Ensemble Travel Group recently hosted a symposium titled "Reimagine the Future," exclusively for travel managers and owners. The event, a two-day panel held on 13-14, was intended to address the ongoing challenges and needs of this group as business begins to restart.
According to the company, speakers and sessions at the event were specifically chosen to address the issues members indicated were priorities, from insurance, to new product updates from Specifically, there were several one-on-one interviews with Ensemble CEO David Harris and executives from partners such as AmaWaterways, Collette, Royal Caribbean, Abercrombie & Kent, Silversea, Princess Cruises, ALG Vacations, Oceania, World Travel Holdings Luxury Villas, and Titanium. There were also presentations from Globus, Cunard, Auto Europe, Holland America, Celebrity, ClubMed, WestJet, Southwest Adventure Tours, Carnival, Ya’lla and Adventure Canada. suppliers.
“Despite this being the most challenging 20 months in our 53-year history, we have not let it deter us from moving forward in areas that are critical to ensuring we are ready for the future,” said Harris in his opening remarks. “This includes fulfilling years of discussion and planning to deliver groundbreaking technology and data driven solutions to support our members’ businesses.”
Ensemble Travel Group also highlighted its OneConnect technology, which launched earlier in 2021. The platform integrates three booking platforms into one, which provides advisors with the ability to access their reservations across all sales channels with one login, as well as access to GDS and supplier reservations. In addition, the launch of Ensemble’s Data Monetization Center uses technology to aggregate real-time insights, and will help the company predict industry trend lines early and ensure that members can take advantage of that information. The goal of the Data Monetization Center is to increase sales and commissions for members and profitability for the entire organization once travel fully restarts.
Introducing the concept of Data Optimization was keynote speaker, Sinan Gurman, Senior Vice President, Data & Analytics at WNS Global Services. Gurman presented two sessions including an introduction to the topic of data optimization, its importance, and how he and WNS have worked with other global organizations across a broad sector of industries to enhance performance and profitability. The second session previewed the launch of Ensemble’s new Data Monetization Center.
Participants attended panels on issues including:
- Consumer trends - Addressing key consumer trends in travel with panelists from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Leading Hotels of the World and Getty Images, this panel discussed trends such as the growing demand for more private accommodations like villas and suites; the growing interest in cruising by GenZ and Millennials; the importance of visual representation in travel marketing such as using images that are authentic and inclusive, as well as video as a means toward improving visual representation.
- Traveling Differently - Reflective of how the pandemic has shifted how people are traveling, this panel focused on how suppliers have adapted and pivoted by adding new services, itineraries, as well as health and safety protocols featuring panelists from Lindblad Expeditions, Alexander+Roberts and Seabourn.
There was also a session on the importance of industry advocacy with Zane Kerby, President and CEO of ASTA, and Wendy Paradis, President of ACTA, as well as a presentation from Trees4Travel on Ensemble’s new partnership with their organization.
The company notes that it will continue to focus on supporting members' business with in-person Executive Connect retreats coming in NOV at Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta for Canadian members, and at NOBU @ Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada for U.S. members.
