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Taking part in last night’s webinar were VP Penny Martin; VP Talent Development Rhonda Stanley; Director, Marketing & Communications, Shean Carmichael; and TTAND founder Flemming Friisdahl

Toasting TTAND’s successes – virtually – with a webinar 

TORONTO — If member agents and suppliers couldn’t come to The Travel Agent Next Door, then The Travel Agent Next Door would come to them. The host agency toasted its partners and agents last night with a special webinar presentation that looked back at 2019’s successes and ahead to 2020, with all of its challenges and opportunities.

TTAND’s top performers were also celebrated last night.

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The Travel Agent Next Door VP, Penny Martin

Flemming Friisdahl, founder, The Travel Agent Next Door said that in 2019 TTAND had 388 Primary Agents and 322 Associate Agents, for a total of 710. In 2020 those numbers are up, to 465 Primary Agents and 389 Associate Agents, for a total of 854. “And we’re adding seven to 10 new members per month,” he added.

The growth of the home-based sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic is covered in this week’s May 14 issue of Travelweek.

In 2019 TTAND was also the number one agency for Ensemble Travel Group, “and it only took you two years,” Friisdahl said as he congratulated TTAND agents during last night’s webinar. TTAND is also #1 for Ensemble for 2020, he added.

The year ahead won’t be without its challenges, as the industry waits for the warning against non-essential travel to be lifted. Even then, travellers may be dealing with financial concerns in the wake of COVID-19. TTAND’s Zero Interest Program (ZIP), introduced last year, will be a key selling tool when travel reopens, says Friisdahl.

Coming this year, TTAND will have a new Itinerary Program available to its member agents. “Using Umapped or Travefy is costly and time-consuming,” says Friisdahl, adding that TTAND is developing its own itinerary program where agents can generate itineraries to send to clients in PDF and other formats. The program should be ready by the end of 2020, and available at no cost to Primary Agents (and at a small cost to Associate Agents).

In these difficult times TTAND is also focused on giving back. Friisdahl says the host agency will be giving away two trips to people – the first, a first responder, and the second, a front-line worker. All TTAND agents will have entry forms for the giveaway available on their websites.

Also taking part in last night’s webinar were VP Penny Martin, VP Talent Development Rhonda Stanley and Director, Marketing & Communications, Shean Carmichael.

Key initiatives from 2019 for TTAND include The HUB agent centre, new functionality for ClientLINQ including drag and drop invoices, reminder pop-ups and alerts for future travel vouchers and more. There are also new developments for agency sites, allowing for more customization, says Carmichael, with new image options and more. “We want to give you more customization, more control, more personalization so you can get your website looking the way you want it to look,” he said.

TTAND also offers The Agency Solution for agency owners with storefronts, and a new agent program that Stanley says welcomed some 50 new-to-industry agents in 2019.

Here’s the list of TTAND’s top performers…

Kyla Coe – Highest Insurance Close Ratio for Primary Agent, Highest Insurance Sales, Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Susan Tuckey – Highest Insurance Close Ratio for Gold/Silver Agent & Highest Insurance Sales

Karen Gill – Highest Insurance Close Ratio for Agency, Highest Insurance Sales & Ambassador Star Award

Jessica Chaisson – Highest Insurance Close Ratio for Associate Agent

Frances Gertsch – Highest Insurance Sales for Associate Agent.

Lee Ann Jensen – Highest Average Rate of Commission for a Primary Agent & Top Performer

Wayne Ashby – Highest Average Rate of Commission for a Gold/Silver agent

Shalene Dudley – Highest Average Rate of Commission for an Agency & Millionaires Award

Alex Racey – Highest Average Rate of Commission for an Associate Agent

Sharlene Philipchuk – Highest Earned Commission for a Primary Agent, Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Terri Suomi – Highest Earned Commission for a Gold/Silver agent

Travis Stewart – Highest Earned Commission for an Agency & Top Performer

Anna Abbandonato – Highest Earned Commission for an Associate Agent

Daphne Hart – Highest Percentage of Preferred/Approved Suppliers for an Experienced Agent

Sherri Nichols – Highest Percentage of Preferred/Approved Suppliers for a Silver/Gold Agent

Sandra Swash – Highest Percentage of Preferred/Approved Suppliers for an Agency

Arlene Gibbons – Peer to Peer Star Award

Judi Oracheski – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Donnalea Madeley – Millionaires Award

Scott Waldron – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Silvia Fuchs – Millionaires Award

Christine Elliott – Millionaires Award

Amanda Rauh – Millionaires Award

Suzanne Morgan – Millionaires Award

Margarita Montaner – Millionaires Award

Vivica Watson – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Cathy Carter – Millionaires Award

Cathy Wiechnik – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Sandra McLeod – Millionaires Award

Wilma Suurnakki – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Lori Oshanney – Millionaires Award

Tammy Jacobs – Millionaires Award

Renee Gancasz – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Coreen Doucett – Millionaires Award

Jennifer Perry – Millionaires Award & Top Performer

Carol Baldwin – Top Performer

Cindy Almond – Top Performer

Coralie Belman – Top Performer

Cory Tuckey – Top Performer

Cynthia Davidson – Top Performer

Elizabeth Rodgers – Top Performer

Julia Lutchman – Top Performer

Kiki Lin – Top Performer

Kim Friesen – Top Performer

Leanne Unger – Top Performer

Liana Rowan – Top Performer

Mike Gilmore – Top Performer

Ruth Guiry – Top Performer

Sharna Crouch – Top Performer

Shelley Cota – Top Performer

Stacey Knight – Top Performer

Steph Switzer – Top Performer

Sylvette Deveau – Top Performer

Tannis Dyrland – Top Performer

Valerie Paton – Top Performer

Wendi Gladstone – Top Performer

Wendy Harrison – Top Performer

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