Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Well-Being Travel
  • Training & Events
  • Who We Are
    • Anne Marie Moebes
    • Brian Israel
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Kelly Fontenelle
Allianz

Headquarter Happenings: Avoya Sees Amped Up Growth With Certares’ Investment

by Marilee Crocker / December 08, 2021
Headquarter Happenings: Avoya Sees Amped Up Growth With Certares’ Investment


On the heels of news that Certares has acquired an ownership stake in Avoya Travel, the vacation platform and network of independent travel advisors said this week that it expects to grow faster than at any time in its history but that it will not alter the trajectory of that growth.

“The scope and speed we’re going to be able to move at just got dramatically bigger,” Avoya co-CEO Jeff Anderson said at the opening session of the online 2021 Avoya Travel Conference. Separately, Anderson told journalists to expect a “growing and steady stream of announcements in 2022 as we scale off the new investments.”

Avoya Leadership Team
The Avoya leadership team. 

On the same page
Those announcements will build on Avoya’s existing business model, both Avoya and Certares said. The two firms have a “shared vision,” Certares senior managing director Colin Farmer told conference attendees.

That vision centers on Avoya’s patented technology, which is designed to help travelers find the right vacation product via its online platform, then connect them with the Avoya travel advisor best suited to fulfill their vacation dreams, while at the same time helping suppliers to reach “high-value, high-intent travelers” and “high-performing” travel sellers.

Certainly, Certares’ ample resources will allow Avoya to “get things done more quickly,” Farmer said. He wasn’t just referring to Certares capital. Certares’ “substantial presence” in the travel industry, including its ownership stake in TripAdvisor, “leads to unique relationships with big pockets of demand” while creating opportunities to “enhance” the product offering on the Avoya platform,” Farmer said.

In the meantime, Avoya is still on track to meet goals for its Avoya 2025 growth plan, despite having lost nearly two years to Covid.

Increasing efficiencies in Agent Power, Avoya’s booking and CRM system, and on its consumer website is a key focus. The company has made incremental changes to both over the past year and will be rolling out more improvements to Agent Power in particular in coming weeks – “all things you guys have been asking for,” Anderson told advisors, without mentioning specifics.

Marketing support for advisors
Avoya also plans to invest heavily in its Marketing Resource Center, with a goal of giving its advisors a top-quality digital creative agency, said Sam McCully, senior vice president of marketing.

Those advisors have told Avoya that what they want most are high-quality creative assets. So in October, Avoya introduced personalized marketing materials – not just for email and direct mail but across multiple channels, including social media, video, and “cool things like inspiration guides, shopping pack lists,” McCully said.

Last year Avoya introduced Smart Leads™, a program to help advisors prioritize outreach to past clients by identifying top prospects on any given day, based on criteria such as a client’s past booking patterns.

A key focus going forward will be improving the integration of programs like Smart Leads with customizable marketing assets in Agent Power to give advisors more turnkey solutions.

Avoya also plans to do more in digital content creation. The company has relaunched its blog and will be “aggressively blogging and social posting” about new travel experiences, McCully said. Expanded direct marketing efforts in 2022 will include a new digital magazine.

Supply-side
For its supplier partners, Avoya promises to “amplify brand presence” within its platform, including by giving suppliers the ability to load their own content into the Marketing Resource Center.

It has also introduced a “brand sales program” that Avoya’s sales team will bring to member agencies to support them in selling the products they specialize in. “We’ve re-geared our sales team around product,” a shift away from working with agencies on an account basis, said Steve Hirshan, senior vice president of sales.

As for growing its network of advisors, Avoya is once again looking to attract new-to-travel entrepreneurs. Avoya hit the pause button on that effort after the pandemic hit in 2020, since it could not deliver its usual level of customer leads. Historically new-to-travel advisors have comprised 85% to 90% of Avoya’s growth.

Business outlook
Although the Omicron Covid variant is creating unease, the outlook for travel in general and Avoya, in particular, remains strong, executives said. On Dec. 1, Avoya recorded a $2 million booking day, something it normally wouldn’t experience until the start of Wave Season.

Like others, Avoya is seeing growth at the high end, with bookings in upper premium and luxury travel up 30%, September to November, over 2019. Sales of land vacations were up 28% in November compared to 2019.

“Even with the new [Omicron] variant, we have been pleasantly surprised and excited about how well things are continuing to pace,” said Ashley Hunter, senior vice president of partnerships

For 2022, most of that bookings growth is for departures in the second half of the year, while bookings for 2023 are “off the charts,” Avoya said, citing triple-digit increases.

Broken compensation model
Of course, the trend toward ever-lengthening booking windows only exacerbates advisors’ cash-flow challenges. In response, Avoya has been pushing suppliers since early in the pandemic to pay upfront “booking commissions,” whether through private agreements like those it has negotiated with some partners or the blanket enhancements that a few suppliers have made to their commission programs.

“The compensation model between suppliers and their distribution system is broken,” Anderson said. “Suppliers [have] to realize that they cannot have a voluntary workforce who’s paid solely on production [be forced to] wait and wait and wait to be compensated.

“The survival of the travel agency distribution system is going to depend on suppliers recognizing that a pay for performance business partner will only survive if they put cash in now.”

  8
  0
Allianz
Related Articles
Headquarter Happenings: Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights Luxury's Lead in Travel's Recovery
Headquarter Happenings: Travel Leaders Network Is Optimistic Amid Surging Demand, Tight Labor Market, Supply Issues
Headquarter Happenings: Avenue Two Travel's First-Ever Collective
American Express Confirms End to its Franchise Program
Parent Company of Travel Edge, Ensemble Board Agree to Acquisition Deal
Headquarter Happenings: Avoya Previews Growth Plans at Its New Innovation Center
Headquarter Happenings: Cruise Planners Finds Success in Technology and Marketing Innovation
Headquarter Happenings: Virtuoso Focuses on Human Connections While Promoting Digital Tool
Headquarter Happenings: Avoya Travel's Focus on Land and New Technology
Headquarter Happenings: MAST Travel Network Marks 50 Years

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. Princess Cruises Forced to Adjust Alaska Sailings After White Pass Rail Road Decision
  2. River Cruise Lines Prepare to Deal with Low Water Levels on the Rhine
  3. Updated Cruise Line COVID-19 Vaccination, Booster, & Testing Requirements
  4. Water Levels on the Rhine Are Expected to Reach Critical Levels This Week
  5. The Ten Unwritten Rules of Travel
  6. Here Is Some of the New CDC Guidance on Cruise Ship Travel

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. Updated Cruise Line COVID-19 Vaccination, Booster, & Testing Requirements
  2. River Cruise Lines Prepare to Deal with Low Water Levels on the Rhine
  3. Southwest Airlines’ Flight Credits Will No Longer Expire
  4. Viking Cruises' New Octantis Is So Much More than Just a Cruise Ship
  5. New DOT Rulemaking Goes Off the Rails on Refunds
  6. Princess Cruises Forced to Adjust Alaska Sailings After White Pass Rail Road Decision
TMR THIS WEEK
Sponsored by Intrepid Travel
//services.travelsavers.com/AMGService.svc/REST/GetImage?ImageID=9909dea1-a71c-ed11-b00b-005056a8720b&Width=350&Height&250

Antarctica: Truly Beyond

For advisors who do not regularly book this type of travel, it might seem like an intimidating task. But with the right training and support, any advisor can become a polar travel specialist. 

Read More...
Allianz
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

TMR Recommendations
Daniel Zim
Zim Travel Law, PLLC. Demystifying Complexity with Down to Earth Advice. Attorney Advertising.
hbar
Rodney Gould
Rodney E. Gould concentrates in travel and tour-operator litigation and regularly counsels travel-related entities worldwide.
hbar
Tom Carpenter
Carpenter Law Office - Representing clients in the travel and tourism industries. Attorney Advertising.
hbar
Top Stories
Travel Intent Remains High Despite Air Chaos, Inflation
Travel Intent Remains High Despite Air Chaos, Inflation

Flight delay and cancellation insurance claims are up 30% over the past three months, but this isn't stopping Americans from traveling. 

Read...
Headquarter Happenings: Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights Luxury's Lead in Travel's Recovery
Headquarter Happenings: Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights Luxury's Lead in Travel's Recovery

This year’s Travel Week came at a time of increasing optimism, with demand roaring back, and optimism for the advisor community at the highest level since pre-pandemic.

Read...
The Ten Unwritten Rules of Travel
The Ten Unwritten Rules of Travel

Travel advisors on the “rules” or “standards” that should never be broken.

Read...
New DOT Rulemaking Goes Off the Rails on Refunds
New DOT Rulemaking Goes Off the Rails on Refunds

"In my long career dealing with the regulatory side of the travel industry, I have never seen anything quite like the latest proposed regulations from the DOT regarding ticket refunds."

Read...
What’s Trending in Consumer Media: Wedding Registries, Retirees Take Travel Jobs, & More
What’s Trending in Consumer Media: Wedding Registries, Retirees Take Travel Jobs, & More

Here are five stories to keep travel advisors informed and entertained for August.  

Read...
What’s Holding Some Suppliers Back from Advance Commission Payments?
What’s Holding Some Suppliers Back from Advance Commission Payments?

There are valid reasons holding many suppliers back from offering pre-travel commission payments. 

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
lux cruise outlook
CP White Paper
Multi-Gen Outlook
Distribution Outlook (1)
New to Cruise Outlook
River Cruise Outlook 2019
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/J_wmGlymwpc/0.jpg
Video: A Quick Intro to Instagram Reels for Travel Advisors
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|Well-Being|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2022 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy