On Location: TTAND conference lights up with awards, luxury success & $28,500 moustache

Flemming Friisdahl has advice for award-winning travel advisors: share your accomplishments with your local media outlet.

“Go out and scream from the rafters what you've achieved,” said the founder and president of The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND) to roughly 310 elegantly dressed agents at Thursday night’s (April 23) gala and awards night aboard Celebrity Silhouette, where the host agency’s 2026 conference, Leading The Way, is taking place until April 26.

“Tell them you're a winner. People want to work with winners.”

Dressed in sleek tuxedos, Friisdahl and TTAND’s Chief Operations Officer Jeff Element alternated presenting award categories – from highest earned commission to top percentages of preferred and approved suppliers, and highest service fees collected – and joined winners on a stage as nearly 400 attendees, including suppliers and TTAND support staff, applauded.

TTAND’s annual Ambassador Award (given to the partner who provided the most referrals) and Peer-to-Peer award (the most supportive agent, voted on by the network) were also announced.

Additionally, TTAND’s “Millionaires”—agents who earned up to $125,000 in preferred and approved commissions—along with agencies that reached $375,000 in the same category, as well as agents and TTAND staff celebrating their 10-year anniversaries, were recognized.

See the night’s award winners here:

The ceremony was an upbeat show, featuring a live band and vocalists Zoe Tyler and David Shannon, who performed crowd favorites including Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bryan Adams’ Summer of ’69, and a duet of (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing.

Working around the cruise ship’s theatre schedule, the event marked a shift from TTAND’s traditional gala dinner format, with awards presented early on, followed by a cocktail reception, live-band karaoke, dinner, and a “Shine the Night” pool deck party.

Travel Counsellors on the scene

Spotted among the freshly-pressed suits and sparkling dresses was Steve Byrne, CEO of U.K.-based Travel Counsellors, who recently stepped aboard the ship as it wraps up a voyage through the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao).

Byrne has joined the conference, which began last Saturday (April 18) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to meet the TTAND community in person and join Friisdahl for a town hall-style Q&A this Saturday (April 25).

As previously reported, TTAND and Travel Counsellors announced an equity partnership late last year.

READ MORE: On Location: Moustache mayhem, agent support & supplier awards steal spotlight at TTAND conference

The integration is expected to bring a suite of new tools to an already-robust platform.

Two tools TTAND agents can look forward to include Phenix, a platform designed to enable dynamic packaging, and TC Co-Pilot, an AI-powered digital assistant that enhances productivity by streamlining workflows and delivering personalized itinerary recommendations.

Travel Counsellors – which will not formally re-enter the Canadian market (having last operated there in 2015) – will gain access to TTAND’s highly customizable, agent-facing business systems in return.

“We’re being very transparent,” said Friisdahl, whose maintained a business-as-usual operation since the partnership was announced.

Earlier this week, Travel Counsellors’ Chief Commercial Officer Kirsten Hughes and Senior Destination Manager Natalie Aspinall led a presentation that outlined the Manchester-based company, its products and how TTAND agents stand to benefit from the partnership.

For Reese Morash of TravelBug Travel Group, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the opportunity to hear from Travel Counsellors at the conference has been reassuring, offering clarity and confidence in the partnership moving forward.

Speaking to PAX last night, Morash admitted he experienced a moment of confusion when the equity partnership was first announced “because we didn’t have the full story.”

But after attending presentations this week, and meeting Byrne last night, Morash now sees the bigger picture.

“There’s so much intertwined” between TTAND and Travel Counsellors, he said, observing how the companies share similar personalities.

“At the end of the day, it's all about the travel agency. If we're successful, they're successful," he said. 

One thing Morash appreciates is the focus on simplifying the agent experience, including the rollout of new technology such as Phenix, “which can’t come soon enough." 

“It’ll free up time and allow us to do more bookings,” he said.

Friisdahl has also described the Travel Counsellors deal as part of his broader succession planning.

“If something were to happen to me, I don't want those who trusted me to suddenly say, ‘Now what?’ without any plan or options,” he said earlier this week. “That was the number one driver [for the partnership].

“The Travel Agent Next Door, knock on wood, will continue to have some of its best years moving forward.”

All about luxury

The role of Travel Counsellors is one of many topics being discussed at TTAND’s conference at sea, which has been a whirlwind of supplier presentations, workshops, and the network’s first-ever conference trade show.

TTAND’s new luxury arm, LUXE by TTAND – a premium brand launched last year – has also been a focus.

The division has strengthened the host agency’s supplier network, welcoming luxury partners such as Crystal and Explora Journeys, to conference for the first time.

The luxury program is enhanced by a new “Luxe Mastermind” training program, which took place in Vancouver and Toronto last month.

Similar training has unfolded at this year’s conference.

Earlier in the week, Amélie Dubois from Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Shirley Lew from Oceania met with TTAND’s new luxury ambassadors in Silhouette’s library to introduce the latest marketing tools and support their efforts in promoting high-end travel.

Speaking to PAX about the new luxury division, which has so far onboarded two cohorts (48 agents), Friisdahl noted that he has seen agents progress from selling cruise packages priced at $24,000 to bookings reaching approximately $46,000, including pre- and post-cruise components.

“It’s the same clients travelling, but if you don’t expose them to diversity in different things, they won’t know about it,” he said.

New life in luxury

Ontario-based Brenda O'Hara and Joseph Lacroix of Tuxedo Travel are two TTAND advisors who’ve upped their luxury game. 

Since joining LUXE by TTAND, the team has launched a new “private travel” division called “Distinction.”

“When we started Tuxedo Travel 10 years ago, we were willing to sell anything,” O'Hara told PAX. “Now, our customers are trending towards luxe. We want to offer that distinctive product.”

They say their customers’ travel budgets keep increasing – in one case, going from $5,000 to $120,000 – making a luxury division all the more relevant. 

“Customers learn to trust you, and then they move into luxury,” said Lacroix, who is quickly discovering the value – and rewards – of handling high-value bookings. 

“I would rather do the one $110,000 job than do 50 of the other ones,” he said.

Together, the duo has grown more confident in selling high-end travel, from mastering the language used when engaging ultra-high-net-worth clients to delivering fully-crafted itineraries, rather than presenting a range of options.

“The wealthy don't want decisions. They want it right in from of them,” said Lacroix, noting how luxury travel has made him fall in love with the industry all over again, breathing “new life” into his work.

Feeling like celebrities

Inspiration has been popping up all week aboard the Solstice Class, 2,900-passenger Celebrity Silhouette, where attendees have had a chance to discover what it’s like to sail with Celebrity, known for its relaxed-luxury atmosphere, modern design, personalized service and elevated dining.

Celebrity’s Canadian team – Allan Brooks, national director; Brenda Lynne Yeomans, key account manager; and Chad Kowalenko, field sales manager for Western Canada – in coordination with the crew, have been pulling all the stops to show attendees a good time.

On Tuesday (April 21), Silhouette’s captain granted the delegation access to the ship’s bow helipad for a nautical-themed cocktail party, where guests embraced the theme with a wave of sailor hats and striped attire.

The sunset soirée off the coast of Curaçao provided a striking backdrop for a group photo and cheer, with the captain even turning the ship to shield guests from the wind and keep hair in place.

Giveback Day

TTAND also hosted its annual Giveback Day on Wednesday (April 22) in Oranjestad, Aruba.

A select group of agents, together with members of the TTAND team, spent the morning at Children’s Home Imeldahof, a non-profit organization that provides temporary shelter and guidance for children and youth who, due to difficult circumstances, are unable to live with their parents or caregivers.

Under a blazing sun, the team dedicated the morning to a range of hands-on maintenance and repair projects across the property.

This included sanding and repainting picnic benches, priming the posts of a pavilion, and restoring an outdoor nursery area by clearing brush and branches, cutting and replacing damaged wood, and removing old screws while installing new hinges.

It was physically demanding, but was a meaningful effort, with the group leaving the space in noticeably improved condition.

In addition, TTAND agents collectively contributed by donating backpacks filled with supplies and raising $863 in cash to further support the home. TravelBrands also pitched in to help pay for transportation.

Moustache update

Another initiative close to TTAND’s heart is Pencils for Kids, which, over the years, has received $388,394 in support from the host agency.

The funding continues to advance the mission of building classrooms for young students in Niger, West Africa.

This year’s conference includes a $100,000 fundraising campaign, which, as previously reported, has attracted added attention (and funds) thanks to Friisdahl’s much-discussed moustache.

If you’re out of the loop, Allan Brooks challenged Friisdahl to grow some whiskers – a wager that quickly gained momentum, evolving into a monetary bet in support of Pencil For Kids.

The terms of the bet stipulated that a donation would be made if Friisdahl kept his moustache until at least the conference’s opening session last Sunday (April 19).

But the TTAND team had other ideas, offering attendees the chance to bid for the privilege of shaving it off on stage.

That sparked a spirited bidding war, with multiple $1,500 contributions placing repeated delays on the final shave, which has now been pushed to the conference’s closing session on Saturday (April 25).

Friisdahl’s moustache, so far, has raised an impressive $28,500.

Stay tuned for more of PAX’s at-sea coverage of TTAND’s 2026 conference aboard the Celebrity Silhouette.

To see more pictures from the conference, visit and “like” PAX’s Facebook page here!

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook