At Avoya Travel’s 2022 Conference, which took place virtually from October 18 – 21, the travel agency network unveiled plans to integrate air bookings into its platform, making it “a future powerhouse in the complete vacation package segment of leisure travel,” according to a press announcement.
Historically, according to the release, Avoya wrestled with finding the most efficient and lucrative way for its network to sell airfare within its platform. With new independent agencies joining Avoya, as well as the travel industry, and the available air GDS technology being antiquated, Avoya focused its efforts on the cruise, hotel and tour portion of leisure vacations. With the announcement of “Project Eagle,” Avoya’s long-term goal is for its book of business to be representative of the product mix that makes up the leisure travel industry as a whole, with airfare being a vital component to nearly all vacation types.
More details regarding “Project Eagle,” including the initiative’s official name, will be announced at the in-person portion of the Avoya Conference in November (to take place on Celebrity Beyond). The reveal included a brief demonstration of a prototype of the new booking engine interface in addition to the news that Avoya will also launch a dedicated air desk in tandem with the booking platform. Both the booking engine and access to the air desk will be integrated into Avoya’s patented SaaS technology, Agent Power, allowing agencies to provide full-service vacation planning services all from within the same software ecosystem. The beta version of the new platform is planned for initial launch in Q4 of 2022.
“’Project Eagle’ is set to revolutionize the Avoya platform by making us a true one-stop-shop for the entire vacation planning and booking experience, and Step One toward the creation of Avoya's own custom product offering,” said Steve Hirshan, SVP of Sales at Avoya Travel. “With immense new commission opportunities for the independent agencies in the Avoya Network, access to unpublished fares for travelers, and a reduced cancelation rate for our leisure vacation suppliers, this bold new initiative will go a long way toward our goal to be the number one vacation platform.”
To learn more visit: www.avoyanetwork.com.
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