ALG Vacations is Making Large Investments in Technology Going into 2027

When it comes to technology at ALG Vacations (ALGV), “there are some things we should have been doing years ago that we didn’t,” Group President Ray Snisky admitted to travel advisors during the Ascend 2026 conference on Oct. 22.  

That’s about to change, though. The packaged travel operator is poised to spend “tens of millions of dollars invested in technology in the next 18 months.”  

The good news: this money will be for advisor-focused initiatives. Along with parent company Hyatt, ALGV recently commissioned a study by consulting firm McKinsey to learn what technology would benefit ALGV the most. Jacki Marks, global head of trade brands, let advisors know that McKinsey came back and said, “you need to spend more money on your travel agent distribution.”  

Therefore, by next year’s Ascend, ALGV should have “really concrete technology advances that you’ve seen that we’re sharing with you that you feel excited about,” Snisky told advisors. He went on to explain that the tech investment – focused on call center and booking engine enhancements – will only free up advisors’ time to spend providing service to their clients. 

“There will never be a technology platform that can replace true care and empathy. And so, I don’t operate with any fear of these folks that are going to create these technological products that are going to eliminate travel advisors or companies like us,” Snisky said. “But you have to be relevant, and you have to be able to engage them and embrace them and make sure you’re putting your best foot forward.” 

Vax Vacation Access 

As ALGV’s B2B leader, Marks said, “I don’t always get all the technology. There’s a lot of priorities.” 

However, she hears time and time again that travel advisors spend too much time on admin work and not enough time on selling to clients; therefore, travel advisors could benefit the most from new technology – and so could the industry as a whole. 

“We all know it. But to hear from somebody like McKinsey, it was validating what we do and what you do,” she told advisors, “And then to know that the money is going to get spent now to actually deliver on that – guys, it’s going to be a big, big year for us.” 

This year, ALGV has already launched a new advisor portal on its website, VAX Vacation Access, that provides real-time sales data and insights on advisors’ businesses. The new, highly requested Click to Contact feature is also expected to launch by the end of the year. This will allow advisors to start a support chat, request a callback, or submit a service request directly from the booking engine.   

VAX Vacation Access also now has a Tern integration and will soon integrate with Axus, giving advisors access to AI-powered tools from these travel technology platforms. Travel advisors can expect more updates like these going into 2027. 

Call Center Support 

ALGV’s call centers will also benefit from its investment in technology, which is welcome news for travel advisors. 

Anderson Hernandez, the senior vice president of ALGV’s contact centers, said he is “very excited” about technological developments going into 2027. “We want to elevate the service using artificial intelligence.” 

Through AI initiatives, Hernandez said that call center representatives will enhance their knowledge base and understanding of how to support travel advisors. 

In addition, starting next month, the contact center is implementing an AI tool that will scrape 100% of the interactions and “provide instant feedback for our leaders so we can provide coaching, get that solution, and improve the service we provide,” Hernandez said. 

He added that ALGV has identified more than 30 use cases for AI in the contact center, from smart recommendations on a particular booking to itinerary building to helping advisors make changes on bookings. These tools will be different from using tools like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT because they will be integrated into Vax Vacation Access, he noted, and ALGV will be “building and changing those tools to ensure that are in alignment with your journey.” 

“There is a lot to come in ’27, and it’s all designed to make your lives more efficient and easier,” Jim Tedesco, ALGV’s vice president of sales concluded. “It will also allow us to spend more time educating our call center employees and allowing them to really step up their game. I know my BDMs are super excited to deliver the information whenever the launch dates are.”