Headquarter Happenings: Avoya Sees Amped Up Growth With Certares’ Investment
经过Marilee Cracker./
On the heels of news that经验证明已经在Avoya旅行中获得了所有权股权, the vacation platform and network of independent travel advisors said this week that it expects to grow faster than at any time in its history but that it will not alter the trajectory of that growth.
“The scope and speed we’re going to be able to move at just got dramatically bigger,” Avoya co-CEO Jeff Anderson said at the opening session of the online 2021 Avoya Travel Conference. Separately, Anderson told journalists to expect a “growing and steady stream of announcements in 2022 as we scale off the new investments.”
The Avoya leadership team.
On the same page
这些公告将在Avoya现有的商业模式上建立,既是Avoya和Certares则表示。这两家公司拥有“共同愿景”,Colin Farmer的高级董事总经理告诉会议与会者。
That vision centers on Avoya’s patented technology, which is designed to help travelers find the right vacation product via its online platform, then connect them with the Avoya travel advisor best suited to fulfill their vacation dreams, while at the same time helping suppliers to reach “high-value, high-intent travelers” and “high-performing” travel sellers.
Certainly, Certares’ ample resources will allow Avoya to “get things done more quickly,” Farmer said. He wasn’t just referring to Certares capital. Certares’ “substantial presence” in the travel industry, including its ownership stake in TripAdvisor, “leads to unique relationships with big pockets of demand” while creating opportunities to “enhance” the product offering on the Avoya platform,” Farmer said.
In the meantime, Avoya is still on track to meet goals for its Avoya 2025 growth plan, despite having lost nearly two years to Covid.
提高代理商权力,Avoya的预订和CRM系统,以及其消费者网站的效率是一个关键焦点。该公司对过去一年的增量变化造成了增量变化,并将在未来几周内推出代理权力的改进 - “你们所有人都在寻求的事情,”Anderson告诉顾问,没有提及细节。
Marketing support for advisors
Avoya also plans to invest heavily in its Marketing Resource Center, with a goal of giving its advisors a top-quality digital creative agency, said Sam McCully, senior vice president of marketing.
这些顾问告诉Avoya认为他们最想要的是高质量的创意资产。因此,10月份,Avoya推出了个性化的营销材料 - 不仅仅用于电子邮件和直接邮件,而是跨多个渠道,包括社交媒体,视频和“喜欢灵感指南,购物包名单,”McCully表示。
去年Avoya推出了Smart Leads™,该计划通过确定任何给定日的最高前景,以帮助顾问优先考虑OutReach至过去的客户,根据客户的过去的预订模式等标准。
A key focus going forward will be improving the integration of programs like Smart Leads with customizable marketing assets in Agent Power to give advisors more turnkey solutions.
Avoya还计划在数字内容创建中做更多。McCully说,该公司已重新启动其博客,并将是关于新旅游经验的“积极的博客和社会展示”。扩大了2022年的直接营销努力将包括新的数字杂志。
供应方
For its supplier partners, Avoya promises to “amplify brand presence” within its platform, including by giving suppliers the ability to load their own content into the Marketing Resource Center.
It has also introduced a “brand sales program” that Avoya’s sales team will bring to member agencies to support them in selling the products they specialize in. “We’ve re-geared our sales team around product,” a shift away from working with agencies on an account basis, said Steve Hirshan, senior vice president of sales.
As for growing its network of advisors, Avoya is once again looking to attract new-to-travel entrepreneurs. Avoya hit the pause button on that effort after the pandemic hit in 2020, since it could not deliver its usual level of customer leads. Historically new-to-travel advisors have comprised 85% to 90% of Avoya’s growth.
商业前景
虽然οCovid变体是创建一个ase, the outlook for travel in general and Avoya, in particular, remains strong, executives said. On Dec. 1, Avoya recorded a $2 million booking day, something it normally wouldn’t experience until the start of Wave Season.
Like others, Avoya is seeing growth at the high end, with bookings in upper premium and luxury travel up 30%, September to November, over 2019. Sales of land vacations were up 28% in November compared to 2019.
“Even with the new [Omicron] variant, we have been pleasantly surprised and excited about how well things are continuing to pace,” said Ashley Hunter, senior vice president of partnerships
2022年,大多数为depa预订量增长rtures in the second half of the year, while bookings for 2023 are “off the charts,” Avoya said, citing triple-digit increases.
破碎的补偿模型
当然,延长预订窗口的趋势只会加剧顾问的现金流量挑战。作为回应,Avoya自过大流行以来一直推动供应商,以支付预期“预订委员会”,无论是否通过与一些合作伙伴或毯子增强的私人协议,少数供应商已经向其委员会计划谈判。
“供应商与其分配系统之间的补偿模型被打破,”安德森说。“供应商[有]意识到他们不能拥有自愿劳动力,他们完全支付的生产[被迫]等待和等待并等待得到补偿。
“旅行社分销系统的生存将依赖供应商认识到绩效合作伙伴的支付,如果他们现在把现金存活。”