Appreciation night: TTAND puts people, technology and supplier partnerships in spotlight at Toronto gathering

The conversations were lively and the room was packed as The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND) brought its supplier partners and staff together at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on Thursday evening (Nov. 5).

Over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, industry colleagues caught up before settling in for an update on TTAND’s investment in technology, how it’s investing in technology, developing new ways to find clients and expanding the team supporting its independent advisors.

For Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND’s founder and CEO, the annual gathering was first and foremost an opportunity to thank the suppliers whose products underpin the business.

“We’re not successful without you,” Friisdahl told attendees.

The appreciation extended to TTAND’s own team, who stood for recognition during the presentation and later gathered for photos, thumbs-up poses and a collective cheer.

Speaking with PAX earlier that day, Friisdahl said TTAND expects to finish 2026 with approximately $610 million in travel sales. By the evening’s presentation, the company reported a network of 1,853 advisors, comprising 910 primary agents and 943 associates.

Its support team has also grown, from 73 staff in 2025 to 82 full-time employees.

Growing the support behind the advisor

For Jeff Element, TTAND’s chief operating officer, adding people is about maintaining service as the advisor network expands.

“As we’re growing, the business is growing, we want to make sure our agent partners get quick response times from us,” Element told PAX at the event.

That investment includes technology, but also the work of getting commissions into advisors’ hands.

Element said approximately 36 staff work in finance, with a focus on distributing payments quickly and accurately. 

When a commission cannot immediately be matched to an advisor, TTAND also posts it internally so advisors can help identify their bookings.

“Travel agents are in this to earn a living,” he said. “So when money comes in, we want to make sure it gets to them as quick as possible, as accurately as possible.”

The same thinking drives its technology development, which reduces administrative work that takes advisors away from clients.

Element described a booking process in which client profiles feed into a reservation, with the information then flowing into invoicing rather than requiring repeated manual entry.

“You don’t have to do things twice,” he said. “You do it in one place, it goes through.”

Asked how TTAND judges whether its technology is working, Element pointed to time savings and advisor adoption.

“We want to make sure that they have the technology that works for them, the way they run their business,” he said.

Connecting the pieces

During the presentation, Friisdahl outlined work on document distribution, itineraries, customer communications, and booking workflows.

He said TTAND is using artificial intelligence to help route supplier documents to advisors within seconds of receiving them. 

Other developments include an itinerary app that would display an individual advisor’s branding after login, and automated communications tied to a client’s trip.

Those messages could prompt a conversation about an excursion, a rental car, or accommodation still needed before a cruise, while post-trip messages could help advisors collect feedback and testimonials.

In his earlier interview with PAX, Friisdahl said significant new workflow and customer-engagement programs are planned for TTAND’s April conference.

The objective, he explained, is to offer value beyond commission splits.

“Everybody can compete on the split of commission,” he said.

TTAND’s own customer-management tools serve a different purpose from Phenix, the dynamic packaging platform it is introducing through its partnership with U.K.-based Travel Counsellors.

Friisdahl described Phenix as a way to combine travel components into customized packages, including eligible airline net fares that must be sold with another component. 

The opportunity is to broaden what advisors can offer while improving margins, he said.

That does not replace the company’s use of Softvoyage for established vacation-package suppliers.

“We still need Softvoyage very much,” Friisdahl told PAX, describing customized trips as an additional opportunity alongside that business.

Finding the next customer

Technology is also shaping TTAND’s approach to attracting business.

Friisdahl highlighted its recently announced relationship with NextTrip, including opportunities connected to JOURNY TV, as part of an effort to connect travel inspiration with inquiries handled by Canadian advisors.

The presentation also explored golf travel, destination weddings and videos promoting supplier offers through advisors’ social channels.

Some of the videos were explicitly presented as concepts, including versions with and without a life-like avatar. Friisdahl asked the room which approach they preferred, using the response to show the ongoing experimentation behind the work.

“We’re trying to find new ways of finding clients for the agents so we can continue to grow what we’ve been doing,” he said.

Training and specializing

The evening’s updates also emphasized the people entering the industry and advisors developing new specialties.

Rhonda Stanley, TTAND’s vice-president of new talent development, described a new-advisor program combining self-directed preparation with an intensive week of live virtual instruction. 

Classes are capped at eight participants, with mentoring and support continuing beyond the initial training.

“We are not about the quantity of agents we bring in,” Stanley said. “We’re all about the quality.”

Stanley illustrated that approach with two career changers. One, an RCMP officer who initially saw travel as a five-year retirement plan, retired after three years as his business developed.

Another, an Alberta oil and gas worker still employed full time, had invoiced more than $500,000 in travel sales in the previous two months and was on track to exceed $1 million for the year, she said.

Their experience, Stanley said, demonstrated the potential for newcomers to build businesses by drawing on existing networks and focusing on the travel they know best.

On the luxury side, Christine Ufniak, director of marketing, said 48 advisors had participated in Luxe Mastermind, with another cohort planned for March 2027 in Toronto.

She also highlighted the introduction of new luxury websites in July and a dedicated email campaign in September, designed to take a more inspirational approach to reaching clients.

Another area in development is corporate travel. In the morning interview, Friisdahl said the hotel and air components were progressing, with the car program still being completed. He expects the offering to be ready for the April conference.

“We’re not the fix for everybody,” he said. “But the people that we are the right fit for, we want to make sure we provide the right product and do it right the first time.”

A shared contribution

The gathering also recognized the network’s support for Pencils for Kids.

A presentation from the charity put TTAND’s cumulative fundraising at $513,394, supporting education and other initiatives in Niger. The next goal is to raise $125,000 for four primary-school classrooms.

It was another example of the collective effort running through the evening: suppliers, advisors and staff contributing to something that depends on their relationships.

For Friisdahl, the message to suppliers was straightforward.

“We want to thank you for everything that you guys do because without you we wouldn’t be here.”

To see more photos from the evening, visit here.

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