The Nissan Stadium concerts featuring Taylor Swift, which broke records last week, were not the most popular tickets in Nashville for many travel professionals. Travel Leaders Network held its annual EDGE Conference at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, a sold-out conference that drew more than 1,700 people, including over 1,300 travel advisors. The event took place from May 8-10.
Roger E. Block CTC, President of Travel Leaders Network, said, “This is the largest EDGE.” The first was in Las Vegas for the 10th Anniversary [in 2018], but we would have surpassed it if there had been more room.
Attendance at the largest gathering of travel agents in North America is a reflection of the travel demand. Block said that 2022 was a good year. “2023 looks incredibly strong, especially for leisure.”
The year 2023 will be TLN’s biggest ever sales year for tours and cruises. John Lovell CTC, President of Travel Leaders Group predicts that cruise sales will increase by 12 percent this year and land sales 8 or 9 percent. The company’s corporate travel sales are between 85 and 95 percent higher than pre-COVID. Lovell said that the industry is booming and is returning with a vengeance.
Lovell said that TLN was “having a really, really good year” on the riverside, in addition to its record-breaking ocean cruises. He added that Europe was “extremely popular”, with Italy, France, and Germany being the most in demand. Scandinavia, Egypt and Japan also rank high among the top destinations of company clients. Bookings for theme parks are similar to 2019 but down from 2022. Travel to U.S. destination destinations is still strong.
Lovell said that “bookings have outpaced 2019 and show no signs of slowing.”
TLN’s 5,700+ travel agency locations are seeing more business than ever as travel resumes its strong recovery from the pandemic. TLN’s members received more than 215,000 leads last year — a 24 percent rise from the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. These leads generated $324 million of sales for preferred suppliers and $53 millions in commissions for members. The first quarter of 2023 will surpass the lead generation numbers for 2022 by 54 percent, with 97,000 leads being generated.
Travelers are now looking for the right advisor to help them plan their trip. TravelLeaders.com powered by Agent Profiler is the solution that “matches” these two groups to provide a great option for both,” stated Stephen McGillivray CTC, Chief Marketing Officer of Travel Leaders Group.
McGillivray encouraged travel advisors to improve their profiles on TravelLeaders.com in order to become “Super Agents”. This includes having a complete profile, which includes client reviews, and a level of expertise. Super Agents are at the top of searches by consumers on TravelLeaders.com. Advisors are now able to add certification logos and itineraries they have designed to their profile.
Stephen McGillivray (chief marketing officer, Travel Leaders Group) with a Dolly Parton-impersonator, at the EDGE Conference in Nashville.
Stephen McGillivray is the chief marketing officer at Travel Leaders Group. He was joined by a Dolly Parton-impersonator during the EDGE Conference in Nashville.
Travel Leaders also raises the profile of advisors when communicating with consumers. The company’s marketing department adds photos of travel advisors to emails sent to consumers. Click-through rates are up by 40 percent. This tactic is so successful, that photos of advisors will be included in direct mail during the third quarter.
McGillivray announced the launch and subscription of Social Share Pro. This tool creates content that is scheduled for social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram stories, posts and reels. McGillivray said that social media channels were essential. “We want to make you look good in front of customers.”
Travel Leaders, Travel Leaders’ new cruise booking engine which will be launched in June, was also introduced to EDGE advisors. Cory Voss said that replacing Cruise Pro with the new web-based system “dramatically streamlines and saves time” for Travel Leaders Group.
Cruise Complete offers real-time availability and pricing for 22 major ocean cruise lines and river cruises. Cruise Complete offers a number of features, including the ability to compare four sailings at once, to simultaneously work on multiple itineraries, and to book four cabins for the same cruise, even though each cabin may have a different passenger count or type, as well as varying rates and categories.
Dave Hershberger of Prestige Travel Leaders in Cincinnati, who has attended each EDGE Conference, sings the praises about the benefits that his agency receives by being a member of Travel Leaders. He says Agent Profiler is the biggest benefit. Hershberger said, “We get unbelievable leads from that — qualified, closeable leads.” He also cited commission opportunities, vendor relationships and technology as Travel Leaders’ top perks. We’re able provide corporate technology at a lower cost than if we did it ourselves. The cost savings are tremendous.”
Hershberger anticipates that Prestige Travel will reach $25 million in sales for the year with an approximate 65 percent corporate business mix. He said that they were about 30 percent in advance of the 2019 corporate bookings. It’s booming, but not as much vacation is booming at the moment. Vacation is crazy. “I’ve worked in the travel industry for 40 years and have never seen anything like this on the vacation side.”
The number of Travel Leaders agencies is also on the rise. Block said that last year was one of the best for growth in terms of both members and preferred suppliers. The trend continues. Block said that in the U.S. alone, we have signed up 87 affiliate members and two franchise associates in the first three months of this year.
Block says that while finding new employees is currently the greatest challenge for agencies, Travel Leaders’ educational programs are shaping the next generation. Block said that the number of new people our hosts bring in each month is by the thousands. There’s a great need and thirst for the kind of training that we offer.
Travel Leaders offers a wide range of educational programs, from the entry-level program (learning to qualify customers for example) to certification programs which can take up to one year or nine months. Travel Leaders New Advisor – Leisure Learning Path is currently being taken by more than 1,300 travel agents.
Many of the 200 workshops offered at the EDGE Conference were sold out. During the general sessions, attendees heard from suppliers who received Power of Partnership Awards (POPs) from TLN. Advisors were able to meet with suppliers at the trade show, and also attend workshops sponsored by suppliers. Lovell said, “We’ve got the right suppliers here.” Everyone wants to be here.
Lovell notes that Travel Leaders is a popular choice for suppliers because of the company’s reach. He said that Travel Leaders represents anywhere between 35 and 40% of the distribution channels. “We give them access to the largest organization, but also the one that sells most in a particular category.”
Block said that Travel Leaders members are both corporate and leisure agencies. “This is what makes us different from our competitors,” he added.
In addition, noted Block, the company’s average transaction price has increased over time as it has added more training, more programs and more alliances–communities of top-performing members focused on specific niches. These include the Independent Advisor Networks Leaders Alliance as well as the Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Leaders Alliance. The Luxury Leaders Alliance is also included. And the newly launched Technology Leaders Alliance. The Technology Alliance is only available to owners and managers. It provides a forum for learning and sharing about tools outside of TLN, from the use of AI, to pay reconciliations for corporate agencies.
For advisors to be eligible for the Luxury Leaders Alliance (which now has 275 members), they must be among the top 1 percent all luxury sellers at TLN. Block said that many people think of us as mass-market retailers, but we are anything but. “TLN is a top luxury seller, period.”
Lovell, who is the CEO of Travel Leaders, says that its value proposition continues to be its strongest selling point. He said that if you have a team of 10, you are really an agency with 120 employees, as each of them is working for you, whether it’s marketing, education, training or technology. “We give them tools to generate leads, grow their businesses, market to existing clients and make the phone ring. We’re ultimately bringing them great technology tools that will make their lives easier.
And Lovell is confident that business will be stronger next year. He said, “We will have more capacity in the cruise industry.” “More resorts will be built so there will be more capacity.” I am predicting a strong ’24. “If you look at the advance bookings we’ve received, it shows that too.”
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