Agents are integral to Goway's success
Renee Stanton-Defaria, General Manager Sales at Goway Travel, shares details about Goway’s new agent loyalty program, which destinations are hot contenders for post pandemic travel and how the tour operator’s FIT business is taking off.
By: Ann Ruppenstein
Tell us a little about GowayPro and why you came up with a means for agents to receive extra cash on every booking?
As we all know, this past year has been exceedingly difficult, especially for people working in the travel industry. Our agent partners have been a core pillar of Goway’s success over the past 50+ years, so we wanted to do something to help them during this trying time.
With a lot of loyalty programs out there, members can cash in points for fridges, televisions, or future travel, but the reality is that our partners can use our help right now and in this economic downturn, cash is king.
Therefore, we made the decision to make this rewards program based on cash rewards. This way, agents can treat themselves to a weekend getaway or a day at the spa, but they can also use this towards necessities like groceries, rent, and gas, if they need to. We wanted to be as flexible and helpful as possible by putting extra money in their pockets.
Renee Stanton-Defaria
Simply put, agents are the reason we’ve been in business for 50+ years. Our partnership with agents is integral to the success of Goway, which is why we want to reward them with this new and improved loyalty program, GowayPro. It’s our way of thanking our agents and giving them more money than other loyalty programs offer. It reinforces our core commitment to make their lives easier, not only with exceptional customer service, but also by simply giving them more money when it’s needed.
Can you explain how this is different from what was offered before?
It’s true that the previous loyalty program offered cash rewards, but it was a set amount based on passenger count that had nothing to do with gross volume of sales. If an agent had a $7,000 booking or a $100,000 booking, and there were the same number of passengers for both bookings, the rewards would’ve been the same regardless of the price. There was also no way to upgrade your membership status to receive extra rewards. With GowayPro, the membership levels are tiered, so the more an agent sells, the more they can earn. The tiers range from 0.25% for Bronze members up to 1% of the total booking value for Platinum members. So if an agent has a $100,000 booking through Goway, they could see up to $1,000 in cash rewards if they’re a Platinum member. Considering that we have agents that sell up to $1 million a year with Goway, they will make a nice amount of extra cash with GowayPro. The other main difference is that GowayPro is comprehensive, meaning that Groups and FIT business is included in the tiered rewards, and air-only bookings also receive a $5 flat fee per passenger.
How are bookings going right now? How far out are people booking?
In March, we saw our sales double from the previous month in our FIT business. From a Groups perspective, we have booked more this year than what we did in the first quarter of 2019. While we are still collectively a ways off our 2019 levels, we’re optimistic that sales are trending upwards and traveller confidence is increasing. We are also noticing an increase in the average booking value of each trip and a shorter booking window. The majority of our travellers are booking vacations for the fall of 2021 and beyond.
Which destinations or types of trips are doing well?
Egypt, the Maldives, Australia, Italy, Greece, Japan and South Africa are currently at the front of the pack for sales. Travellers are opting for private guided experiences and high-end properties. Luxury travel is increasingly popular, as is “bubble travel” for groups. People saved money by not travelling last year and so they have money to spend and want to do as much as they can on their first post-pandemic vacation. They’re itching to check things off the bucket list.
What kind of impact do agents have on Goway’s business?
Simply put, agents are the reason we’ve been in business for 50+ years. Our partnership with agents is integral to the success of Goway, which is why we want to reward them with this new and improved loyalty program, GowayPro. It’s our way of thanking our agents and giving them more money than other loyalty programs offer. It reinforces our core commitment to make their lives easier, not only with exceptional customer service, but also by simply giving them more money when it’s needed.
Is there anything else you want to share with Canadian agents?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support of Goway, especially over the last year. Things have been tough, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we look forward to continuing to work with you to curate the perfect vacation for your clients.
What’s Goway’s outlook on recovery? When do you foresee tours underway?
We are already seeing some travellers head to destinations that are currently open. However, we anticipate that travel will pick up significantly this fall and build into a very strong 2022 for the industry.
