The heads of every Apple Leisure Group brand as well as the executive overseeing all the brands on the trade side met with travel advisors and the media at an event in New York to review the year since ALG merged with Mark Travel.There were tough questions for the leaders as well as plaudits as Jacqueline Marks, executive vice president, trade sales & engagement, looked back on the past year as one where she admitted “we made mistakes,” but that many of the issues had been resolved.Many questions revolved around the transition of all the brands to the Vax VacationAccess platform.MORE Travel Agent Marks said ALG had to decide whether to move slowly or fast in integrating the companies and decided to move fast “so everybody would be clear on where we were going.”She said there was no option except to merge at a time of significant threats from OTA’s and companies like Airbnb. What keeps her up at night, she said, was thinking about what Amazon and Google might do in travel. She said that the last year has seen the establishment of a foundation that will be able to deal with challenges in the future.An ALG Appreciation Celebration campaign continues with multiple incentives and promotions for agents including commission bonuses and incentives, bonus cash, free flights for personal use, complete trips, fams and lunches for an entire agency staff with a brand leader.“We’re grateful you stuck with us this past year,” said Marks. She said change is not easy but that she can look forward to the future “with confidence and gratitude.”Answering AgentsAmong the answers given to agent and media questions were:– The two companies realized early on that they shared many core values though they may use different words in expressing them. Marks said Sean McDevitt was named new chief human resources officer in January to help complete the culture integration work, develop a common benefit platform and continue to unite all of the brands under the OneALG mantra in working together. He had been with PepsiCo for many years.– While there are still brand-specific salespeople, there has also been a cultural shift so that they work together across brands. As an example, Marks said that salespeople experienced with VAX volunteered to help those who were not during the transition to the new system.– Scott Wiseman, president of Travel Impressions, recognized the difficulties in long telephone hold times in the past year but said it is much improved. Marks said a third party has been hired to provide extra telephone support in cases of crises like hurricanes.– Some of the functions of previous booking platforms will be incorporated into the VAX system. Some functions are not being introduced because they may interrupt direct connections with hotels, delaying communication.– Service standards will be consistent across all brands. While some brands have more luxury products, like Travel Impressions’ villas, all should maintain superior customer service.– In answer to an agent who said one-third of her business was with resorts no longer available through ALG because of its ownership of AMResorts, Marks said that would not be changing in the foreseeable future as AMResorts continues to expand and will have with 100 properties in the near future.– John Tarkowski, president of Apple Vacations, said Mexico numbers were down 3-4 percent and average daily rate down 15 percent because of negative news and the ending of tourism promotion by the Mexican government. However, he said, there are signs of an uptick because of lower prices. He said the hope was that the government would have a change of heart about funding.At the end of the event, Susan Mirabito, executive vice president of operations for Travel Network, said she was disappointed when she first heard about the merger but gave a shout out to the sales team and director who she said had done an amazing job of providing ”kindness and generosity” during the transition.“We know you’re listening,” she concluded.Brand Leaders SpeakEach brand leader spoke. Among the highlights:– Eric Schueller, managing director for Southwest Vacations, said the operator was excited about the carrier commencing flights to Hawaii which provided extensive opportunities for programs. He said there was also more opportunity to leverage Southwest’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program.– Jay Seltz, managing director, United Vacations, said that despite the challenges, both agency volume and the number of agencies in the company’s network was growing.– Ron Jacobs, president of Funjet Vacations and Blue Sky Tours, said the company is looking at new origins and destinations. Let's block ads! (Why?)