Voyzant to acquire corporate agency & stake in loyalty group; ONVIGO grows

Markham, ON-based travel consolidator Voyzant Inc. is in the final stages of acquiring a full-fledged corporate travel agency and will also soon enter into a joint venture with a major loyalty group, PAX has learned.

Speaking to PAX via video conference last Friday (Aug. 30), Chippy Jegathesan, CEO of Voyzant, revealed that his company has acquired “a big corporate agency” that has been in the business for more than 40 years.

The corporate agency, which Jegathesan did not name as the deal is still being finalized, will bring 30 experienced travel professionals to the Voyzant family, which operates enterprises in other niche markets, such Holidays by Voyzant, Hotels by Voyzant, and ONVIGO, a new host agency that launched earlier this year.

“It will be a totally separate division,” Jegathesan told PAX of Voyzant’s new corporate venture, noting that he is currently in the process of hiring some “big veterans in the corporate industry” to help grow the vertical.

READ MORE: Tackling pain points: How ONVIGO plans to shake up Canada’s host agency space

The deal is expected to bring some significant contracts to Voyzant’s portfolio. While Jegathesan remained tight-lipped on details, he said the corporate agency serves both government organizations and national corporations.

The CEO said the deal is expected to close sometime this week, at which point a press release containing further details will be released.

Voyzant Loyalty

In addition, Voyzant will also soon join hands with a “big loyalty group” that has existing relationships with banks, hotels and other corporations, Jegathesan shared.

The soon-to-be-announced joint venture, operating under Voyzant Loyalty, will see Voyzant acquire a 50 per cent stake in a loyalty group, which Jegathesan did not name as the deal is also still being finalized.

“They've been in the loyalty space for a long time,” he said. “It will be a new brand that we will roll out.”

And the expansion plans don’t end there. Jegathesan added that Voyzant’s touring division, Voyzant Holidays, is also in growth mode as it works to build its offering of tailor-made tours, which may include additional pre-packaged vacations and safaris.

Voyzant’s U.S. expansion

The updates come on the heels of Voyzant opening a new office in New York City last week in Manhattan’s Times Square area. The space adds to Voyzant’s other U.S. locations, which now include offices in Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to hire about 35 to 40 people in the U.S. and we keep on expanding,” Jegathesan told PAX, adding that Voyzant also plans to open locations in Dallas and Atlanta.

While Voyzant is an air consolidator based in Canada, it’s important the company has a U.S. presence because there’s “cross customers, and cross airlines,” Jegathesan explained.

“It happens both ways,” he said. “Most of the U.S. consolidators are coming into Canada. If you’re going to be a big gun in the consolidation industry, you need to have a presence in the U.S. These additions will not only make us bigger, but it will also help us serve our U.S. customers better.”

On the state of aviation itself – a sector that has faced a range of turbulence in recent months, from strikes to aircraft malfunctions to company shutdowns to erratic pricing – Jegathesan believes the industry, after a year of profitable revenge travel, is now “settling in.”

“It’s getting softer everywhere, which makes it difficult for some carriers to operate,” he said. “Everything is expensive, but there has to be a balance.”

“Prices are coming down a little bit and the industry has to adjust. I think it will get to a healthy point very soon.”

ONVIGO hosts first FAM

That bodes well for Voyzant’s newest venture, ONVIGO, a host agency in Ontario that launched in March with a “no barriers, no fees” promise to offer personalized service, while placing value on diversity and inclusion.

ONVIGO – a play on the words “On We Go” – is the formalization of an informal host agency that Voyzant previously ran with hundreds of home-based agents that mostly sold air.

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, presented an opportunity to enter the host agency space with a competitive offer.

Agents who sign up with ONVIGO (which is part of the Travel Leaders Network) don’t pay start-up fees, monthly fees or yearly fees, for example.

Newcomers also receive a free two-week training program, which not only supports new-to-industry folks, but also helps experienced agents move their business over.

Parent company Voyzant., meanwhile, operates in the background, offering agents compelling air and hotel content.

As a consolidator in both the Canada and U.S. markets, and with offices in other countries around the world, such as Singapore, “we provide all the competitive content for agents to be successful,” Jegathesan told PAX previously.

“We do billions of dollars in sales with most airlines," he said. "We have huge buying power."

When asked how his new host agency doing, less than a year in, Jegathesan said the brand is “growing extensively.”

He said ONVIGO’s roster has increased to about 170 travel advisors – a mix of both experienced agents who’ve left a host agency to pursue a new direction, as well as new-to-industry folks.

ONVIGO advisors, these days, are primarily selling airline tickets, all-inclusive holidays, hotels and car rentals, Jegathesan said, noting that the next step will be to recruit agents who are experienced in cruise.

But what has taken ONVIGO to the next level is the first-ever FAM trip it recently held in Cancun, Mexico from Aug. 27-29. For this, 11 advisors were handpicked to experience various luxury hotels in the Hyatt Inclusive Collection.

The inaugural FAM was not only a learning opportunity for participants, but also a milestone in ONVIGO’s growth.

“Anybody can open a host agency,” Jegathesan said. “But once you take agents on a FAM, it becomes more real.”

When asked if Voyzant’s incoming corporate vertical will at all interact with ONVIGO, Jegathesan said the two ventures will operate separately. But there still might be some crossover.

“I don't know what the future holds,” he said. “But ONVIGO could hire some independent corporate agents. There could be some common synergies.”

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