Onvigo says it’s a host agency with a “twist.” The brainchild of Chippy Jegathesan, CEO of Canadian consolidator Voyzant, the enterprise recently launched with a “no fees, no (social) barriers” model designed to “empower individuals from all backgrounds to thrive in the travel industry.” The agency also aims to equally appeal to existing independent agents, those who may have been “away” for a while during the pandemic, and especially individuals looking to join the industry.
Travel Industry Today posed some questions to Jegathesan, along with company executives Shean Carmichael, director of operations, and Angela Bokma, director of marketing. Here’s what they had to say (responses are lightly edited):
Q: WHAT IS ONVIGO ALL ABOUT?
(We are) strategically positioned to capitalize on the burgeoning growth and demand within the home-based travel sector. Our unique approach is tailored to cater to the surge of new-to-industry individuals expressing interest in becoming travel agents. We see this as an opportunity to empower aspiring travel advisors by providing them with the support, training, and cutting-edge technology necessary to thrive in this dynamic industry. Member advisors are backed by the technology and content connected with Voyzant, providing integrated access to fulfill travel sales requests.
WHY LAUNCH NOW?
Voyzant founded Onvigo to bolster the travel industry post-pandemic. Skilled travel talent was forced to leave the industry with many moving to other less volatile sectors. Bringing people from all walks of life, with an interest in the travel industry while providing training and mentorship for them to succeed. Whether new to the industry or seasoned professionals, advisors can benefit from a membership with ONVIGO.
YOU’VE SAID DIVERSITY IS A CORE ETHOS
ONVIGO is designed to support individual travel agents (ITAs) in a more personalized way. We also attract people from all walks of life – Canada is a very diverse nation with many cultures represented. The aim is to provide a comprehensive and empowering environment for travel advisors to thrive. Through our interactions and market research, we have noted that some individuals, especially those new to the industry, face barriers and challenges in finding a supportive and inclusive community that values diversity. Onvigo was conceived with the intention of addressing this gap by providing an environment where travel professionals from all backgrounds feel welcome, supported, and empowered.
HOW DOES THE MODEL WORK?
ONVIGO’s low barrier and no fees approach is unique in the marketplace. A revenue sharing model is employed with all ITA’s hosted with us. This model allows us to continue to offer professional development courses and a remarkable support team. For Onvigo, the ITA’s success is our success – agents come first and their opinions matter. They help shape the future trajectory of the agency to ensure we are providing them with the tools they need to thrive. Onvigo’s business model means we have skin in the game. If we don’t provide our members with the right support, the right partners, the right professional development, they won’t sell travel and then Onvigo doesn’t either.
WHAT SERVICES DOES THE AGENCY OFFER?
At Onvigo, we understand the challenges faced by travel consultants, from managing invoices to chasing commissions. Onvigo aims to alleviate these burdens by providing the support service to advisors, allowing them to concentrate on what they do best – creating unforgettable travel experiences for their clients. ITAs are not accountants, so why expect them to be. Removing administrative tasks like generating invoices from their list of things to complete in a day keeps them excited and focused on the true passion of an advisor-selling travel.
WHAT ABOUT COMMISSIONS?
70/30 commission split on all sales. And with Onvigo, we free up the time spent on administrative tasks like Invoicing or chasing commissions – meaning more time to grow the business and sell more travel.
LET’S TALK TECH
We are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to technology. ONVIGO provides travel advisors with access to cutting-edge tools and automation solutions, empowering them to streamline their operations, enhance customer experiences, and maximize their business potential:
• ITAs are provided a robust CRM for client profiles, building their trips and quotes along with a client pipeline to track where in the sales process they are.
• A dedicated booking portal with exclusive consolidator rates in Canada, access to an easy-to-use support ticket system that seamlessly connects them to the support team for answers to all travel related questions.
• On top of that, to help promote their travel business, each ITA is provided a personalized consumer-facing website that is full of robust content and the latest offers with a simple-straight-to-social platform share feature.
• For ongoing professional development, each ITA is assigned a virtual seat in the Learning Management System where they can explore exceptional learning content to assist them in growing as a professional.
• Onvigo Central is a “one-stop-shop” for all online supplier portals and platforms as well as a simple button click to launch access to important resources that support travel information, especially direct connection to all of the travel press publications.
• Lastly, one of the best technology integrations is ONVIGO’s social-style engagement platforms like the “Onvigo Suppliers” page. A Facebook-style feed that showcases supplier specials, learning opportunities, FAM trips, events, and so much more. And an “All Company” page that keeps ITAs up to date on what’s new and what’s developing within the Onvigo ecosphere.
WHAT ABOUT THE ONVIGO TEAM?
The dedicated support staff at Onvigo bring years of travel expertise to support the needs of member advisors. The team will continue to grow to ensure our support levels and training programs meet the needs of all members.
WHAT ARE ONVIGO’S AFFILATIONS?
Onvigo’s membership with the Travel Leaders Network connects us with the buying power of a travel industry leader. With TLN’s reach, we can offer our members great commission opportunities that we would not be able to achieve as a new host agency without any historical sales data. Our partnership with TLN affords the ITAs with more than 120 supplier partners covering luxury, cruise, tour, adventure, air, car, and rail.
Additionally, Onvigo members have access to the world-class training and specialist modules offered by the consortia. Onvigo members benefit even more because they have the most comprehensive list of partners in the travel agency sector with exclusive rates and amenities they can pass on to their clients.
Voyzant is also a member of ACTA.
PREFERRED SUPPLIERS?
ONVIGO is a host agency where advisors can sell the world without a “preferred” supplier list. There are still perks that come from using Voyzant to book airfare, such as best available rates and the monitoring of schedule changes; however, advisors can choose to book air with any supplier. We support ITAs with developing relationships with the key suppliers that support their business. We work with all of the top suppliers in Canada and the boutique ones too. Limiting an ITA to a list of suppliers to incentivize them to only sell those products isn’t putting the ITA first. Our professional development webinars connect supplier partners to our ITAs to ensure they learn about the travel styles, products, and destinations they want. This is another example of one of our core values: ‘Agents First.’
DOES ONVIGO ONLY OPERATE IN CANADA?
ONVIGO’s focus is on the Canadian market for the foreseeable future.
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED TO JOIN?
The requirements for successful participation are computer literacy, access to a computer, and the willingness to commit to the learning path. Onvigo’s free two-week training program is geared towards new-to-the-industry participants, focusing on introducing the travel industry, understanding the tools available to them as advisors, how to access support/resources and study time for taking the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) examination.
Alternatively, our Experienced Agent Journey is asynchronous learning that an experienced travel consultant can complete in about 40 hours. The courses and modules are designed to show an experienced travel professional how to use Onvigo’s leading edge technology and systems to sell to their book of business.
WHAT ABOUT RETAINING STATUS?
Currently there are no thresholds for advisors to maintain a membership with ONVIGO, however there are milestone expectations based on their area of travel expertise. As the business grows this standard will evolve. We really want ITAs to have the best chance at starting their Independent business and provide the support they need to propel their business forward.
HOW MANY AGENTS HAVE SIGNED ON SO FAR?
Onvigo has successfully graduated over 100 advisors from the program. 95% of these participants are brand new to the industry. All Canadian agents, with the majority residing in Ontario, the host agency will be expanding across the country in the coming year.
So many of the new to industry people who have reached out to Onvigo are the “go-to” person in their family or friend group to support travel inspiration. We want to empower those individuals who have always wanted the chance to get into the travel industry, without having the expense associated with starting up. While most host agencies have start-up fees, putting the ITA in a position of having to sell to recoup their investment before it’s money in their pocket, Onvigo aims to put the ITA first.
ARE THERE PLANS FOR CONFERENCES, AGM, FAMS, TOP SELLER EVENTS, ETC.?
What would a host agency be without all those wonderful things? Onvigo is currently in talks with a supplier partner to host our first FAM. But right now, the dates and destination haven’t been confirmed. So, shhhhhh, it’s a secret – even our ITAs don’t know about it yet.
For more information: Onvigo.com