GroupCollect Works Comes to Life in Pittsburgh

On August 20, ahead of the SYTA Annual Conference, we brought together more than 75 tour operators, suppliers, partners and friends for a full day across Pittsburgh to officially introduce GroupCollect Works.

It was a jam-packed day, running from early morning through the evening, but it was also one of the most fun and meaningful events we’ve ever put together. We built the day as a FAM tour, weaving Pittsburgh’s history, culture and working spirit into the story of Works and what we believe it will mean to the group travel industry.

Just about everything went according to plan, even when Pittsburgh weather decided to test us.

Starting the Day at F.N.B. Stadium

We started at F.N.B. Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Riveters, with breakfast and a morning program that set the tone for the day.

All our folks filed in and up the stairs as soccer practice commenced in the pouring rain. Breakfast was served and our guests got a demo of the product (still called GroupCollect Ops) as well as an introduction to the conversational format that would continue throughout the SYTA conference at Innovation Station. 

That part was important to us. We didn’t want to spend the week just demoing software. We wanted to hear from everyone about what was working well, what real world problems they were running, and what would actually make their jobs easier.

Carrie Furnace and the Works Reveal

From F.N.B. Stadium, our next stop was Carrie Blast Furnaces. We donned our ponchos and hardhats for a tour of one of Pittsburgh’s most incredible industrial landmarks. And yes, the rain dampened our pantlegs, but not our spirits.

Although it wasn’t what we had envisioned, it ended up adding to the experience. Walking through Carrie in the rain made it even more grounding. It was easy to imagine the folks who changed the steel industry 100+ years ago putting in their twelve hour days and sacrificing their hard labor to change the infrastructure of our country forever, and our guests embraced it completely.

After the tour, we gathered inside for the official reveal of GroupCollect Works.

The name has a very intentional connection to Pittsburgh. For generations, mills and factories throughout the region carried names like Irvin Works, Homestead Works and Clairton Works. These were places where people, materials, knowledge and systems came together to create something bigger than any one part.

Our technology is important, but technology alone isn’t what makes group travel work. It’s the tour operators, suppliers, destinations and the teams behind it all. Works is about bringing those people and the tools they rely on together in a way that makes the entire process more connected and useful.

Our Graffiti Mishap

A wonderful artist and head of the graffiti program at Carrie Furnace was commissioned to paint our new Works logo outside at Carrie, but the rain had other ideas. He quickly recreated the artwork on a wall inside, and everyone in attendance got a chance to add their own tag around it. It was a last-minute adjustment that ended up becoming one of our favorite parts of the day and gave us some amazing photos.

Lunch and a Little Pittsburgh

After Carrie, we headed into the Strip District and gave everyone some time to explore, grab lunch, shop and experience a little more of Pittsburgh for themselves. There was authentic Pittsburgh food, some local merchandise, and plenty of dry socks for purchase.

Pittsburgh has a long history of reinvention. By the time the strip district was created, the city hadn’t abandoned everything that came before it. It found ways to build on its history, reuse spaces and create something new while keeping the character and work ethic that made Pittsburgh what it was and still is today.

We see innovation in much the same way. It doesn’t always mean replacing what already works. Sometimes the better answer is to understand what people are already doing well, connect the pieces more effectively and identify the potential of a new thing with old roots.

Curiosity at Bicycle Heaven and Johnny Angel’s

The afternoon took us to Bicycle Heaven and Johnny Angel’s Ginchy Stuff, two places that are about as wonderfully Pittsburgh as it gets.

After a morning focused on industry, work and reinvention, these stops gave us a chance to explore another part of the story: curiosity.

Both places grew from people following their interests, collecting things, asking questions and eventually turning those passions into experiences that other people could enjoy. It was a fun reminder that new ideas don’t always begin with a big strategy. Sometimes they start because someone is curious enough to insist on something and keep going.

Two colorful, interesting gems right next to each other. We felt that it perfectly matched our personality at GroupCollect. We do what we love, never stop learning, and ultimately don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Teamwork at Acrisure Stadium

From there, we made our way to Acrisure Stadium for a behind-the-scenes tour and a chance to meet accomplished athletes with some incredible stories of their own.

The connection to Works here was simple. Individual talent matters, but so do persistence, communication, trust and teamwork. A group of people doesn’t automatically become a team just because they are wearing the same uniform. Everyone has a role, and everyone has to understand how their part contributes to the outcome.

Anyone who works in group travel knows that feeling. There are a lot of moving pieces, and success depends on people across different companies and roles being able to work together.

The thoughtful design that went into the Acrisure Stadium is a great example of maintaining individuality, embracing a little change, and holding on to what made it so successful to begin with. 

Ending the Day at Heinz Hall

We finished the night at Heinz Hall, which could not have been a more beautiful contrast to the hard hats, rain and industrial spaces we had experienced earlier in the day.

Our partners helped recreate the Pittsburgh tradition of a wedding cookie table, and everyone got to fill a box with an eclectic mix of treats to take with them. Heinz Hall welcomed our group exactly as we were, GroupCollect T-shirts and all, and helped us end the day on a high note.

Courtesy of Broadway Plus, we were treated to performances of “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity.” It was a pretty spectacular way to close out a day that had taken us through so many different sides of Pittsburgh.

What Comes Next

Launch Day was a celebration of GroupCollect Works, but it doesn’t stop there.

More than anything, we were grateful to spend the day with so many people from across the group travel industry. We wish everyone could have joined us in Pittsburgh, but what the day represented goes far beyond who was in the room. It was a celebration of the people, ideas and connections that make this industry work, and that same spirit is what we’re carrying forward with GroupCollect Works.

It meant a lot to us to see how enthusiastically people embraced the day, even through the rain, the long hours and all the moving (fun!) pieces. We hope everyone who joined us loved it as much as we did.

That experience has only made us more excited to keep putting that same energy back into Works. In a lot of ways, Launch Day was a reflection of what we want the product to be: thoughtful, collaborative, adaptable, fun, and built around bringing people together so everything works better.

We couldn’t have asked for a better way to introduce it.