TORONTO — Collette sales are soaring – and since 90%+ of Collette’s bookings come from travel advisors, it’s clear that agents deserve a big round of applause for all their hard work.
And that’s exactly what they got at Collette’s Agent Appreciation event in Toronto last night, with cocktails, prizes and heartfelt words of gratitude from the Collette team.
“We wanted to take this on the road to show you literally how grateful we are for you,” Kelsie Marchetti told agents at the Hotel X reception. Marchetti is Collette’s Virtual Training & Events Manager and based at the company’s HQ in Pawtucket, RI.
“You all turn dreams into memories,” she added.
Collette CEO Jaclyn Leibl-Cote was originally scheduled to join Marchetti at the event, but she was under the weather and couldn’t make the trip. “But she wanted to share her appreciation too,” said Marchetti.
Collette BDM Heidi Schnitker was also on hand. She told the crowd she looks forward to working with Collette’s travel advisor partners, and to their continued success.
BOOKINGS UP 28% YEAR OVER YEAR
Bookings are solid for Collette. Ron Lonsdale, Collette’s VP Canada, told Travelweek that bookings are up 28% year over year. “I think a lot of that has to do with our investment in technology, and Collette University, and how we excel at small group travel,” he said.
In September 2024 Collette launched its Encompass campaign, highlighting the tour operator’s self-service and learning tools …
- Travel Advisor Portal: A hub of customizable content, links and tools to help advisors sell, network and serve their clients
- Collette University: A library of quick, self-paced courses designed to help advisors grow their business and serve their clients
- MyCollette: A self-service platform where advisors can view and manage their bookings in one place
- Travel Advisor Resource Guide: A 76-page guide designed exclusively for advisors with resources to educate and foster growth
Travel advisors can create their account and access all the tools in the Travel Advisor Portal by going to gocollette.com/travel-advisors.
“We want to make sure advisors feel supported and we’re doing that with the Travel Advisor Portal,” said Marchetti.
Collette’s Travel Protection Plan is also extraordinarily popular, both with travellers and travel advisors. When booking seats on tour, travellers have the option to add on Collette’s trip insurance, which allows them to receive a full refund if they cancel more than 24 hours ahead of their scheduled departure.
In addition to covering pre-trip cancellation, the Travel Protection Plan also includes …
- Travel delay support (daily stipend)
- Trip interruption (if travellers need to end a trip early)
- Baggage loss or delay
- Missed connections (if travellers purchased air)
- Medical expenses for illness or injury
- Emergency assistance
More details can be found here.
As popular as the Travel Protection Plan is, perhaps even more popular – especially with travel advisors – is Collette’s Advanced Commission Program.
Launched during the pandemic in 2020 and made permanent in 2021, the program allows advisors to receive a portion of their full commission, based on the type of booking.
“We made lasting friendships during the pandemic,” both with consumers, and the retail travel trade, said Lonsdale.
Added Marchetti: “We heard from advisors loud and clear that they wanted us to keep it, so we did.”
Collette’s value proposition also includes 5% commission on air, good commission on extensions and the company’s private sedan service, included on all air-inclusive Collette tours to anywhere in the world.
Earlier this year Collette reported its best year ever in 2024, surpassing 2023. Demand surged for destinations including Africa, Greece and Argentina, with a marked increase in requests for small-group travel.
The small-group Explorations tours are Collette’s most popular travel style, with a maximum group size of 24.
While business is booming, the Collette team didn’t host last night’s event to shine the spotlight on the 107-year old company. The evening was all about travel agents. “The whole focus of this Agent Appreciation event is travel advisors,” said Lonsdale. “Travel advisors are an extension of our family and they play an integral role in Collette’s growth and expansion.”
