Toni Stewart

I coordinate travel arrangements for several National Hockey League teams, and I work with their rookie, professional and conditioning camps. Many are not aware that it is not only the players who need to be flown from one place to another. These organizations also have farm teams, representatives and many other employees in their systems.  

The season ends in April, but their work goes on. If one of the teams does not get to the playoffs, there is still the draft in June, so even when the games are over for the season, I still need to be on duty. If a player is injured, someone from the farm team will have to be flown in as a replacement, and there are also general managers and scouts, all of whom have places to be.  

Typically, these teams’ marketing departments will call me and say, “we are going to take 40 of our sponsors to Las Vegas, and we need hotels, flights, and dinner.” I did this years ago for an NFL team, and I set them up at Sparks Steak House, coordinated a private escorted tour on a double-decker bus and provided accommodations.

I made sure everything went off without a hitch, as I do for every other element of my clients’ travel, and I still organize excursions of this type today.