Three months on from the merger between Apple Leisure Group and The Mark Travel Corporation, the newly combined company has issued a number of updates on the status of the changes taking place at the organization, according to a letter from EVP Trade Sales & Engagement, Vacations Jacqueline Marks obtained by Travel Agent.
The company is continuing to operate all of its tour brands, including Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, Funjet Vacations, Southwest Vacations, United Vacations and Blue Sky Tours. Marks said that the sunsetting of the Mark Travel name at the end of this year would not affect the company’s tour brands, saying, “I assure you that all of our brands will be an integral part of the company.”
Here are some other highlights from the report:
Booking Engine
Last week Travel Impressions announced a plan to move to the VAX VacationAccess booking platform, which is part of the newly combined company’s Trisept Solutions subsidiary. According to the latest report, plans call for that transition to be fully complete at the end of September. Additionally, Apple Vacations is targeted to launch at the end of November on the VAX platform for travel beginning May 1, 2019.
Loyalty Programs
ALG is working toward a common loyalty program across all of its brands, although each brand’s agent loyalty program is set to remain in place through summer 2019, with enhancements to be announced “soon.” The Funjet Vacations’, Southwest Vacations’, United Vacations’ and Blue Sky Tours’ 500 Club, Travel Impressions’ Best of the Best and Apple Vacations’ Golden Apple programs are slated to remain as is.
Hotel, DMC, Charter Updates
In terms of product updates, AMResorts and Amstar DMC are now available to Funjet Vacations, Southwest Vacations, United Vacations and Blue Sky Tours. Additionally, Apple Vacations and Travel Impressions are adding Fiesta Americana Hotels & Resorts, while Apple Vacations is now offering all Karisma Resorts properties. All ALG brands are now offering charter options.
New “One ALG” Sale
Next week, the company is set to launch its first “One ALG” sale across the Apple Vacations, Funjet Vacations and Travel Impressions brands, with further details to come.
Executive Updates
The letter also included a number of executive updates. As EVP Trade Sales & Engagement, Vacations, Mark is responsible for the Apple Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, Funjet Vacations and Travel Impressions brands, as well as the travel agency business for United Vacations and Southwest Vacations. Tim Mullen is serving as president of Apple Vacations, Scott Wiseman as president of Travel Impressions and Ron Jacobs as president of Funjet Vacations.
The company has also made a number of changes to its sales teams. John Tarkowski is now the senior vice president of sales, responsible for building a team of business development managers. Barbie Groves, Sam Combs, Barb Windish and James Kareka round out the sales leadership team.
Other notable executive roles highlighted in the letter are:
- Lynn Torrent, executive vice president, ALG and president, vacations
- Jeff Mullen, COO for ALG Vacations
- Mike Ehlers, senior director of groups
- Ray Snisky, chief commercial officer, ALG Vacations
The company will continue to post updates on the integration at tmtc.com/joiningforces
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