Ensemble marks one year since acquisition with Summit event in Utah

Ensemble recently held its first Summit event for owners and managers at the Stein Erikson Lodge in Park City, Utah from June 4-7. 

Coinciding with the one-year anniversary since its acquisition by Navigatr Group, with a theme of Champion Mindset, the consortium marked its first full year as the new Ensemble but also focused on the future.

“We’ve come out from one of the most devastating crises for our industry and have taken a 180 degree turn and gone into overdrive,” said David Harris, executive chairman of Ensemble. “Travel has surged and our members’ businesses are busier than ever as consumers are excited to be spending on travel that inspires, invigorates and fulfills their desires to meaningfully expand their lives.”

“We are not seeing signs that the pace will diminish any time soon as long as we continue to fuel consumer interest and drive value through our very strong relationships and an expanding, impressive lineup of diverse product offerings.”

In his remarks, Michael Johnson, president of Ensemble, provided a recap of the transformation Ensemble has undergone in the past year and what’s next as part of its evolution. 

“This past year has been about rebuilding and reimagining what Ensemble could be and how it could transform our business, our members’ businesses and the consortium model,” he said. “Having successfully created that foundation, we are now focused on growth.  It has been particularly gratifying to see the response from within our membership, but also the tremendous interest we’ve had from those who share our vision, have seen the evolution over the past year and want to join our community,” Johnson said.

The rebuilding of the brand included expanding the team, a brand refresh that included a new logo; new print and digital publications including new consumer magazines, Range and Range Best featuring exclusive partner offers.

Other initiatives includes a new FAM program, Further Your World; new marketing program; new hotel program; new DMC program; new training and development program, Ensemble Training Academy; and a partnership to enhance data collection and monetization.

Recap of year one

Johnson said Ensemble’s agencies have experienced tremendous growth in the past year. 

While stipulating that the 96 per cent year over year growth is also the result of recovery from the pandemic, he also acknowledged that it’s also due to the enhanced value proposition of the consortium. 

While growth was experienced in all sectors, Johnson pointed to the tremendous growth in the tour operator vertical where growth was up nearly 114 percent in the U.S. and 128 percent in Canada.

Key to Ensemble’s growth has been the ability to onboard members on the proprietary ADX platform, which now has more than 10,000 advisors using it at an average 7.9 percent yield.

Growth, technology, profitability, data and engagement will be the pillars that will take Ensemble to the next level, Johnson said.

Kristina Boyce, senior vice-president of operations, focused on one of the biggest challenges facing the industry – recruitment and retention. 

She shared strategies for success, from recognition and training, to helping ensure teams feel as if they are part of something big.

 “While every business is and must be focused on profit and yield, it’s equally important to recognize that people drive profitability,” Boyce said. “We are thinking big in this area to help our members through our new event series, our new communities that allow advisors to have a voice in a specific segment and network with like-minded colleagues, and through our newly revamped FAM program that enables advisors to see the world and have the firsthand knowledge they need to sell travel to the agency’s clients.”

Response to the event “overwhelmingly and positively reinforced” the objectives of bringing owners and managers together with each other and with our key suppliers, Ensemble said in a press release

“I feel so supported here by the Ensemble team as well as my fellow members,” stated Darci Murray of Personal Travel Management, which has been a member of Ensemble from its earliest days when it was still known as Giants.  “It is so great to meet people in person who know me and who know our agency so well – you can’t get that from a larger consortium, and that kind of support has been incredible in building my business.”

The three-day agenda also included workshops, opportunities for networking with partners as well as for fun activities – some of which were Olympic themed in keeping with the location – such as bobsledding, cycling, exploring Park City and a dine-around to the some of the area’s top restaurants.

 Summit is one of the newly branded annual events Ensemble announced in January and follows on the heels of the success of Uncharted, an advisor-focused virtual event that took place in April. 

Next up is Horizons, the annual event for the entire consortium that will take place at Paris Las Vegas from Nov. 2-6.

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