Travel Impressions Celebrates ‘One ALG’ at Best of Best 2018

by David Cogswell November 19, 2018

Travel Impressions kicked off its 23^rd annual “The Best of the Best” travel agent appreciation event at Breathless Resort in Cancun with the theme of “One ALG,” as Scott Wiseman, the brand’s president, launched into an explanation of how the merger of Apple Leisure Group (ALG) and The Mark Travel Corporation (TMTC) will benefit travel agents.

“Big journeys do start with small steps,” said Wiseman. “We’ve taken a lot of steps this year and we are not quite done. Some are small and some are gargantuan, such as nearly doubling the size of our family when we merged with Mark Travel earlier this year.

“I’m here to shed a little bit of light on what that means to all of us as we move forward, because the big picture that comes with much of this is about a much larger ALG, Apple Leisure Group. And ALG is united in the belief that we, including all of you in the ‘we,’ are better together and stronger together.”

Consolidating Booking Engines Would Help Travel Agents Immensely

The combination of two of the largest wholesalers creates a portfolio of hotels that is vastly larger than either of them represented before. But the expansion of hotel inventory is only the beginning of the ways the merger will benefit agents, Wiseman said.

Moving to VAX
One of the most significant results of the merger is the news that Travel Impressions is moving to VAX, the electronic travel agent booking system that the vacation packager is now in the process of adopting.

VAX Vacation Access was developed by Trisept Solutions, a subsidiary of The Mark Travel Corporation. It was a key part of the package when Mark Travel was acquired by the Travel Impressions parent company, Apple Leisure Group, earlier this year.

At the opening session of “The Best of the Best,” Scott Wiseman, president of Travel Impressions, told travel agents that VAX will give them more freedom and independence than they have ever had before.

Some are sad to see Quest go, Wiseman said, referring to the booking system that VAX will be replacing, but though “change is hard,” he said, the benefits of using VAX will make the change worth the trouble. “The road to better is not always about comfort,” he said.

Originally introduced in 2000, VAX now has 96,000 users, Wiseman said, and has won more than 30 awards.

An evolving philosophy
“I can’t stress enough how much TI is benefitting from being part of the larger ALG,” said Wiseman. “There’s no way that TI would be able to deliver the ways we have without the strength of ‘One ALG’ behind us. It’s more than just a technology platform. It’s more than buying power. It’s about the philosophy and the people as TI remains the luxury brand serving the most discerning agents.”

This year’s “The Best of Best” event is all about the benefits of the merger between Apple Leisure Group and the Mark Travel Corporation. Under the banner of “One ALG,” Wiseman cited a series of benefits that are flowing to agents as a result of the merger.

With the absorption of TMTC, which was one of the industry giants itself, ALG is the undisputed heavyweight champ of the vast Caribbean and Mexico vacation market.

The merging of former competitors Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions and now Mark Travel represents a long-term realignment of the travel industry, since the days those companies first appeared on the scenes in the 1960s and 1970s.

That was before the rise of the online travel agencies (OTAs), which represent the major threats to retail travel agents in the 21^st century. The combining of forces of several major wholesale vacation packagers under the vertically integrated Apple Leisure Group produces the combined buying power that can help give retailers a fighting chance when going head-to-head with the OTA behemoths.

The advantages to retailers of having the strength of ALG behind them was the overarching message of Wiseman to Travel Impressions’ top-producing travel agent partners, the best of which were gathered at an event designed to honor them, inform them and give them a giant pep talk.

“We can leverage our volume to keep you competitive,” said Wiseman.

Offering lower prices and quick access through direct links to hotel inventory is only the beginning of the bolstering that Travel Impressions is offering its retail partners. Wiseman rolled out a series of improvements and changes being made by Travel Impressions and ALG to help keep agents competitive and to increase their production:

Continued growth of Travel Impressions University, the company’s educational arm, which is now providing instruction in how to use VAX
TI360, the marketing hub that produces ready-made marketing material
Forthcoming, unified loyalty program that will combine all ALG brands
Expanded sales force, with 80 business development managers
New commission tier for the upper crust of ALG’s highest producers
New quality assurance program, launched in 2018
New groups department that combines the leaders of groups departments of ALG’s different brands
Facelift for the TI website, coming in 2019
Virtual Visa account that turns rewards into buying power

“It’s about the fact that we have combined forces, on your behalf, to help you with things to fight against the OTAs that threaten your success,” said Wiseman, “the success that we made our destination.”