总部事件:第二大道旅行的第一个集体
byDaniel McCarthy/
自两大大道(Avenue Avenue)旅行(以前是公园大道旅行)以来,它已经在宾夕法尼亚州的斯沃斯莫尔(Swarthmore)开业。该机构将其根源追溯到黛比·布什(Debbie Bush)和她的丈夫克雷格(Craig),后者建立了一家家乡旅行公司,首先是一家小型代理机构,主要集中于空中票,是美国成长最快的房东机构之一。
即使经历了几十年的变化,该机构仍然是家庭经营的,约书亚·布什(Joshua Bush),黛比(Debbie)和克雷格(Craig)的儿子在2006年加入了该团队,目前担任首席执行官。
如今,第二大道旅行不再有店面,但它与以往一样大。本周,主持人欢迎顾问和供应商合作伙伴加入其在费城的第一大道集体,这是该团队希望成为自身,同事及其成员之间的许多年度聚会。
“We have long dreamed about hosting an event like this so it's incredible to think the dream has come true on the heels of some of the most devastating times of our lifetimes,” Bush told attendees during his keynote address last Wednesday.
该活动包括网络活动,与布什与布什举行的城镇式会议,与首选合作伙伴的一对一会议等等。
Shifts During the Pandemic
当黛比·布什(Debbie Bush)开始第二大道时,她这样做是为了帮助朋友和家人预订假期。
“She knew the value of seeing the world and experiencing different cultures -- she did it because it was fun and travel is fun and that’s why we should be doing this,” Bush told attendees. He added that the agency went from four people in 1987 to where it is today, proving that “being good” is always more important than “being big.”
That was never more true than during the pandemic. Aside from not renewing its lease on a Philadelphia office, Avenue Two “tightened its belts” over the past couple of years but also looked out for its employees, who kept benefits during the shutdown, and its independent contractors, who were able to skip monthly fees during those same months. Aside from that, other things changed for the company, too.
“What changed really was the appreciation that working and operating as a family-run business was what really made us successful and we want to continue doing that,” Bush said.
现在,“收紧”正在转移到完全不同的东西。就像整个行业一样,第二大道及其顾问也从“零到每小时100英里”,因为即使在美国的旅行测试需求继续持续下去,需求和供应仍在继续返回。(布什称这是该行业完全康复的“最大”障碍,并预计其将使业务的20%至30%重新获得。)
顾问们忙碌意味着第二大道必须为了满足他们的需求,包括扩大其航空团队的扩展,这些空军团队很快将为所有成员提供24小时的内部覆盖范围。
所有补充,无论是顾问还是工作人员,都必须适合第二大道的文化,布什说,这归结为“旅行是永久的力量”的意识到。每个新增加都会经历严格的招聘过程。
Focus on Sustainability
A lot of the talk this week between members, suppliers, and the Avenue Two Team focused on efforts to go above and beyond standard sustainability practices. Bush told attendees that the onus should no longer be just on the supplier to build clean and responsible vacations, instead it is time for travel advisors to play their own role.
“We were tired of hearing that sustainability is a supplier problem and not our problem,” Bush said. “At the agency level, we had to do something.”
In January, Avenue Two announced a partnership with Sustainable Wanderlust, a company founded by Rose O’Connor, to continue down the road of improving its social impact, including adding a sustainable travel training program for its advisors.
这种合作伙伴关系导致了B Corp.认证的追求,B Corp.认证是对其“社会和环境绩效”的营利性公司的私人认证。
Avenue Two has already passed the assessment phase of that certification and is “well on the way to becoming the first B Corp. Certified Travel Agency,” Bush said.
然后,该公司迈出了一步,采取了法律变更,成为宾夕法尼亚州的一家福利公司,该指定“确保我们在法律上必须始终考虑环境和社会影响,”布什说。
All those moves go back to making sure advisors are aware of the role they play in this pursuit.
“We are true advisors. We design itineraries and are the ones choosing the hotels and making the recommendations. It’s our objective to listen and learn about what that client wants, but more importantly, we can then steer and make the right recommendations to choose a sustainable pattern over another one,” he said.
The focus on sustainability and being good stewards of the earth is now at the heart of Avenue Two Travel’s Mission Statement:
“To design authentic travel experiences that make us better global citizens… Avenue Two Travel believes travel is a force for good. It drives human connection, encourages us to continue learning, and empowers us to take ownership in the future of our planet. Travel makes us better global citizens. “
Growth Expectations
In 2018, the team at Avenue Two Travel put together a business plan to shoot for 10-times growth, a plan that started to take hold in 2019 until COVID-19 took over in early 2020.
对于任何公司来说,10次增长策略都是雄心勃勃的目标。根据布什的说法,这对他和他的团队来说都是“哲学上的事情”。
他说:“如果您开始考虑将自己的尺寸增加一倍或想比您100%大100%,那就是以颗粒状的方式考虑事物。”“如果您开始以10次的方式思考事物,那么您就可以开始创造性地思考要使事情发生的事情。”
While the pandemic did stress the agency, including forcing furloughs and other cuts to its business, it also “leveled the playing field,” allowing Avenue Two, after deciding to close its Philadelphia office space, to focus on building around a virtual work program and scaling its own staff to better handle new advisors and agencies.
That has led to significant growth for the host agency — according to Bush, membership numbers have grown 33% since the pandemic, up to 132 from 88 prior to COVID-19. That growth includes advisors and agencies from other groups, along with brand new entrants into the industry.
And while that growth isn’t by accident, it has been done without advertisement. “It has truly been word of mouth, and that’s just a major compliment to the team here,” Bush said.
布什告诉TMR,尽管如此,即使有这些数字,增长不一定是目标。
“We don’t want to be a big mega death star agency, it’s about quality. The actual number doesn't mean anything as long as the quality continues to be there and doesn't take away from anything else at the company,” he said.
这包括拥有适当的支持人员来处理其当前会员的需求 - 布什说,为了扩展其员工以满足需求,成员资格被搁置了 - 并有能力审查新会员确保它们适合文化。
布什说:“我们留在这里 - 坚定不移地成为我们一直以来的同一个人和伙伴。”“大小太大了?只要那些想加入我们的人相信我们的价值观,文化,业务,但最重要的是,他们想回馈集体团队,那么整体将始终比其各个部分更大。”