When Nexion Travel Group
members gathered onboard the Celebrity Equinox in Port Everglades on Aug. 19
for their annual CoNexion conference, they had a lot to celebrate.
“We’re bigger than we’ve ever been,” said Jackie Friedman,
CTC, CTIE, president of Nexion Travel Group.
Nexion by the Numbers
With close to 5,400 advisor members in the U.S. and Canada,
Nexion is growing at a record pace. As the full-service host agency based in
Irving, Texas, adds to its ranks, it’s poised to deliver a record number of
leads to its members in 2023. As a result, sales are also soaring. Friedman
expects sales volume from Nexion advisors this year to eclipse last year’s
total of $713 million.
“Travel is absolutely booming,” said Friedman—who also
serves as the chair of the American Society of Travel Advisors—adding that she
doesn’t see demand subsiding anytime soon. “Our advisors are busier than ever. A
lot of them are trying to figure out, ‘How can I scale my business?’”
CoNexion—which this year attracted about 520 attendees,
including advisors, Nexion staff members and suppliers—is designed to help
answer such questions. At sea for the first time since 2018, CoNexion offered
49 educational workshops to choose from; six general sessions, where members
could learn from preferred supplier speakers, Nexion executives and advisors,
and hear a keynote address from former Celebrity Cruises sales executive Dondra
Ritzenthaler, now a motivational speaker; a trade show for meeting with
suppliers; cocktail parties for mixing and mingling; and ample time for
exploring the ports in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on the eight-day sailing.
“CoNexion is fabulous,” said Christy Bartlett, owner of
Daydream Cruise and Travel in Round Rock, Texas, who was attending her fifth
annual conference. “The educational programs are top-notch.”
The gathering lives up to its name, added Bartlett. “You
make lots of connections—it sounds hokey, but it’s true.” In addition to
meeting many advisors, Bartlett says the supplier contacts she’s made have been
invaluable. “I’ve met suppliers I didn’t even know I needed,” she said. “Being
able to sit down with them and develop a relationship is huge.”
Advisor Awards
CoNexion also provides a platform for recognizing
top-performing advisors. Bartlett, for example, received the Ambassador
Award—honoring an individual member who best represents the spirit of the host
agency, who’s an active advocate for travel and travel advisors. A Nexion advisor
since she started her travel career in 2014, Bartlett leads the Austin Nexion
Network, a group of about 25 advisors who meet in person regularly to chat with
suppliers and share best practices. “The suppliers are so willing to come and
talk with us, it’s amazing,” said Bartlett. “They all have a relationship with
Jackie, so we’re given this silver platter of suppliers to choose from.” The
Austin group is one of many Nexion networks across North America where advisors
can strengthen relationships with fellow members.
Nearly 300 advisors earned the Circle of Excellence award—a
record number that’s almost three times the previous high. The award recognizes
top sellers who achieve set goals with Nexion’s preferred supplier partners.
Seth Wayne, owner of Sail with Seth, was one of the Circle
of Excellence winners and the first recipient of the Accelerated Sales
Award—awarded for the significant accomplishments he’s achieved in his first
year as a Nexion member and travel advisor. Wayne, a former TV meteorologist,
grossed over a million dollars in sales his first year in business,
specializing in escorted group cruises.
Wayne attended his first CoNexion last year “with maybe
three bookings under my belt,” he said. Not only was he presented with two
awards this year, he delivered the “Building Group Business” NEXtalk—an advisor
presentation with advice about a useful topic.
Nexion has played a “huge” role in his success, said Wayne:
“You really feel like you are more than a number, because of Jackie’s
leadership. The president of the company is there for you and wants to listen
and really encourage you to grow.”
Wayne also touts the “family feel” of Nexion. “I was made to
feel welcome from day one,” he said. “It gives you goals and gives you
resources, and being under the umbrella of Travel Leaders gives you the buying
power. For the price that you pay, it’s incredible the amount of value you get
out of it.”
Advisors and suppliers mingled at the CoNexion trade show. (Photo Credit: Nexion)
Post-Pandemic Success
Friedman believes the record number of high performers
reflects trends set in motion by the pandemic—and shows how Nexion advisors
have come roaring back.
“During Covid, advisors kind of took a step back,” she said,
noting how many members used the time to refocus. “Some of them went after
certification programs, some of them took supplier training programs. Some
became very selective in how they wanted to do business.”
Adding to the robust numbers are rebooked trips that had
been canceled due to the pandemic, as well as clients booking longer, more
expensive vacations. “They’re going away more frequently because if they didn’t
realize how important travel was to them before the pandemic, as soon as you
take something away from people, all of a sudden they realize how much they
miss it,” said Friedman.
Enhanced Marketing and Sales Programs
Furthermore, noted Friedman, Nexion’s programs help advisors
boost their sales. “Our lead-generation programs through Agent Profiler give
our advisors a chance to put their story out there, so they’re getting the
types of leads they want,” said Friedman. Agent Profiler is a program through
Travel Leaders Network, Nexion’s parent consortia, that allows consumers to
find travel advisors on TravelLeaders.com based on the advisor’s name, niche,
location or expertise. For the first half of 2023, Nexion delivered over 3,000
leads to members in the U.S. through Agent Profiler and is on track to exceed
its 2022 number of 5,112 leads.
In fact, Nexion’s position as part of Internova Travel
Group—which represents more than 100,000 travel advisors worldwide—gives
advisors significant advantages, noted Friedman. For example, “we have great
programs for advisors that sell corporate travel who want access to all of the
GDSs; we have amazing air contracts,” she said. Nexion agents can also access
Internova’s hotel programs and Select In-Country Partners collection of
destination management companies and destination specialists.
“All of those programs are possible because of the sheer
size of Internova,” said Friedman. “And we can tap into that expertise, whether
it’s in marketing, public relations, information technology or human resources.
There are a number of shared resources that we can all benefit from.”
New and enhanced Nexion sales and marketing programs
announced at CoNexion include:
- The relaunched Cruise Block Space Program, which gives
advisors the ability to access the benefits of a group booking even while
booking one or two cabins. With participating cruise line partners—including
Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean—advisors
can lock-in early rates, access sold-out categories and provide such client
amenities as onboard credits. “It’s a great tool for our advisors to shine and
tell their clients, ‘I can get you this price, which is only available through
a Nexion advisor,’” said Victoria Rios, industry relations director.
- Social media toolkits, with ready-to-use posts, images and
videos that advisors can use on their professional platforms. “Travel advisors
know the leads that come in from sites like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, but
they have often struggled to know how to present professional content to their
viewers,” said Mai Da Pra, senior director of marketing. “This Nexion-exclusive
content is something that makes every member look like a social pro.”
- A redesigned Escape magazine, Nexion’s exclusive travel
publication featuring a call to action to the advisor, with new features such
as exclusive interviews with preferred suppliers and postcards readers can send
to friends.
Nexion President Jackie Friedman interviews Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises, during the opening general session. (Photo Credit: Nexion)
Valuable Education
CoNexion also provides valuable educational sessions to help
advisors grow and solve potential problems. “Advisors are really looking at
building their businesses beyond just a party of one, and they’re concerned
about getting it done,” said Friedman. “They want to know, ‘How do I take my
business to the next level? Do I add employees? Do I add independent
contractors? Do I work with a virtual assistant?’ Because they can’t continue
to do what they’ve been doing.”
To address the topic, Friedman presented the “Scaling Your
Business the Right Way for You!” workshop with Heather Kindred, CTIE, vice
president, business development and education.
Each day of the conference, an advisor delivered a NEXtalk
to the general session. The “Scaling Your Business” NEXtalk by Mary Krueger,
owner of Mary Krueger Travel, detailed how Krueger added two travel coordinator
employees to her business in 2018. Choosing to grow her business that way—as
opposed to adding independent contractors to her team—resulted in Krueger
doubling her profits.
Of course, Nexion advisors can take advantage of the host
agency’s educational opportunities all year long. “Our events are our biggest
deal that differentiate us” as a host agency, said Kindred. “This year we are
on track to do about 35 events, primarily in person.”
Next year’s lengthy roster of in-person educational events
range from a Marketing and Sales Mastermind to a Luxury Sales Summit to
Immersive Journeys group travel events with preferred suppliers. Advisors can
also sign up for virtual events such as Leap Into Luxury and the five-day Essentials
beginners’ course, which can also be taken in-person.
Travel Leaders of Tomorrow
Advisors joining Nexion who are new to the travel industry
are required to take a training program that includes Travel Leaders of
Tomorrow (TLOT), an educational program owned by Internova that’s available to
anyone who wants to be a travel advisor. A TLOT program designed for corporate
agents is launching this fall. In addition, Nexion and TLOT offer a 50 percent
off scholarship for veterans and active-duty spouses (veteransintravel.com).
Kindred—who has trained over 2,000 advisors in TLOT—says the
program sets them up for success. “A lot of people in our Circle of Excellence
program went through TLOT,” she said.
Adds Friedman: “We could just take anyone in and hope that
they’re going to be successful, but we’ve chosen to really position them for
success very early on.”
Next Year in New Orleans
The next CoNexion takes place Sept. 9-11, 2024, in New
Orleans, and Friedman expects a large turnout. “So many advisors work on their
own at home or in a small office, so taking the time to immerse yourself at an
event where you reconnect with old friends, make new ones, develop
relationships with partners, and find new ways of doing business—I wouldn’t
miss it,” she said. “You realize just how much there is for Nexion to offer.
There’s no place like CoNexion.”
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