The UK arm of Global Travel Collection (GTC UK) hopes its new advisor success team will service a new wave of “progressive” agents entering the industry.
The brand recently recruited Perry Critchell and Colin Geddes as managers for the newly created team, which will offer specialised business support to the brand’s network of 100 independent advisors.
The partnership sees agents segmented into the company’s three core lines of business – entertainment, corporate and luxury leisure travel – and offered tailored business plans addressing areas of new revenue opportunities and ways to scale growth.
Each manager looks after around 50 agents, with Critchell leading the entertainment and leisure sectors and Geddes heading up corporate. They both report into account management director Francesca Mendola.
GTC president Angie Licea said the idea for the new advisor success team came from a desire to have a more “consultative” approach to a growing number of independent and remote advisors.
“Now we see this infusion of progressive advisors, and the reason we say progressive is because they sell so differently than the traditional advisors,” she said.
“They don’t know the GDS, they don’t want to sell [that way]. Many of them are using WhatsApp, the internet and email. They’re well-travelled people and they have these huge portfolios.
“What we need to do as an organisation is make sure we’re protecting the traditional space but then build a platform for this progressive group of advisers because at some point, there will be a tipping point where the traditional advisors might be fewer than the progressive, so if we don’t focus on two different models, we potentially lose in the future.”
GTC UK managing director Jason Oshiokpekhai added: “The evolution of the advisor success team ties into that to help us bridge the gap.”
Licea said several new agents had joined the sector as a second career, with the network including accountants, lawyers, former reality TV stars and professional athletes.
Oshiokpekhai added that GTC UK had seen a “significant” rise in employees joining GTC’s independent contractor model from other agencies.
“We’re finding people that are interested in owning a travel business and are willing to put the investment in a business plan and leverage their social networks to effectively grow a travel business,” he said.
GTC plans to launch the advisor success concept in the US in July after “testing” it in the UK market.
The brand will also unveil a new benefits platform in October, offering advisors exclusive product across the air, car, hotel, cruise, sustainability, loyalty and concierge segments.