TravelBrands welcomes strong advisor turnout at YVR launch

With the fall product launch by TravelBrands in Vancouver now in the books, the Toronto chapter of the national road show is on the horizon, kicking off tonight Oct. 8.

The well-attended event in Vancouver was the first for TravelBrands in the city since the onset of the pandemic. About 300 travel advisors came out for the Vancouver launch on Oct. 6 in Burnaby at the Hilton Metrotown. “We are extremely pleased with the turnout,” said Nathalie Tanious, the president and CEO of TravelBrands, who was in attendance at the Vancouver gathering.

The Toronto show will take place at the Universal Event Space in Vaughn, and is set to start at 5:30. TravelBrands will also operate a product launch in Montreal, happening on Oct. 9 at the Plaza Centre Ville.

In Vancouver, the advisors started the evening by mingling and meeting at a trade show populated by 54 product suppliers. Agents were well fed and watered at a bar and several food stations before about 150 of them moved to a theatre to take in a presentation on TravelBrands product updates and system introductions. A second shift of the other advisors then moved to the theatre to take in the same presentation.

There, they saw a comprehensive review of booking tools, aids and products for travel advisors, all under the theme of “Change and Create.” This included, for example, NDC-enabled air content across multiple carriers for better options and pricing; Hotel Switch upgrades, unlocking expanded inventory and lower fares; and enhanced multi-destination booking functionality, allowing up to nine cities in a single seamless booking.

Bringing a loud cheer of appreciation by the advisors was the introduction of Emma, a new live chat assistant that will launch on Oct. 14. The AI-powered Emma will give agents 24/7 access to invoices and e-docs.

The same sort of reception met the announcement of a new loyalty points activity using digital scratch and win cards. It went live on Oct. 7 and will run until Oct. 21, giving advisors the opportunity to acquire redeemable loyalty points with every booking made using the Access+ booking system. Advisors attending the Travel Brands product launch each got a free scratch and win card, and a grand prize of 80,000 points will be won.

Advisors were also keen to hear about the TravelBrands cruise education program, called SeaU. The next edition of SeaU will take place in November 2026, in partnership with Virgin Voyages on board their ship, Scarlet Lady. SeaU operates every 18 to 24 months, with about 300 advisors taking part in each SeaU sailing, meeting about 15 cruise suppliers.

TravelBrands will host some 750 advisors for the product launch in Toronto, followed by 400 in Montreal on Thursday. About 80 suppliers will meet advisors at the travel trade markets at each show.