At its first post-pandemic in-person conference, Uniglobe in Canada, previously divided into Western (BC to Manitoba) and Eastern regions will again be amalgamated into one.
Open Jaw was on hand as 125 Uniglobe travel agents and agency managers along with 71 suppliers representing 52 companies convened 28-30APR at the Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport.
The big amalgamation announcement sees Dean Dacko assuming the role of Regional President for Uniglobe Travel Canada following the acquisition of the territory rights. “It has been confusing for clients and suppliers, so this will definitely simplify things.”
The organization is expected to make more of synergies between the west, which was previously more corporate-travel focused, with the east and its leaning towards leisure.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Open Jaw, Dacko shared his thoughts on the industry, where we stand post-COVID and how he sees Uniglobe differing from other retailers.
Firstly, it is a truly international organization, he explained to Open Jaw, with offices on six continents (“The Netherlands is a massive operation.”) This gives managers/owners the opportunity to share local knowledge with their counterparts around in the world when planning, for example, group or incentive travel.
Citing the chain’s strength in the small to medium - $3 to $5 million – agency size range, Dacko is pleased that they have added 12 locations since the start of COVID.
He feels the chain’s advantage lies in its combination of entrepreneurship and head office support: agencies “do business as” Uniglobe but are permitted their own branding, such as Sportscorp Travel in Bolton, Ont., which specializes in travel for professional sports teams.
There are currently some 60+ agencies across Canada, and they are definitely on the expansion path. “We welcome both existing agencies and start-ups,” Dacko told me. Of their IC program, he says they are looking to expand it, and their host model, “exponentially”.
He also reports that, like a lot of retailers, they are seeing the leisure market rebound much faster than corporate. However, as corporate travel does come back, the growth of “bleisure” travel – corporate travellers extending business trips with personal vacation time, now considered an important workplace benefit – is a huge opportunity for agencies to make themselves more “sticky”: cementing the relationship between the agency and the client.
“The opportunities are staggering,” according to Dacko. But perhaps even more important: “It’s going to be fun!”
In addition to the big news about the structural change, the Uniglobe conference featured breakout sessions with Sabre, Amadeus, Manulife and presentations on maximizing efficiency and revenue as well as sustainability. In addition, it addressed the issue of service fees. While challenging to explain and justify pre-Covid, advisors at the conference heard that service fees are now the norm.
