Ensemble jams with Jamaica, TDC is cruising to success with Celebrity, and Amex GBT is fighting fraud with Expedia in our weekly round-up of travel agency news.
Ensemble
As a follow up to its new strategic partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board, Ensemble has launched a specialist certification program for its advisors. Aimed at promoting luxury tourism in Jamaica, the campaign features the island’s top luxury resorts, high end DMCs (Destination Management Companies) and concierge services for clients looking for bespoke vacations.
In the spotlight are Round Hill, Half Moon, Jamaica Inn, The Tryall Club, and Trident Hotel, along with Visit Jamaica Villages, as well as two leading DMCs, Island Routes and Chukka Adventures. Island Routes has introduced a new Private Collection of exclusive experiences, while Chukka Adventures caters to clients interested in more active pursuits.
A key feature of the program is the VIP treatment provided by Club Mobay staff, who will meet Ensemble clients directly at the aircraft, assist them through the airport, and escort them to a private lounge, ensuring a smooth and comfortable start to their vacation.
The Specialist Certification program offers several benefits to Ensemble advisors:
- Targetting New Luxury Clients: Advisors have the opportunity to cater to a niche market of luxury travelers.
- Exclusive Website Features: Advisors can be featured on the Ensemble-exclusive “Come Back to Luxurious” site.
- Access to Exclusive Offers: Participating hotels and DMCs provide unique offers available only through this program.
- Monthly Cash Rewards: The top-booking advisor receives a cash incentive each month.
- Exclusive Luxury FAM Trips: Invitations to bespoke, luxury familiarization trips are extended to program participants.
“We are excited to take this exclusive partnership to the next level with the launch of the certification program – the first internal destination-specific training we have introduced through our training platform – that will expedite the training of our advisors and lead to increased bookings,” said Jenn Kotacka, Senior Director, Training & Development for Ensemble.
TDC
Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) has been recognized twice by Celebrity Cruises: first as an honorary member of its Top 50 Club, and then as Key Account Celebrity Groups Superstar for 2023.
“Our relationship with our preferred partners is precious, so this recognition from Celebrity Cruises reminds us that our network knows how to stand out and remain one of the leaders in Canada,” said Karine Gagnon, General Manager of TDC.
She added, “TDC travel professionals know the value associated with group cruise bookings. They have demonstrated the highest percentage of growth in group sales in 2023, and I am very proud to recognize them for this achievement.”
Amex GBT
With fraud on the rise and costing the travel industry over US$21 billion dollars annually, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has implemented Expedia Group’s Fraud Prevention as a Service (FPaaS) solution for travel bookings on its Amex GBT Egencia solution. FPaaS blocks fraudulent transactions before they happen, reducing unscrupulous activity and enabling more protection for their clients.
With data models based on billions of data points from over 25 years of travel industry experience, Expedia Group’s Fraud Prevention as a Service solution leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to look at signals and flag suspicious activity when behaviour patterns deviate from the norm, allowing intervention before fraud occurs.
Key features included in FPaaS used by Amex GBT’s Egencia solution are ‘Booking Screening,’ where Expedia Group reviews e-commerce transactions in real time with AI/ML fraud detection models to stop fraudulent transactions at the source, and ‘Account Takeover Protection’ which monitors and reviews customer logins in real time using AI/ML models to secure the safety and integrity of customer accounts when potentially fraudulent activity is detected via suggested remedial actions.