Headquarter Happenings: Travel Leaders Network Reports a Record ’24, Gives Insights into ’25

“The golden age of travel advisors is alive and well,” John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Network (TLN), told a room of travel trade media on Feb. 11. “There’s no better time to be a travel advisor than today.” 

His sentiments are underscored by TLN’s record performance in 2024 – the company saw a 17% increase in revenue from the year prior. Notably, cruise is booming and saw a 25% increase year-over-year among TLN agents, while land sales were up 9.7%. 

TLN grew by more than 300 new travel advisor members in 2024, for a total of 50,000 members from about 6,000 agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Lovell partly attributes this to the company catering to all types of agents: “We always say, ‘Anybody has a place at Travel Leaders,’ and your experience with us will tie into what you want to get out of the organization,” he said. 

Looking ahead at 2025, Lovell revealed that cruise sales are already up 18% from this time last year. Land tour sales are up 9%, a stat he’s particularly excited about, given it was flat at this time last year, but is now seeing a resurgence with FIT and touring in Europe. 

During the media briefing, Lovell was joined by COO Lindsay Pearlman, Internova Travel Group CPMO Stephen McGillivray, and CIO Cory Voss, who gave a presentation about TLN’s advancements in lead generation, marketing, advisor tools, and more, that have contributed to their continued growth. 

Wins for Lead Generation

Much of TLN advisors’ lead generation and commissions can be traced back to the network’s consumer-facing Agent Profiler platform. Advisors create their profiles on TravelLeaders.com, and consumers can connect with the advisor who best suits their needs. 

In 2024, Agent Profiler generated more than 300,000 leads, resulting in 68,750 bookings, $733 million in sales, and $110 million in member commissions. The company also shared that 70% of users access Agent Profiler through a mobile device. 

“When someone Googles looking for a travel advisor, think about it: we come up and challenge Expedia in search,” McGillivray said. “These are consumers looking for help … When they connect with that retailer, they have done their homework. [Agencies] are getting people who are ready to transact.” 

More than 18,000 travel advisors have a profile in this system. To incentivize more members to participate, TLN is introducing performance levels – Gold and Diamond – to its SuperAgent designations on the site. 

“Just like many of our partners, we want to continually raise the bar on rewarding our users,” Lovell said. “By allowing them to hit key metrics and obtain status, the most prolific users of Agent Profiler will rise even further to the top of search results and gain an important edge when it comes to letting potential clients know about their experience.” 

Advancing Advisor Tools

TLN redesigned its Agent Universe dashboard late last year, calling it a “one-stop shop.” The platform encompasses TLN’s SNAP, Cruise Complete, and Empower Cruise booking tools.  

SNAP is TLN’s solution for booking air, hotels, and car rentals in one central location. Launched in April 2024, it eliminates the need for advisors to learn booking codes and offers a point-and-click process, and about 16,000 advisors are currently using it. This year, Canadian advisors will also get access to SNAP, with beta testing beginning in February 2025. 

“It’s a super simple platform to use,” Pearlman said. “From an advisor’s perspective it doesn’t matter if it’s GDS or NDC content, they’re going to see the content.” 

Cruise Complete is another tool that aims to simplify the booking process, with about 21 suppliers available to book. Based on agent feedback, TLN has made about 26 enhancements to the platform over the past year. 

“The nice thing with Cruise Complete is it’s a one stop shop, you don’t have to shop around,” Voss said. “It’s been a really impactful tool that members have continued to adopt and use more and more since the months that we launched it.” 

Helping Communities in Need

The Family Bonds Foundation, TLN’s charitable arm that helps members of travel advisor industry facing hardships, has been hard at work. It started about 10 and a half years ago, but its purpose is more vital than ever, with natural disasters striking Los Angeles, Florida, and North Carolina. 

Family Bonds raised close to $400,000 just for those impacted by the California wildfires this year, with the help of supplier partners such as Allianz and AmaWaterways. The first batch of grants has been awarded, and a few more will be on the way. Some TLN members and their families have lost their homes in the fires. 

“That need will be ongoing. It’s no longer on TV and everybody thinks, ‘Oh, the houses are rebuilt.’ No, this is going to be years and years and years,” Lovell said, encouraging people to donate.