For TravelBrands, it’s all about agents
GREG COATES
(Photo above: The TravelBrands team of John Puntillo, CIO and VP, information & technology; Sam Youssef, director, integrated marketing; Nathalie Tanious, vice-president, commercial; Enzo DeMarinis, co-founder; Frank DeMarinis, president & CEO; Diane Lattavo, vice-president, flight operations; and Tony Saunders, CFO & senior VP, finance.)
Coming off its strongest year in 15 years, TravelBrands recently wrapped up an Agent Appreciation road show, which included stops in Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.
“We have updated many aspects of our organization to support our goals of helping agents work smarter, not harder,” said Frank DeMarinis, president and CEO, TravelBrands.
At the Toronto event, he told Canadian Travel Press that the company saw “tremendous growth” in all areas of business in 2017 and thanked the travel agent community for their support.
“2017 was our best year in 15 years, and it’s due to dynamic packaging through Access,” said DeMarinis. “We continue to support travel agents – that’s our number one goal, our focus.”
He added that the company continues to invest money and research into Access.
The newly redesigned platform has better flow and is easier to navigate. Agents now have the option to search by landmark or hotel. Agents can also preview sales emails, with the option of sending up to six hotels and activities to clients.
Making it easier
“It’s all about making agents’ lives easier,” said DeMarinis.
The Agent Appreciation Event showcased new updates and changes to the organization, including Intair, Exotik Journeys, Sunquest, Experiences by TravelBrands, Lujure, Access, and Cruise. To reflect TravelBrands’ strategy, the updated Exotik Journeys brand offers the same product lines with a stronger market presence. To celebrate this updated branding, agents can receive 15% commission on all products booked through April 30 for travel at any time.
TravelBrands’ Sunquest updates include the ability for travellers to stay longer for less, odd durations and a choice of up to three airlines.
TravelBrands also released its new brochure, Experiences by TravelBrands. Featuring 10 specialized collections, Experiences offers unique travel options for any type of travellers. Three new collections released this year are Culinary, Health & Wellness and Lujure Villas.
TravelBrands has also updated its branding, focusing on its products and services – such as TravelBrands Packages, by Sunquest – available through Access.
Showcasing diversity
According to DeMarinis, the organization plans to highlight TravelBrands as a whole, showcasing its diverse product offering and streamlined market presence.
“We believe that this updated branding will better reflect who TravelBrands is as a leading travel organization,” he said. “By unifying our branding, we are able to simplify and streamline our communications across all channels, bringing TravelBrands to the forefront with our Access platform. I am confident the Canadian travel industry will respond well to our changes.”
Notable examples of the new branding include: TravelBrands Flights, by Intair; TravelBrands Cruises, by Encore Cruises; TravelBrands Packages, by Sunquest; TravelBrands Luxury Villas, by Lujure; TravelBrands Dynamic Packages, by TravelGenie; TravelBrands Specialty, by Exotik Journeys.
(www.travelbrands.com)