The short version
Dentalcorp moved its Partner Conference travel off phone calls and spreadsheets. Online adoption hit 70 percent in year one. Encore managed 450 rooms end to end and rebooked all 550 attendees stranded by an Air Canada strike.
For years, Dentalcorp ran its events on phone calls and, as Kerri Podolsky puts it, “a lot of lists.”
The largest network of dental practices in Canada runs more than 130 events a year, from dinners for five to a flagship Partner Conference of 700 plus. Kerri, Director, Network Experience and Events, explains how that changed.
What was not working
Kerri put the old process in three sentences.
“There was no clear line of communication. There was no centralized system. There was just a lot of lists.”
Every booking went through a phone call and a spreadsheet. That works for a small program. It stopped working once the conference passed a few hundred travelers.
What made things more complex is that Dentalcorp's attendees are dentists, their spouses, and sponsors. They are not Dentalcorp employees, each dentist has their own practice, and most had no profile in any travel system. A flight manifest or a rooming list meant asking and waiting. Nobody could see who had booked, who had not, or what the event was costing.
What Dentalcorp needed
Dentalcorp's attendees are not Dentalcorp employees. Each dentist has their own practice, so they needed a way into the travel management system to create a unique profile, with all their preferences and loyalty cards intact, in a secure and efficient way. The program also had to handle an event with its own booking rules, and be simple enough for a first time user. Jesse Jonassohn, VP of Operations at Encore, says it plainly: “There's no such thing as an event that has 100 percent profiled travelers.”
Dentists also get a choice. They can book online, or call an agent anytime, which matters because dentists are in appointments all day. That agent provides exceptional service.
“I needed a partner that understood the travel world,” Kerri says, “understood what happens when things go wrong.” Here is what Encore put in place.
How the rollout worked
The rollout started where Dentalcorp already was: phone based, white glove service for roughly 300 travelers. As the conference grew, the Encore Platform came in, built to handle travelers without profiles, event rules, and self serve booking in one program.
Every event gets a dedicated event organizer and weekly planning calls, whether it has five people or 700. For the Partner Conference, that meant six months of planning and a step by step guide for people booking their first trip. Two Encore staff were on the ground for rebookings and check ins.
What changed
Nobody was required to use the booking platform. It was available and encouraged, not policy. It was intuitive, and travelers had plenty of resources to help, including how to guides. Adoption happened anyway.
Online adoption
70%
In year one, with no mandate. Kerri is aiming for 80 to 90 percent next.
Rooms managed
450
One rooming list, end to end, for one Partner Conference.
Crisis recovery
550
Attendees stranded by an Air Canada strike, all rebooked home.
When an Air Canada strike hit Dentalcorp's Montreal conference, 550 attendees were stranded and Encore rebooked every one. “I really saw that dedication,” Kerri says. “I really put all my faith and my trust into Encore.”
Award winning
Dentalcorp's 2025 Partner Conference, Champions Together, won Best Corporate Event $1M+ at the 2026 Canadian Event Awards. “We took 700 plus people, flew them in from everywhere, and got them home. Encore came in and helped me not stress about it. I didn't have to stress about it.” Kerri Podolsky, Director, Network Experience and Events
Dentalcorp at a glance
Encore has run Meetings and Events programs like Dentalcorp's, in house, for 40 years.