Avoya Travel Wins Four Travel Weekly Magellan Awards For Innovation and Support

Prestigious Travel Awards Recognize Avoya for Pandemic Response and Groundbreaking Initiatives

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – October 18, 2021 – Avoya Travel®, one of the travel industry’s most innovative brands, has been honored with four of Travel Weekly magazine’s esteemed 2021 Magellan Awards. The prestigious awards distinguish Avoya as a travel industry leader with innovative initiatives and effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that further the company’s reputation as the number one vacation platform supporting Independent Agencies in the Avoya Travel Network™ and supplier partners while delivering better vacation experiences to travelers.

Avoya’s innovative technology, industry-leading marketing, and unmatched support for Independent Agencies and travelers were recognized with Magellan Awards in ‘Crisis Communications’, ‘Advertising/Marketing Campaign’, ‘Technology Solutions’, and ‘Virtual Experiences/Events’. Avoya’s many award-winning initiatives exemplify its dedication to helping Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network grow successful businesses and deliver exceptional vacation value and experiences to even more customers. Avoya’s Magellan Award-winning programs include:

Crisis Management and Communication: Avoya and the Avoya Network continued to provide world-class customer service and a seamless customer experience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Avoya consistently had minimal hold times (mere minutes) and clients were able to contact the Independent Agency that had booked and serviced their vacations or were seamlessly re-directed to a different Independent Agency if theirs was unavailable. Avoya supported the Avoya Network through several initiatives during the pandemic including temporarily waiving monthly fees and renewal fees, offering complimentary access to expert legal and accounting assistance through the Avoya CARES program, maintaining weekly payment of commissions to Network members, reducing agency override targets to reward many Independent Agencies with significant payments, and continuing to provide access to Avoya’s Instant Commission™ program.

‘Vacations to Take Now’ Marketing Campaign: Avoya recognized the pent-up demand among North Americans who may have postponed their vacation plans in 2020 or early 2021 but still wanted to travel in 2021. Avoya identified this opportunity and launched the ‘Vacations to Take Now’ marketing campaign highlighting destinations currently open for leisure travel with an emphasis on vacations travelers can take in the immediate future. The multiple phases of the extremely successful campaign saw measurable results that include increased website traffic and engagement from consumers, elevated usage of Avoya’s Marketing Resource Center™ assets by the Avoya Network, and incremental bookings and commissions when compared to 2019 levels, including a 68% increase in sales volume on the main products highlighted in the campaign, a 101% increase on the featured land destinations, and a 410% increase in Live Leads™ generated on the featured products.

Agent Power™ Customer Activity Stream™: Avoya developed the Customer Activity Stream using powerful proprietary technology as an optional resource for Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network that is seamlessly integrated into Avoya’s SaaS platform, Agent Power. The Customer Activity Stream uses cutting-edge data intelligence to provide an easily accessible interface that offers a near-real-time report indicating which of an Independent Agency’s current Live Leads or Avoya Smart Leads™ have recently interacted with a touchpoint from Avoya, whether that’s a clicked email, an opened quote, or online activity. The Customer Activity Stream helps to streamline the selling process for the Avoya Network by indicating which of their clients are the most likely to book a vacation next and is synergistic with Avoya’s lead programs, creating a fully comprehensive resource for identifying potential business, all in one convenient location.

Avoya Travel Events: To protect the health and safety of the Avoya Network and Avoya’s staff and supplier partners, Avoya pivoted several in-person events to a virtual format in 2020 and executed numerous events virtually in 2021. Understanding the financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, Avoya offered attendance to almost all the events to the Avoya Network free of charge. Most of the events sold out the same day they were announced to the Avoya Network and saw double the number of attendee registrations when compared to their most recent in-person counterparts. Many of Avoya’s preferred supplier partners noted that the programming and technology Avoya used for its virtual events was the best they had seen among travel industry events that had pivoted to a virtual platform. One of the most innovative elements of Avoya’s events has been ‘Virtual FAM Trips’, a unique look at a supplier’s product experience where attendees explore products firsthand via recorded videos aimed at providing experiential learning about the products.

“Avoya Travel is honored to win top industry recognition for our innovative initiatives and dedication to supporting travelers, supplier partners, and the Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network,” said Jeff Anderson, Co-President of Avoya Travel. “Despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19 globally, we continue to look forward and re-imagine the future of vacation planning and we’re thrilled that the advancements we continue to develop for the benefit of travel professionals, suppliers, and travelers have been acknowledged with these prestigious Magellan Awards.”

The annual Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honor the best in travel across the entire spectrum of industry segments and salute outstanding travel professionals. Winners are selected by Travel Weekly editors and industry experts such as Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor for CBS News; John Lampl, Senior Airline Executive with British Airways; Patricia Schultz, Author of1,000 Places to See Before You Die; Johnny Jet, Travel Blogger and one of Forbes’ Top 10 Travel Influencers; and many more.

To learn more visit: www.AvoyaNetwork.com.

About Avoya Travel

Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Avoya Travel® provides services to more than 1,000 Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network™. Avoya has a longstanding reputation for providing unmatched resources and services to thousands of companies including cruise lines, tour companies, resorts, and the Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network, one of the largest and most successful independent travel agency networks in the world. Family-owned, Avoya’s Shared Success™ model is built on a foundation of Integrity and Professionalism™. Avoya has been an American Express Travel Representative for more than 30 years, and is one of their largest producers of cruises, tours, and vacations through its Network of Independent Agencies.

Some of the innovative services and resources offered by Avoya include optional marketing programs like Live Leads™, the first, the best, and only patented solution for offering new travelers exclusively to Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network; unparalleled agency business support services; fully integrated, proprietary, and patented SaaS technology, Agent Power™; award-winning professional development and education programs; American Express Travel benefits; Instant Commission™ and more.

Through Avoya’s platform travelers worldwide can be connected to an elite network of independently owned and operated travel agencies and can enjoy exclusive discounts, amenities, and first-class customer service. Highly recognized and awarded by cruise lines, tour companies, resorts, and others, Avoya Travel has received numerous accolades, including being repeatedly named Travel Partner of the Year by Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruises, American Express, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises, and more.

Travel agency owners, travel professionals and others interested in receiving the unmatched services, marketing, support, and technology needed to own and operate their own travel business should contact Avoya Travel at 800-521-2597 or visit www.AvoyaNetwork.com. Travelers interested in booking their next vacation with an expert Independent Agency in the Avoya Network should call 800-753-1463 or visit www.AvoyaTravel.com.