Representatives for Israel, Morocco and Hawaii Address GTC Travel Advisors at Elevate Conference

The Global Travel Collection “Elevate” conference opened at Virgin Hotels New York City with emotional appeals from representatives from three destinations that have seen crises in the past few months—Hawaii, Morocco and Israel.

GTC is the luxury travel advisor division of Internova, the mega-network of advisors.

Amal Moukhlisse, CEO of Morocco Private Travel, said the destination is safe and that the damage from an earthquake had mostly affected the mountain region while cities like Marrakesh were open and welcoming visitors.

Vanesa Johnson, director, travel industry partnerships, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, said that recovery efforts were continuing but that Maui was losing millions of dollars a day. She said that the islands need “responsible, respectful, compassionate travel” more than ever. A campaign is underway to encourage travel.

Meanwhile, she said advisors should register on the agent site, stay in touch with suppliers and share the islands’ messages with clients.

Eyal Carlin, tourism commissioner to the North America Israel Ministry of Tourism, said that J.D. O’Hara, CEO of Internova, was the first travel industry leader to express support for Israel. He said it is support like that that will bring tourism back once the fighting is over.

And Chad Martin, director of northeast tourism region for the ministry, said that Israel was having its best year ever before the attack of October 7. He said that if travelers have plans, they should keep them. If the departure dates are too soon, they should postpone them—“but don’t cancel them.”

Angie Licea, president of GTC, kicked off the event by introducing a video from Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Hotels, whose company operates the meeting hotel. He said that the future of travel holds great possibilities and that “advisors are doing their part to shape the future of the industry.”

In her talk, Licea said that leadership is working to build a new culture at GTC although she said that many members missed the cultures they had under previous brands like Protravel and Tzell.

However, she said that while the organizations present outwardly as GTC, advisors can brand themselves as they please—as their individual agencies or under a previously existing name like Tzell. She said there are no plans to make GTC a consumer-facing name, but it will be used to drive business to advisors.

Angie Licea, president, Global Travel Collection. (Photo Credit: Global Travel Collection)

A common thread for all members, said Licea, is that “our advisors are second to none and people will believe it if we all say it.” She said the organization has become more proactive by building account management teams that work in small groups to help advisors with whatever they need—whether it’s to devise a business plan, to sunset an agency, etc.

Licea described organizational accomplishments like professional development days, a partnership solutions team, a support desk infrastructure, an advisor coverage desk that helps when an advisor is out of the office, a learning library and more.

A new GTC website was launched six months ago, said Licea, and has already booked $3 million in closed sales without advertising. In addition, a new GTC corporate site has been launched and the goal is to drive as many leads to it as is the case with leisure. GTC also launched its Oltre luxury magazine, which has already distributed 300,000 issues to clients.

Looking ahead, Licea said that advisors have to consider that there might come a day when there are no commissions. She recalled that early on, Disney did not charge for parking at its theme parks and, when it started charging $1, some were apprehensive. Now Disney makes billions for parking “so it’s a matter of changing the mindset.”

GTC, said Licea, “wants to stand in a class of its own” without any other organization in its competitive set. It has several ways of doing that, including partnership with a company called TEN that provides concierge services; a paid services desk where advisors can outsource more routine tasks and a revamped air desk. The organization will also be expanding its recognition program and legal support.

In a "fireside chat," O’Hara recalled how after dozens of acquisitions in recent years, the company needed to reorganize and consolidate divisions into a more rational structure. He said that the big picture is that Internova’s size with over $20 billion in annual sales is a powerful asset for advisors. He said he personally got on the phone with a hotel general manger recently about a double booking and asked him what was more important, one night’s booking or Internova’s partnership?

O’Hara said the vision for the future was first and foremost an unwavering commitment to advisors with continuing investments in them, Second is a doubling down on luxury products like Oltre. And third is sustainability, reiterating that Internova as a corporate entity will be carbon neutral by year end and that the Internova Green Circle initiative comes into play anytime advisors sell products.

J.D. O’Hara, CEO, Internova. (Photo Credit: Internova)

Albert Herrera, executive vice president, partner relations, officially announced the launch of Curated Hotels & Resorts at the conference. The new entity will be Internova’s third preferred hotel group and will be comprised of lifestyle preparties that might be “eccentric” or “naughty,” according to a video.

He said the network realized it was clearly missing a segment that was different from a Ritz in Paris or an Aman in New York but offered amenities as well as access and special rates. “This will be something else up your sleeve,” he told advisors.

In an interview with TravelPulse, Herrera said the creation of Curated was an outgrowth of changing demographics and changing mindset among clients. These are travelers who might stay in the Ritz in Paris on one trip but then would be seeking more of a lifestyle property on another trip. He said Curated would have a lower price point than the Select program, which offers 4/12 and five-star hotels. The Select program currently has 1,600 hotels.

There are other differences with the Select program, said Herrera. One is that with Select, clients get a $100 credit toward spending in the hotel with no minimum stay, including food and beverage or a spa treatment while for Curated, there is a two-night minimum to receive the $100 credit because of the difference in price points.

Both Select and Curated offer additional benefits that include a discounted rate, amenities, upgrade when possible and more. Curated started with 350 hotels with a goal of 400 by the end of the year, including locations for major chains and independent properties.

Internova, said Herrera, also has the Worldwide Hotels Program that is geared to corporate travelers and includes 45,000 hotels globally. They are three-star or better, airport hotels and properties in tertiary markets. The program features commissionable discounted rates and a variety of amenities.

Curated “is not between” the Worldwide and Select programs but is complementary to and enhances them.

Albert Herrera, executive vice president, partner relations, Internova. (Photo Credit: Internova)

Looking ahead, Herrera said nobody knows what the hotel market will be like in 2024 but “rates are not going down.” He said that New York in particular, with the closing of a number of hotels and new laws that restrict short-term rentals would see compression and significantly higher rates. He said overall “a plateauing of hotel rates in 2024 would be a win.”

GTC, said Herrera, is also seeking to maximize its existing cruise programs so that advisors can take more advantage of them. He said it just so happens that the brands that came to form GTC—including Pretravel and Tzell—were not cruise-centric but there are a number of high cruise sellers in the network.

Internova will use the strength and depth of Travel Leaders, Internova’s consortium, to tap into cruise deals. That includes more training tools and “just giving it skin.” He said the percentage of the Internova cruise business is growing because the industry is growing so quickly.

The bottom line for all of GTC’s programs, said Herrera, is: “We want to make sure that whatever we do is partner-friendly and offers value to advisors.” 

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