to Go Promotions.  She discussed strategies for utilizing MailPound’s marketing tools to increase agency revenues and maintain strong client relationships.

Bob Maier followed with an introduction to Midnight Marketing.   The system is designed for agents who ‘know’ their client and enables them to send personalized, customized and targeted emails to their client list.  After an overview of CMS (Client Marketing System), Bob described how MailPound will send an ‘opt in’ letter on behalf of travel agents to their client list requesting their ‘interests’ and desired email frequency.  The system will be web-based with full data encryption ensuring the highest level of data security.