Avoya Travel

Review of Laura Burk and the Early Success Team (Melissa, Ed, Mandy) at Avoya Travel. This is an email I sent the team. If anyone is considering Avoya and are concerned if there is enough training for a new agency owner / travel advisor, I can assure you there is. There is so much available it is overwhelming, but the Early Success Team is AWESOME and helps you every step of the way.

Laura,
Seriously, you and your team may get tired over answering the same questions over and over again, especially when the information is available to... r e a d! Each of these sessions that you create and present moves us one step closer to the "light bulb" flipping on and feeling empowered to "do this" and knowing we can find what we need. I couldn't imagine doing this without the steps laid out by Avoya. I certainly don't feel as lost and overwhelmed as I did in the beginning of this journey to change my entire life and start a business in my 50's! That is because of all of education, support, and constant attentiveness from our host agency. When I start to think, I don't need another webinar about a specific subject, that's when I learn the most or things start coming together so I am grateful!

-Dawn

I have worked with Avoya for a year now and the quality of the leads are remarkable. They are very good at generating clients for my agency. I never thought I would ever sell 2 million again in my lifetime. After 2008 I thought well it's over for me! With Avoya I know that I will continue to get leads and the support I need for another great year!

I celebrate 14 years with Avoya Travel this month. I have been in the cruise industry for 40+ years, as District Sales Manager for Ocean Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, then opening my first cruise specialty agency in 1988. I never thought I would join a host agency, as I was doing very well independently. Yet, when the economy crashed in 2008, I felt it was time to consider. Knowing Steve Hirshan throughout my career, and seeing he was with Avoya Travel, I knew that was the place for me! I have never looked back. I came with a fair degree of personal clients, and was able to fill in the gaps with Avoya's amazing Live Lead program. The quality of leads, tremendous support, and unrivaled promotions are just a few of the many reasons I would highly recommend Avoya Travel to anyone desiring to be successful in the travel industry. Since I joined Avoya, I have exceeded $1 million in sales, consistently, every year, and exceeded $2 million in 2022. It's the best business decision I've ever made.

When I was in the researching phase of whether I would start a travel agency or not, I came across Avoya Network. I'm so glad that I chose them! From training and patience with becoming a new agent, to mentorship to help me grow as an agent, the staff of Avoya Travel have been absolutely amazing. On top of that, there is a whole network of travel agents that, yes, have a friendly competition and want to beat each other, but really want to see each other succeed and grown. I highly recommend Avoya.

I have been with Avoya since 2019, and I absolutely love it! I was with a different host agency before I came to Avoya, and let me tell you....it was the best decision I've made in a very long time.

There are so many resources! Training, support, and friendships! My favorite thing about working with Avoya is the reception you get from suppliers. Avoya has been around a long time, and the name is synonymous with INTEGRITY. That goes a long way if you are an at-home agent really trying to "get the deal".

The Live Leads offered have really elevated my business. I'm from a very small town. It's extremely difficult to build a serious clientele quickly based on my personal connections. Having the leads has elevated my business to a new level. Yes, there will be some of those leads that are just "browsing", but it's up to YOU to put in the work to convert that browser to a booker.

If you are considering a new host agency, please, look no further. You won't regret it. So many opportunities to grow your business, be part of a team, and learn the travel industry the right way!

Avoya is built for those who sell cruises and are available 24/7. Let me explain:

Avoya gives great training to learn how to use their CRM and how to sell cruises. They don't expound terribly much on how to book FIT or AI in their CRM. If you need help of any kind with cruises you'll get it quickly. If you need help with a land booking (something is glitching in the CRM, the BDM isn't responding, you want to get on the list to start training for a TOs referrals) expect a minimum of a week, 2 emails, and a phone call before you get a response. Avoya makes it easy to get cruise referrals. They make you jump through hours and hours worth of additional (ridiculous and pointless) training to get referrals from non-cruise companies. Note: all referrals regardless of who they are for are a waste of time anyways. None of them have been remotely vetted. 95% don't ever respond to you or have given the wrong contact information. Of the remaining 5% 90% of those are tire kickers. You are also not aloud to charge consultation/service fees to any referral either on their first booking or if they come back to you so you can't easily weed out tire kickers that way either.

Additionally, if you have a referral and they call Avoya and say they want a new TA they will just move them (and any booking/commission that is currently pending) to a new TA, no reasoning needed. (But, if you don't wan't to work with that client you can't fire them.) If you're on the phone with a supplier and can't answer your call waiting, tough. If you set a boundary with said client and said "I'm away from my computer at the moment but I can take care of that in an hour when I get home" it doesn't matter. If the person in any way came from Avoya on that trip or a previous one they can pull them from your book of business and give them to someone else on that persons whim.

If you already have a large book of business mostly cruise based Avoya may be a good choice for you. The CRM and help is set up for cruises and if you bring the client with you and check the appropriate box when you enter them into the CRM Avoya wont take them away from you. If you mostly do FIT/AI/Land their CRM and support is not built for you. If you think you're going to rely on their referrals for any reason, you can't. Unless you bring the client yourself and check a specific button within their CRM literally no client or transaction/commission is safe/sacred until the client has returned. If your new, want good training, and are planning to do cruises but ARE NOT going to use their referrals Avoya is at least work looking at. Their CRM and cruise searching/deals are pretty good.

In short, Avoya is good for clients you personally bring in and if your niche involves cruises. Everyone else, I'd look elsewhere.

Avoya does an excellent job on educational training opportunities, support request responses,
Accounting backup/tracking process (to include efficient processing of negotiated vendor receivables
allowing more timely payables to IAs), the unique Agent Power lead program, customer record system
and marketing support that Avoya provides for both the Agent’s personal and Avoya’s lead-generated
owned clients. I value highly the respect that Avoya has garnered with suppliers, supported by their
committed efforts to grow their business. The Business Owners of Avoya Travel set and maintain high
standards and continue to achieve growth and respect in the Leisure Travel Industry. The Avoya Travel
Owners and Staff form a great goal-oriented Team! I am proud to be an Avoya Travel Independent
Affiliated Agent

As a brand new agent without extensive experience outside of personal travel, I have felt 100% supported. Every person I have encountered from onboarding, network enrichment, early success and brand sales have truly helped me grow my business.

Their Live Lead option is fantastic. I have only been with Avoya for a little over two months and have reached over $80K in sales. With the majority of these sales from the Live Leads option.

Working 12 plus hours per day in a spare bedroom can make you feel alone. I have never felt this way. Even though I am an independent agent, I feel I am apart of a team. I instantly reach out and someone is always available to assist.

Joining Avoya was the best decision by far when selecting a host agency.

I have been with Avoya for over 15 years and am proud of my affiliation. There is so much to appreciate, and I am happy to share just a few aspects here.
Avoya's search and res system is powerful. It standardizes all the suppliers' information, shows promotions available to us, gives live inventory and pricing options, makes it SIMPLE to use, book and cross reference with client and trip records, and so much more. This system also has a powerful "knowledge base" we can tap into, as well as dedicated, fast and responsive support should we have a question or an issue.

Avoya has access to group space on thousands of cuises, so we can offer competitive pricing and promotions to our clients.

The clout Avoya has with suppliers is extremely helpful in many ways. You can tell how grateful suppliers are for their strong partnership with Avoya and it certainly gives us an edge.

Avoya invests a lot in marketing to the public. From this they offer leads to us at no charge. We are free to choose how many leads we might want to take at any given time, and for which suppliers.
Avoya's educational opportunities, conferences (both virtual and in person), back-office support, professionalism and sincere, caring atmosphere all combine to create a wonderful environment in which to work.

I love all the support and information Avoya gives their Independent Agencies. I know I always have someone I can go to with all of my questions. I also love all the opportunities they have to meet and network with other IAs. I just attended a Avoya Boot Camp and learned so much about how to more efficiently run my independent agency and network with other IAs! Avoya is an incredible company!