TripShock’s Keone McHugh awarded with Heart of Tourism Award

DESTIN, FL: Keone McHugh of TripShock was awarded the Heart of Tourism Award by the Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau. Wholeheartedly dedicated to enriching, promoting, and enjoying local tourism attractions and activities, Keone is among the lucky ones because she gets to go to work everyday doing what she loves.

“I work in a beautiful place and it’s really not hard when you have this as a background,” Keone explained.

Keone began her career in the tourism and hospitality business 12 years ago, and worked her way up from housekeeping, to administrative, to marketing, and now as an executive and senior sales manager. In fact, over the past year, Keone’s 100 plus vendors resulted in over 100,000 bookings and $2 million in revenue for TripShock.

“I really like the challenges of being able to find the right activities for the right customers…it’s kind of like matchmaking…making sure guests have the experience that they were hoping for.”

Keone knows a thing or two about customer service from working with her mother as a teenager for a water sports company in the booth.

“I’ve always done customer service,” Keone said, “People say I always have a smile on my face. That’s just the way I am. Everything is so much easier with a smile on your face.”

Keone’s smiles are as contagious as her success. Through TripShock, Keone has been able to make tremendous positive impacts on a variety of small tour providers, helping them grow their businesses and reputations. In doing so, Keone encourages her clients to hold themselves to the highest standards in terms of communication, customer service, and overall experience.

TripShock’s founder and CEO Greg Fisher, who nominated Keone for the award, spoke glowingly about Keone’s consistency and willingness to go above and beyond.

“Her positive attitude is a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Plus, she is usually the first to volunteer for extracurricular projects whenever they come up”

Even better and most recently, Keone worked with other TripShock employees in establishing a program that donates $1 for every booking to a local charity. A true rockstar!