Innovative host agency Avoya Travel recently wrapped up its inaugural ‘Million Dollar Showcase’ for independent agencies (IAs) of the Avoya Network that have logged $1 million or more in sales this year. This new event was created to not only celebrate some of its high-earning agencies by rolling out the VIP treatment, but also to better cater to the needs of its high-earning IAs through one-on-one engagement with supplier reps, and personal and professional development workshops.
Held in Washington state at the Hilton Bellevue over the course of three days, the Showcase event also provided a nice lead-up to the week-long 2023 Avoya Conference, which is open annually to all IAs. and. The Conference itself took place amid an Alaska-bound cruise aboard Discovery Princess, which sailed from the nearby Port of Seattle.
The catalyst for the Showcase event’s conception and execution was actually some direct feedback from Avoya IAs, and one in particular, who saw a need for a networking and educational conference to address the specific challenges and opportunities that top-producing agencies contend with, said Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Ashley Hunter.
Asked what prompted the creation of the Million Dollar Showcase, co-CEO Jeff Anderson said, “All of those who have been around for a long time, their needs are incredibly different than somebody who’s new. The level of conversations that they're having, the challenges that they’re facing, they are at the next level and we wanted to create an environment that we were just really targeted on them.”
Supplier panel discussion during Avoya Travel's Million Dollar Showcase event. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group / Laurie Baratti)
He is cognizant of the fact that brand-new, home-based IAs—of which Avoya continues to see an increasing number—aren’t necessarily familiar with industry jargon and trade-specific acronyms. By hosting the Showcase, “we can just talk at our quick pace with a bunch of multi-million-dollar producers that have been around the block, have had good days and bad days, and recovered from those bad days to become even better than they were before.”
The Showcase’s purpose is both to help seasoned travel advisors and agencies learn techniques for levelling-up even further, and to reward top-earners for their hard work.“We wanted to VIP them too, so we comp’d their rooms,” Anderson explained. “We comp’d everything for the IAs, because they deserve it. This is a time for IAs to build their skill sets. We rely on them to produce a lot of the year and taking care of them is super important.”
In total, 180 trade professionals attended the first annual Million Dollar Showcase weekend, 66 of whom were independent advisors of the Avoya Network whose agencies have hit $1 million or more in sales this year. Astonishingly, some newbies have already managed to reach this benchmark, or even higher ones, within 12 months of starting their business.
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