Advantage Travel Partnership overhauls membership structure

Advantage Travel Partnership has overhauled its membership structure and created three specialist teams to provide “more proactive support” and “clearer ownership” of member relationships.

The “significant evolution”, announced at the consortium’s annual conference in Madrid, follows a recent member priorities survey which identified personalised support, easier access to services and commercial value as the primary needs of its members.

Under the new model, business development managers will transition into the new role of member partnerships manager.

Lee Ainsworth, membership and strategy director at Advantage, said the move is a direct response to the increasing complexity of the travel market.

“As our members’ businesses continue to grow and the market becomes increasingly complex to navigate, we know that they need a partner who is proactive, aligned with their needs and easy to work with,” he said.

“This evolution of our structure is our response to that – shaping how we support our members to meet that expectation.”

The restructure is built around three core pillars, each led by a dedicated specialist:

• Strategic Membership Growth & Development: Led by Emily Shannon, this team will focus on expanding the membership base and evolving the group’s proposition to stay ahead of market changes
• Customer Success: Led by David Moon as customer success director, supported by Nicola Watkins as member experience and performance lead, this department is tasked with ensuring consistent service delivery across all member interactions
• Strategic Member Partnerships: Led by Sarah Miller, this team will manage ongoing relationships and coordinate business support to ensure members maximise their commercial value over the long term

The three teams will collaborate with the Global Business Travel Business Development team, headed by Andy Boorman, to provide specialist expertise to members operating in the corporate travel sector.

Ainsworth added that the changes would ensure “faster access to the right expertise”, while confirming that the level of central support from the core Membership, Commercial, Marketing, and Finance teams remains unchanged.