For our annual 2020 Convention, the Pool Scouts and British Swim School franchisees and corporate teams traveled to Cancun, Mexico for a week of reflection, learning and connecting with each other while having plenty of fun. We kicked things off upon arrival with a welcome reception right along the beach. Our CEO Kevin Wilson welcomed everyone and got the party started, with plenty of food and margaritas to get people excited for the next few days.

Convention’s in Session

Each day, both brands met separately for sessions specific to their group. The theme of the Pool Scouts Convention was, “The Vision is Clear in 2020.” This theme put a heavy focus on the digital age and taking business practices to the next level. The theme of the British Swim School Convention was “Working Together, Winning Together.” Their theme focused on the importance of putting people first, both from a franchisee, customer and employee perspective.

Sessions covered across brands focused on a wide variety of topics, from tracking metrics to customer satisfaction and retention best practices. For British Swim School, there was a franchisee panel for a time of Q&A to discuss best practices and lessons learned to achieve success in specific areas of their business. There were also sessions catered to the Pool Scouts technicians and British Swim School swim instructors, providing more hands-on technical skills in addition to some of the bigger picture business-focused discussions. All sessions throughout the course of Convention offered opportunity for franchisees to ask questions and provide feedback, offering an open and welcoming environment for communication and learning opportunities.

Both brands came together for the keynote speaker session led by speaker Peter Van Stralen. Peter’s C.A.R.E. leadership program shows business owners how to create a remarkable experience for their employees, a notable enterprise for their investors, and an extraordinary experience for customers. Peter did an incredible job motivating and inspiring franchisees to create these remarkable experiences within their own businesses as well as in their personal lives. He also provided action items, including setting goals, so that when everyone returns to their day-to-day routine, they can implement their action items and work toward their bigger initiatives.

Let The Fun Begin

While each day was jam-packed with reflection and learning, the evenings were also chock-full of festivities. The second night in Cancun was the awards dinner for each brand, where franchisees put on their finest and celebrated the achievements and performance of individual franchisees over the course of 2019.

Following the Pool Scouts awards dinner was a water drum performance put on by the resort, with heavy audience participation (pictured). The British Swim School awards dinner was followed by a DJ and dance party, where we got to see some great dance skills as people busted a move (or two).

The last night in Cancun is the annual beach party for everyone, complete with a DJ, buffet, glowing furniture and even more fresh dance moves. The beach party is a time for all of the franchisees from both brands to come together and celebrate all that they’ve learned over the past few days.

It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later

As Convention came to a close and it was time to say goodbye to the beautiful beachy weather in Mexico, there was one last talk in which the brand presidents encouraged people to take what they’d learned over the past few days and bring it back to put it into action.

Convention is the perfect way to kick off a new year, providing rejuvenated energy and passion for your business. We are excited to see the growth and achievements of 2020!