The Travel Agent Next Door has come up with an innovative program known as ‘The Supplier Rep Next Door’, where hosted agents and agencies will be better supported by their local supplier reps.

Traditionally, host agencies were treated as one agency which meant that they only were assigned one Business Development Manager (BDM) or sales representative. The agents of that host agency could be spread out across Canada and many would never see their local rep.

“Our agents were losing out on local support and recognition,” said Flemming Friisdahl, Founder, The Travel Agent Next Door. “By creating regions, we ensure that our agents are seen by their local reps and their performance is tracked and recognized.”

There are many benefits to this new approach. From now on, The Travel Agent Next Door agents will be invited to events like ship inspections and other regional events by suppliers.

The Travel Agent Next Door has restructured into 4 different regions so that local supplier reps and BDMs can readily see who is producing and they can support these agents accordingly.

Now The Travel Agent Next Door agents and hosted agencies receive direct support from regional reps and BDMs that includes training, resolution, marketing and consumer evenings support.

It also means that The Travel Agent Next Door agents and agencies will receive recognition for their sales production and have the ability to grow their business by working directly with their local supplier rep or BDM.

The regional approach also helps suppliers. Tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies, tourist boards, etc. will now have insight into where to focus their efforts via their local reps and BDMs to assist in growing their business on a national scale.

This allows suppliers to bring support down to the grassroots level and give recognition where it is due.

The Travel Agent Next Door is believed to be the first Canadian host agency to restructure in this way.