Nexion chose what many might consider an inauspicious day - Feb. 9, the 20th anniversary of the first U.S. airline cap - to announce the celebration of its own 20th anniversary throughout this year.
In retrospect, the Feb. 9 date may actually be an auspicious one, since, for the most part, the travel agency industry has triumphed over airline caps and cuts.
"It's no coincidence that Nexion first emerged in the wake of airline commission cuts," said Jackie Friedman, Nexion's president, CTC, CTIE. "Travel agencies were left questioning their business model, and Nexion's primary focus initially was to offer agencies an alternative to managing their own ARC fulfillment and GDS contract commitments."
What the host agency offered agents was an array of options and strategies to grow their businesses, along with the flexibility to work from virtually anywhere.
"We've continued to evolve as we've anticipated where the market and direction of our industry had been heading," said Friedman. "Twenty years later, Nexion still offers tremendous opportunity for agents who want to sell airline tickets."
Today, Nexion hosts 3,300 independent, leisure and corporate agents, many of whom joined the host agency from brick-and-mortar agencies.
In Friedman's view, Nexion's success over the years can be largely attributed to the company's technology, training, events and marketing programs, all of which are designed to boost agents' professionalism and credibility with the traveling public.
Programs run the gamut, including training on how to sell, and boost, air bookings. For its part, Simple Nexion Air Program (SNAP) provides agents with a comprehensive, user-friendly non-GDS booking platform for air, car, hotel and rail bookings. Nexion agents can also book their clients through the GDSs, including Amadeus, Apollo, Sabre and Worldspan GDS systems. And, its contracts with suppliers enable agents to significantly boost their commission levels.
As with Nexion's programs, the types of agents who belong to the host agency run the gamut as well. "In addition to all the experienced, long-time travel agent professionals who have migrated to Nexion over the past 20 years, there are agencies that have retained their brick-and-mortar locations but have chosen to affiliate with Nexion in order to manage their air fulfillment," said Freidman, adding that Nexion's average sale per agent rose 9.9 percent last year compared to 2013.
Never one to rest on its laurels, in 2013 Nexion created Nexion Canada. Looking ahead, this year its CoNexion 2015 annual convention will be held onboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway from Sept. 26 through Oct. 3, marking the first time the company has held the conference at sea.
"The momentum heading into our 20th year is huge," said Friedman.
To celebrate its two decades in business, Nexion sent calendars to its agents highlighting its 20th anniversary and introduced Throwback Thursday to its Facebook page, enabling members to post about travel pertaining to 1995. The company also created a whimsical activity on its YouTube page that shows agents how to take a little piece of the company with them on their travel this year.
Nexion said agents can expect to see more 20th anniversary surprises unveiled as the year progresses.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
