My time with Avoya has been excellent! Despite my background of over 35 years in healthcare leadership, I am new to the travel industry. Avoya's outstanding education platform, ongoing personalized support, advanced software product, and live lead program have paved the way for a successful start to this new adventure. I highly recommend them.

I have been working with Avoya starting at the end of 2022. On top of the continous training they provide. Their Early Success Team and Brand Specialist team are top notch and always their to help if/When needed. They are constantly providing new marketing campaigns for their IA's. To be honest their really isn't anything bad I have to say.

I am very happy to have chosen Avoya Travel as my host agency. From the first conversation, they have supported me on my way and their team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals was always there to assist me at every step of my journey. They provide comprehensive training and resources to enhance your skills which is especially helpful at the beginning when everything can be overwhelming. Their lead system was another major aspect for me since it is again very helpful when starting your business. If you are seeking a host agency that genuinely cares about your growth and provides exceptional support, I wholeheartedly recommend joining them.

I began my journey with Avoya about 6 months ago. The training was excellent. It is online so you can move at your own pace. There is live support every step of the way. The trainers have a great deal of expertise and are very patient. About five months ago I began with my first client. The excellent support continued with Avoya's Early Success program. They offer outstanding workshops conducted by experts in the field. Upon completion of their Early Success program, the support continues. With every question I've had or challenge I've encountered, the Avoya team has been there with timely responses. Their platform for booking and managing travel is excellent. It's user friendly! Lastly, I credit my success, over $900,000 is sales in less than 5 months time, with the training and support I've received from the Avoya team.

I had high hopes when I started wit Avoya, did all my research - but there were some things they did not tell you - and some things which I guess as a new agent we learn

First, they left AmEx and are in transition this year with TLN. That means many times contracts have not been completed and commission payment are delayed 30-60 days. They do tell you this if you read their supplier resources - but as a large company they should be paying the commissions out while resolving contract and accounting issues with the vendors and partners.

Second, we are Independent Agents, and they do try to help us over the hump. But at the same time, there is a lack of best practices and they isolate us away from each other - so it is hard to share successes or be mentored by other IAs in the company.

The tech is an issue - their scripted email cannot be formatted (plain text only) and you need to use their webmail system, which is limited. You are overwhelmed with emails and webinars that are not filtered out or pertinent when starting up. Basically, the onboarding team is great, the onboarding support behind the scenes not so great. The newer modules and search engines do not have all the features of the basic ones - yes, they look pretty, but you can't search for St Lucia as a port on a cruise on the pretty search engine.

Leads are generally stale - most or 3-5 days old by the time they are offered to us. Either they have too many leads, or not enough IAs - either way the tech engaged means we do not get leads for a long time.

While probably the same at other agencies, at a 30% commission split on a 16% cruise lead means your net commission is 4.8%. Get in, get the high end specialties because you losing money on most of the leads (probable the same at other host agencies too).

If you complain, you are asked to leave. If you have issues that are not resoled, you are asked to leave. The management can be very defensive - open arms to get you to sign up, but don't make waves once onboard.

This is just my opinion, but I wish there was better IA mentoring and coaching from others, and a repository of the most successful best practices from other agencies to review.

I didn't know what I didn't know before I joined up, gotten a lot more knowledge now. Unsure if leaving the grass is any greener elsewhere, so will see what develops.

Another two years and our independent agency continues to benefit greatly from its relationship with Avoya. Foremost in our success story is the partnership for shared success; this is where Avoya truly excels. And thanks to our new consortia Travel Leaders Network and major investment by our co-presidents Avoya is powering forward.

Review of Laura Burk and the Early Success Team (Melissa, Ed, Mandy) at Avoya Travel. This is an email I sent the team. If anyone is considering Avoya and are concerned if there is enough training for a new agency owner / travel advisor, I can assure you there is. There is so much available it is overwhelming, but the Early Success Team is AWESOME and helps you every step of the way.

Laura,
Seriously, you and your team may get tired over answering the same questions over and over again, especially when the information is available to... r e a d! Each of these sessions that you create and present moves us one step closer to the "light bulb" flipping on and feeling empowered to "do this" and knowing we can find what we need. I couldn't imagine doing this without the steps laid out by Avoya. I certainly don't feel as lost and overwhelmed as I did in the beginning of this journey to change my entire life and start a business in my 50's! That is because of all of education, support, and constant attentiveness from our host agency. When I start to think, I don't need another webinar about a specific subject, that's when I learn the most or things start coming together so I am grateful!

-Dawn

I have worked with Avoya for a year now and the quality of the leads are remarkable. They are very good at generating clients for my agency. I never thought I would ever sell 2 million again in my lifetime. After 2008 I thought well it's over for me! With Avoya I know that I will continue to get leads and the support I need for another great year!

I celebrate 14 years with Avoya Travel this month. I have been in the cruise industry for 40+ years, as District Sales Manager for Ocean Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, then opening my first cruise specialty agency in 1988. I never thought I would join a host agency, as I was doing very well independently. Yet, when the economy crashed in 2008, I felt it was time to consider. Knowing Steve Hirshan throughout my career, and seeing he was with Avoya Travel, I knew that was the place for me! I have never looked back. I came with a fair degree of personal clients, and was able to fill in the gaps with Avoya's amazing Live Lead program. The quality of leads, tremendous support, and unrivaled promotions are just a few of the many reasons I would highly recommend Avoya Travel to anyone desiring to be successful in the travel industry. Since I joined Avoya, I have exceeded $1 million in sales, consistently, every year, and exceeded $2 million in 2022. It's the best business decision I've ever made.

When I was in the researching phase of whether I would start a travel agency or not, I came across Avoya Network. I'm so glad that I chose them! From training and patience with becoming a new agent, to mentorship to help me grow as an agent, the staff of Avoya Travel have been absolutely amazing. On top of that, there is a whole network of travel agents that, yes, have a friendly competition and want to beat each other, but really want to see each other succeed and grown. I highly recommend Avoya.