Avoya Travel recently celebrated the successful conclusion of its 2023 Avoya Conference event, following a week’s worth of company updates and announcements, partners panels and presentations, educational workshops, professional networking sessions, awards recognitions and prize giveaways, complemented by exclusive happy hours, social mixers and soirees.
One of the travel industry’s fastest-growing and most innovative brands, Avoya held the in-person portion of its annual event onboard Princess Cruise Lines’ newest ship, Discovery Princess, as it sailed its final Alaska itinerary of the season from September 24 through October 1. The Conference’s virtual portion had already occurred online between August 28 and 31.
Starting in Seattle and ending in Vancouver, the cruise itinerary stopped in the picturesque Inside Passage ports of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, allowing everyone the opportunity to explore these sought-after destinations in The Last Frontier during their downtime.
Independent Agency (IA) members in attendance at a general session of the 2023 Avoya Conference. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group / Laurie Baratti)
About the Event
Avoya events are consistently characterized by a communal spirit that’s especially rare to see in sizable and/or successful companies these days. You’ll hear everyone from Avoya executives to supplier reps and Independent Advisors (IAs) of the network frequently use the term “family” to describe the relationship between Avoya, and its IAs and partners. While many brands may make a similar claim in aid of marketing, in this case, “family” is pretty much the only word to accurately describe the dynamic.
Although many attendees are new—not only Avoya, but also the travel industry itself—these gatherings manage to feel more like family reunions than business-focused forums. Part of the reason for the that rare sense of authenticity is the fact that Avoya’s co-CEOs, brothers Jeff and Mike Anderson, represent the third-generation leadership of a family-owned enterprise begun over half a century ago, and they still operate by embracing the same values as their grandparents did. They continue to prioritize nurturing and sustaining intentional relationships with IAs on a personal level, and encourage IAs to establish the same sort of connections with their clientele.
The Andersons, along with other Avoya executives, have well-established relationships and keep in direct communication with many of these IAs, and are obviously up-to-speed with the nuances of their businesses and their lives in general. Likewise, IAs and suppliers are largely familiar and always friendly with one another, sharing a “rising tide lifts all boats” outlook that makes reconnecting with their professional peers in-person a genuinely joyful affair.
Chief Sales Officer Phil Capelli (left) and CEO Jeff Anderson (right) onstage at the 2023 Avoya Conference. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group / Laurie Baratti)
Initial Impressions
“Rookie of the Year” Erika Bodwell of EBA Travel noted a conspicuous absence of the kind of competitiveness or petty rivalries that she’s witnessed on some FAM trips and trade gatherings in the past. After having only had telephone and virtual meetings with Avoya up until now, she was eager to attend her first in-person Avoya Conference. “I wanted to see, is that really how it is? Yeah, it is. It's like that. And, I think that they attract people… to their company who also want that. Who want honesty and want people to have integrity, want people to feel comfortable and welcomed," she shared.
“It creates buy-in,” she continued. “Because, when you create that atmosphere, people who are coming to these events new, they buy into this environment of comfort to be like, ‘I'm comfortable here, I feel good here. If I have a question, I can ask that question. I'm not going to feel stupid, I'm not going to feel bad about myself.”
“When people buy into something, they get more excited about what they do and then they're going to see more success. Because, if you're not bought-into what you're selling, not only your suppliers, but who you're going [to affiliate] with, I don’t really think you’re going to be that successful.”
After Avoya announced some of its year-to-date top producers, Bodwell was somewhat surprised to see that the crowd was “genuinely excited for other people”. She said, “There wasn't any of that ‘Oh, well…’ [feigns a jealous sneer]—you didn't see any of that… They just genuinely wanted to see those other people that they know, those people they care about [succeeding]. They wanted to cheer them on. And, I love that kind of stuff.”
The Discovery Princess docked in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group / Laurie Baratti)
Celebrating Successes
Co-owners of independent agency Epic Jaunts, Ryan Warshaw and Dave Levine, had high-level sales and management positions at Best Buy before starting up their own agency less than a year ago. Yet, they have already managed to exceed $5 million in sales.
“It’s a family business. I mean, that makes a big difference. I'm sure it sounds kitschy, but we came out of big corporations with multiple CEOs.” said Warshaw. The pair, who’ve known each other since college, said that, when considering which host agency to affiliate with, it was important that they find “folks that we align with their values, their strategy, their background”. He added, “Jeff and Michael are good people. And, you don't always get that anymore. In a world that's ever-evolving, I think it's probably nice to see just a little bit of humanity these days.”
The business partners pointed out another significant advantage of partnering with Avoya, “The technology side of Avoya… it's just in a league of its own, you know, in terms of what's available to allow you to be more productive or run faster,” Warshaw explained. “All those technological advantages… are big deal. I think we were able to kind of see that at the beginning—especially with the ability to take Live Leads, and kind of build the business as fast or at whatever pace you want to—is pretty great.
“You know, marketing is tough, especially in an industry where you don't have direct experience. It takes a lot of time and it's expensive to find clients. I don't think we would have ever signed on to being a part of this industry if we had to find all of our clients on our own, because we because we just enjoy talking to people and making people's dreams come true; and getting them everything they needed or everything they never knew they needed. You can't do that if you spend all your time and money trying to get people to listen to you in the first place.”
Avoya Travel's co-CEO, Jeff Anderson, presenting onstage during the 2023 Avoya Conference. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group / Laurie Baratti)
The Avoya Conference is open to IAs operating at any level, and the 2023 edition sold out in under a week when it opened for registration early this year, becoming the fastest-ever sellout of an Avoya Conference and the company’s largest-ever event at sea. It was also the company’s first Conference to be held aboard a Princess cruise and the first to visit The Great Land of Alaska.
Ultimately, of the in-person event’s 500 attendees, nearly half were IAs and Independents Licensed Agents (ILAs), while the remainder represented preferred suppliers and the Avoya team.
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