TTAND thanks supporters at open house

There was a lot of pride, applause and even a few teary eyes at The Travel Agent Next Door’s (TTAND) open house event last night, where suppliers and colleagues from the TTAND network gathered to celebrate the host agency’s new office space, as well as hear a business update on the company.

“Right now, we’re at a little more than $11 million in sales,” Flemming Friisdahl, the organization’s founder, told guests. “Which is pretty cool, when you consider we’re so new.”

TTAND, which opened March 19, 2014 with the goal of providing specialized and innovative support to travel agents across Canada, has seen a number of changes and developments during its 18 months of operation, from its one-year anniversary to the new appointments within the TTAND team, to storefront openings and program developments. The host agency also held its first national meeting in Cancun earlier this year, welcoming more than 50 agents from across the country.

And although TTAND has a lot more in store for its partners in the future, according to Friisdahl, the ultimate goal remains unchanged.

“For us, it’s a simple philosophy,” he told PAX. “The agents are our customers. This isn’t just about growing the Travel Agent Next Door. This is also about growing our agents’ business.”

Friisdahl took a moment during the celebration to address and thank those gathered for their support, making sure to name the members of his team specifically for their contributions during the past 18 months. Among those singled out was Nancy Aubé, former vice-president, operations & finance, who will be retiring shortly and being replaced with Lynn Dovaston, who will serve as vice-president – finance. He also introduced Lindsay Caven who recently joined TTAND to serve as manager, supplier & new agent relations.

“It takes a community to make a company,” Friisdahl said, harkening back to a similar sentiment made during a less certain time a year or so ago. “If it wasn’t for the community of the travel industry, we would not be here.”

Here’s what’s new at TTAND:

• The company is now working with 140 home-based agents and 50 associate agents, and they’ve trained 13 new agents so far (with another five recently signed on) as part of their New Agent Program
• TTAND now has 15 head office staff, including Sarah Wu of accounting, and Daniel Wong in IT
• TTAND has three divisions: Home-based Agents; its Associate Agency Program, and its New Agent Program.
• The company is getting ready to launch its Lead Program, the first initiative of its kind in Canada, which involves TTAND generating new leads for its agents. The program has been in beta testing for four months, and according to Friisdahl, is presently generating 10-15 leads a day for approximately five to 10 agents.
• TTAND is presently planning their next destination conference for April, 2016

PHOTO, FROM LEFT: Lindsay Caven, manager, supplier & new agent relations; Cheryl Green, talent development support; Rhonda Stanley, vice-president, talent development; Catherine Sternberg, agent support coordinator; Vivian Imrisek, accounting associate; Shean Carmichael, marketing coordinator; Flemming Friisdahl, founder; Daniel Wong, IT support; Nancy Aubé, former vice-president, operations & finance (retiring); Lynn Dovaston, vice-president – finance; Bernadine D'Souza; manager, training & development; Sanji Zaman, travel agent services coordinator; Sarah Wu- accounting; Elish Tait, travel agent coordinator. Missing: Penny Martin, vice-president, travel agent sales.