In a travel agency landscape that is a mix of hosts and consortiums, the former Independent by Liberty Travel, which last month rebranded to Envoyage, is positioning itself as both and neither. There is.
Instead, Envoyage wants to build a network of independent contractors (ICs) and authorized agents under one global brand.
Flight Center Travel Group (No. 6 on Travel Weekly's Power List) was merged with Liberty Travel and a handful of other international brands in late February as part of a series of corporate changes. The U.S. rollout of the Envoyage brand was completed this month.
Until now, Independent by Liberty Travel has operated as just a host agency, but Envoyage has membership tiers for agencies of all sizes and types.
“Are we a host or a consortium? We are neither, and we are both at the same time,” said Cristina Pedroni, executive vice president and general manager of Envoyage. “What we like to say is that we are a membership network that supports all types of travel professionals. Whether they are independent contractors or agencies already accredited in the market, we The opportunity to participate and access our product marketplace is open to everyone.”
Christina Pedroni
Pedroni said the inclusion of all agents is aimed at broadening access to Flight Center's carefully selected travel products.
ICs and agents who partner with Envoyage will also have access to Home, a newly launched proprietary platform that provides single sign-on access to travel products, marketing, reporting and other resources. Advisors no longer need to sign in to multiple locations to access everything.
“They're breathing a sigh of relief now that they don't have to use bookmarks or anything like that all the time and everything is in one place,” Pedroni said.
Envoyage hopes its unique positioning will help it advance.
At its founding, Envoyage consolidated approximately 1,400 ICs under the Independent by Liberty Travel, Independent by Flight Center, Travel Managers, Travel Associates at Home, Flight Center Independent, and Travel Partners brands.
Pedroni said the Envoyage model is designed for experienced advisors who sell more than $250,000 annually. The network is also looking for advisors with some specialization and plans to launch a special program focused on luxury and corporate travel in the United States.
Similarly, Envoyage is looking to bring experienced and certified agents into the fold, she said.
There is a monthly fee for both the IC tier and the agency tier. The IC receives a commission of 70% to 90% depending on the annual production level, while the authorized agent receives his 100% commission.
Group reservation support
In addition to the brand rollout, Envoyage introduced Envoyage Group Center this month.
This department is dedicated to supporting members in group bookings and is responsible for tasks such as securing group rates, managing inventory, and completing documentation. At launch, the center will support hotel and airline group bookings.
The service will be expanded to include booking ocean cruises, river cruises and guided tours in the coming months.
Pedroni said group travel exploded after the initial impact of the pandemic, and this trend looks set to continue.
According to Envoyer research on the Mexico and Caribbean wedding market, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6% from 2023 to 2033.
“I think it's a really unique way for people to connect and travel in this day and age,” Pedroni said of groups, adding that advisors are increasingly offering group opportunities to repeat clients.
Selling hotels and flights for group travel is nothing new for Flight Center, but a new trend is emerging within Envoyage. That's an increase in cruise groups, especially river cruising.
In addition to supporting group cruise bookings in the coming months, Envoyage plans to develop a website for travelers in the future. This allows advisors to share the site with their clients and ask them to sign up, eliminating the need for group leaders to collect names and birthdays.
The group can be an advantageous addition to an advisor's portfolio. And, importantly, they are often repeated, Pedroni said.
“Maybe not every year, but maybe every other year,” she said. “Advisers, if they have five or 10 big groups a year, that's great business for them.”
