Avoya Travel

I joined Avoya Travel eight months ago and had a rough start. I was not utilizing the tools and programs Avoya has in place for it's independent affiliates. I was ready to give up until I made a decision to give it a year and use every tool and program Avoya has given me access to.

In May I went all in and applied all the lessons I learned in the Mastermind Program from my business coach Laura and the program leader Tammie. The first month I implemented their suggestions, my agency commission saw a growth over 90%!!! Prior to joining Avoya, I thought I'd need a website, a logo designer, and a marketing team. The Mastermind Program is available to ALL Avoya Independent Affiliates at no additional cost.

I don't ever have to go out and have cruise nights, or hold travel expos with Avoya. The lead program they have gives me access to the clients that would take months to accumulate.

Being my own boss allows me the flexibility to work, play and rest when I want. Who else offers that freedom?

While I was really second guessing my decision a few months ago, implementing all the tools and programs at my disposal has made me realize joining Avoya is the best business decision I ever made!

Kendra Heffelfinger
An Independent Affiliate of Avoya Travel Since 2013

I started out working for a brick & mortar agency, was with them almost ten years before striking out on my own.

The only reason I had the confidence to become an independent agent was because of the experience, expertise, technical savvy and business model offered by Avoya Travel.

I’ve been married for 35 years and during this time, my husband has gone to college, grad school and attained his PhD, and we’ve raised 3 kids and now have 7 grandchildren … life has been so busy! But I did not get a college degree of my own. Working at the bricks & mortar agency, I made $22,000/yr.

Since joining Avoya I’ve seen my income double and then triple! I’m fairly certain at my age, in this economy, and without a college degree, there is no other way I would have ever achieved that income level through any other type of employment.

I could easily earn $100K per year or more through Avoya if I wanted to work that hard. I know many Avoya independent affiliates who do earn six figures annually.

I feel I have the best of both worlds. I choose to take time off to travel and to spend time with my family, to work in our church, to remodel a farmhouse (our 2nd home) with my husband, and to go visit my grandchildren rather than putting in the hours required to earn a 6-figure income. But that’s just it … Avoya provides me with choices. It’s a qualify of life issue really.

I am convinced there is no other host in the industry who does all of this with the same level of enthusiasm, support or integrity as Avoya Travel.

My name is Jamey Steenhoven. I started in the travel industry 4 years ago after a life changing event that caused me not be able to function in my previous line of work. I started out learning from a wonderful travel agent (my wife) who has been in travel since she was 18. She took the time to teach me about travel and show me how much fun it could be. I studied under her for a year and she was an Independent Contractor with Avoya Travel/American Express. I got first hand knowledge about Avoya Travel as I learned how to book travel. In our first year with Avoya Travel we grossed over $1 Million in Sales and she was named one of the “Best of the Best”, which is a great honor. I decided then that once I was ready Avoya Travel was for me!

I wanted to strive for that feeling you have of owning your own agency and working with a wonderful company like Avoya Travel/American Express. We have spent time with the Anderson Family, Avoya Travel Staff and management, and can honestly say we feel like we are part of a family not a “company”.

I have been an Independent Contractor with Avoya Travel for almost 4 years now and could not imagine being with any other host agency! They have welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family since the first day. My business has grown more in 4 years than I expected in my 5 year plan.

Avoya Travel has given me the courage to try new things. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be selling luxury cruise, luxury river cruise, and hand building trips for clients all over the world, I probably would have laughed. Today I do just that. I specialize in luxury cruises of all types, luxury resorts, also hand build trips for clients around the world.

To my surprise another aspect of travel has grown for my business. I have recently grown my Destination Wedding & Honeymoon side of my business. I would have never thought I would be planning weddings/honeymoons, but now that is one of my top sellers. I have seen a 200% increase over the last 2 years in this sector. I attribute this to Avoya Travel/American Express as they have given me the courage to “think outside of the box” and try new things. They are a very innovative company and on the leading edge of all aspects of travel. Taking ques from them, I started to think outside of my comfort zone and took the plunge into Destination Wedding market. It has been a huge success!

I can not thank the owners, management, and staff at Avoya Travel/American Express for all of their support over the last 4 years. Without them, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. I look forward to many more years of working with Avoya Travel/American Express and growing my business.

Jamey Steenhoven

I’ve been affiliated with Avoya Travel since 2011. The free lead program is on the top of the list of what makes Avoya, in my opinion, the best host agency around. My overhead is minimal because Avoya does all the advertising. My entire client base is from Avoya leads. It’s a perfect situation. I can work from home, Very team oriented environment, more training options than ever before. It is the best decision I have even made in my career and never looked back.

I am very new to the travel industry. I spent a year with another host agency and only did about $100K in sales. In my first year with Avoya I did over $1M in Sales and 99% of my business came from Avoya Live Leads.

If you work hard, have good business systems/plan in place and use the resources provided to you by Avoya you can succeed!

The best decision I made was to affiliate with Avoya.

Sincerely,

Michael Burk

I have been with Avoya for 3 months so I am really new to the travel industry. I am extremely pleased with the support and direction my business has taken by joining Avoya. The staff that has helped me get started is just wonderful. The technology is easy to use and user friendly and if do you have a problem you have great support.

I am very lucky to have found Avoya and know that I will have great success in the coming years.

By joining Avoya, it has definitely kick started my career and now I can reach for the stars because the opportunity is there.

This company sets a expectation of a sales quota but does not tell. They will not renew your contract if your sales are not high enough. They do not tell you this in the beginning. They do not care about there agents. Do not use them.

This time last year I was with another host agency who has a great reputation and for good reason. As my renewal with this host was nearing, I wanted to see what other options were available and decided to look at Avoya Travel. I read some reviews and was hesitant as this is a big decision for any home based agent.
I was struggling to find business and running myself weary with marketing and networking. After one year in the business I was close to facing a decision as to whether I would continue in this business at all. After talking with some people at Avoya I decided that I would give the business one more year and do it with Avoya. This is the best business decision I have ever made.
The support we receive is unbelievable. When I have questions, I can rely on quick and accurate direction. The training is not only on systems and specific products but on the sales process.
Live leads are great if you work them right and you are consistent. I will not say that you will close a very high percentage of leads, but if you qualify the ones you get and follow up you will find success.
The fees are lower than other hosts. The monthly fee gets waived if you sell at least $1000 gross commission in the month. Since joining, I have not paid this once. That includes the month of June where I was in Europe for two weeks.
Avoya gives you the tools to be successful, it is up to you to use the tools and make yourself successful.
Not even a year into my time with Avoya, my commissions are more than triple last years and I have a very reachable goal for next year to increase another 50% over this year.
If you decide on another host with out at least talking with Avoya, you will be doing yourself and your business a disservice.

I have been in travel for over 10 years and most of the time as an employee for big, corporate owned travel agencies. I have been with Avoya for the past three months and I love the program so far. I picked Avoya because I needed a place that could provide me with leads and that they have done. I did not come to the table with many of my own customers and was excited about Avoya's lead program to agents. I believe that if a company can make my phone ring or email sing then the job of closing is mine. I understand that not every lead is a winner but it was the same at the other companies I worked.

Here are the facts as I see them.

1. Avoya has great leads and relationships with the top vendors.
2. Agents are getting top level commission from almost all the top vendors.
3. Avoya has many exclusive promotions and pre-blocked group space to give you an advantage over your competition.
4. Avoya provides wonderful support. The Master Mind program is amazing and will help fine tune your agency and provides a great sense of community that can be missing when you work for yourself.
5. Avoya pays on time and even have a program that will allow you to get pre-paid some of your commission for future bookings. This is very important to me since I need money now as I build a pipeline of clients.
6. Leads, leads and more leads. Everyday since I have closed a couple of deals, they have offered me more leads than I am able to take. I have worked my way into getting some leads direct from vendors and they are awesome. Great leads = great money!

This host may not be for everyone but it is perfect for me. I have closed many deals in three months, worked my way into better specialties and the leads just keep coming. They offer tons of support, continuing education and foster a sense of community.

Each host has unique differences but for me, Avoya has been a great decision. I am very excited about the future for my agency and not everyone in travel can say that these days.

At Avoya's request, the Avoya All Stars have all posted their glowing reports about this host to make Avoya look great. Prior to my leaving Avoya they had made several "requests" for their IC's to come here and post for them. Is it not curious how most of the postings here are all on the same set of dates - July 13, Oct 19 and Jan 8th - which just so happens to come right AFTER a negative review has been posted? Just something for you to consider.

That said, I'll simply state that those seeking to make a wise assessment would be smart to at least consider the comments of those who have posted not so favorable reviews. There may well be a lot of truth to them.

Kind of like the Wizard of OZ Avoya is a master in making themselves look much better then they are. Take caution though... If something looks too good to be true - it usually is.

As for myself, I am SO much happier since I LEFT Avoya. Although I had come to Avoya with much hope and anticipation for success LEAVING them was the best thing I ever did. Those who do their research will find MUCH beter with other host agency's that are available to you.

If you opt to go with Avoya all I will state is Caveat emptor "Let the buyer beware."