WINNIPEG — Host agency Fareconnect.com, now with 165 agents across Canada, is looking to expand to some 250 agents within the next two years.

The Winnipeg-based company is affiliated with Ensemble, and has been one of Ensemble’s Top 25 agencies for five years running.

Fareconnect “looks for individuals who love travel and enjoy helping others,” says the host agency’s Marketing & Communications Manager, Chanin Nickerson.

She adds that the organization’s business model “is built around the success of our agents, not on fees collected. We also believe that every person’s situation is unique, so we provide the level of support required for their skill set.”

It all comes down to the company’s ‘one team / one family’ approach. “Success is built with the contributions of all our members.”

The host agency says its website, www.Fareconnect.com, has been redesigned to put agents first, making it easy for clients to find agents in their area and to promote agents with unique specialties or language abilities.

Fareconnect.com hosted its 2019 annual conference in Winnipeg recently, with a gala dinner at The Met restaurant.

Agents taking part in the event got a great gift from the host agency: professional headshots taken by the event’s photographer.

Details about the newly revamped website were unveiled to agents and partner suppliers at the annual conference, along with news of a partnership with Uplift, which launched in Canada earlier this year. Uplift offers alternate payment solutions for travel, allowing clients to book now and pay over time.

“I was so excited to hear that this was announced as so often we are told that people want to go on a vacation but just can’t afford the whole trip cost up front,” says Fareconnect.com agent member and retail veteran Jane Ostash. “Now people will be able to go on their Bucket List Trips or be able to grab those Early Booking Bonuses by paying for the holiday in one go! Very exciting!”

Fareconnect.com’s CEO Rick Gaudet says Fareconnect.com is expanding rapidly throughout Canada. Independent Agent numbers have been increasing by 20% year over year, he adds. And he says even though there are plans in the works that will enable full support of this rising and continuous growth, each agent will always be treated as a part of the ‘Fareconnect Family’.

“This is something that is ingrained in our company’s DNA”, says Gaudet. “Everything we do is to better support and provide opportunities for our home-based agents. We understand home-based agents because we were home-based agents.”

He adds: “We are the HOME of Home-Based Travel Agents!”

For Fareconnect.com’s annual conference in 2020, the host agency is partnering with NCL, taking members and preferred suppliers on a cruise from Vancouver to Victoria, San Francisco and L.A. in October 2020 on one of NCL’s newest ships, Norwegian Joy.

“This is really going to be an amazing year for our agents,” says Gaudet. “The ability to learn about the cruising industry while sailing aboard the Norwegian Joy is a great opportunity for agents to expand their business by adding cruising to their growing portfolio.”