TODAY’S NEWS: It’s All About TravelBrands

More integration of the companies under the TravelBrands umbrella was described and summarized as being able to “kick some a..s”, in the market, said TravelBrands CEO Zeina Gedeon recently.

With the total number of companies under the TravelBrands umbrella now at eight, there is a merchant for every type of travel from which agents can choose, said Gedeon.

She was speaking in Vancouver at a lively product preview and trade showcase with 47 suppliers in attendance meeting about 300 agents. Some 250 agents came to the event in Calgary the night before.

The unification of branding with new logo art is the just the first sign of the changes. She also described a comprehensive remake of the booking platform TravelBrands Access, which just had its soft launch.

It was still a bit of a “work in progress” she said, but the advantages are significant, with more ease to choose and wrap products from the suppliers within TravelBrands. She also described how agent services had been improved, with a better centralized call centre.

More details were provided by Nino Montagnese, senior VP of Sunquest and Holiday House.
For instance, he encouraged agents to choose from a selection of “add on” products (day tours, activities, tickets, etc.) available at the destination and bookable by the agent for their clients before departure.

These are all commissionable, said Montagnese.

He also provided more incentive for booking TravelBrands, telling agents that an extra 1% was being added to commission payments until May 14. As well, pricing on the company’s loyalty dollar products was being reduced by 20% until May 14, he said.

PHOTO Caption:
Travel Brands CEO Zeina Gedeon (l) and Tracy Poole, the new business development manager for BC, together at the TravelBrands agent appreciation product showcase in Vancouver last week.