Winter Is Coming: Nino Montagnese unpacks ACV’s sales & trade strategy

Winter Is Coming is a special PAX series that offers a glimpse into the war rooms of Canada’s leading travel companies as the winter booking season takes flight. Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with industry leaders as PAX dissects what’s new and next this season.

“Any budget, any style.” That’s how Air Canada Vacations (ACV) is positioning its winter 2024-25 lineup of new and additional escapes to sunny destinations.

The tour operator’s roster, which features more than 100 daily departures, includes a return to popular sun spots, and increased frequency and capacity, to dreamy places like Bermuda, Fort-de-France, Cancun, Los Cabos, Tulum, Punta Cana, Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, and San José, Costa Rica.

While the warmth of summer is still in the air, winter is coming, and ensuring that travel advisors are up to speed on new products, like Australia and Asia, and self-help technology, like a new Group Quoting Tool, has never been more important to the ACV team, which will showcase its winter collection this September at its Dream Makers product launches.

What’s in store? Here, PAX connects with Nino Montagnese, vice-president at Air Canada Vacations, to chat about the rise of Tulum, winter trends, the weakening dollar, and why travel advisors should pay attention to Aeroplan.

PAX: Air Canada Vacations has a pretty diverse line-up this winter. What can you say about it at this stage of the game?  

Nino Montagnese (NM): Tulum, Tulum, Tulum – that's going to be a hot destination. We’ve added Tulum and we’re increasing it from Toronto and Montreal. We're also adding Quebec City to Tulum (we’re bringing back Quebec City in general). For winter, we'll also have our new tool kit for the trade. It will have everything agents need to sell our products. Things have also been very busy. In fact, over these last couple of days, the bookings have picked up. It’s starting, and it normally doesn't start until after the September long weekend.

We also have our Vacation Mood branding campaign. It's a very social campaign that we hope stimulates customers to go into agencies. We’re going to introduce a similar campaign for agents this September at our product launches. It’s going to be very cool.

PAX: Tell us about ACV’s new toolkit for the trade?

NM: It’s the sun toolkit, and it’s going to be enhanced. Anything that is new – any tools or technical features – are all going to be in the toolkit. It has hotels at a glance, it talks about our flying, our technology. We've done a lot on the technology side over the last couple years.

PAX: You’ve positioned ACV’s winter roster as a collection for every budget and style. It sounds like you’re trying to appeal to everyone out there. Is that fair to say?

NM: Absolutely. If you look at it, everyone says they're the biggest. But in true fact, Air Canada Vacations is the biggest tour operator. We've got the most product. We follow the Air Canada network. Customers want sun, but they also want city stays. Maybe they want to go to New York City and do some Christmas shopping. We offer all of that. And then there’s cruise. Many of our gateways are cruise ports. There's something for everyone and every budget.

PAX: What does the typical ACV customer look like?

NM: About 20 per cent of them are between 18 and 34. About 25 per cent are ages 55 to 64. The rest is 35 to 54. There's a percentage of 65 plus in there. We touch on all age groups. Our average passenger age is 42 and the average booker’s age is 49. I can also tell you that 53 per cent of our bookers are female and many customers are adults only. This follows suit with the products we offer. For example, we’re Sandals’ number one tour operator. Families are also huge – it’s 25 to 30 per cent of our business.

PAX: Let’s talk about the booking window. How has it changed this season?

NM: We all had a phenomenal 2023. It was the year of ‘revenge travel.’ Everyone booked. Everyone increased their prices. This year, there's a lot more capacity, and what I think is going to entice people to book early – and I think it's happening now – is the dollar. Our dollar has weakened. Prices are what they are, but if the dollar weakens even more, there's going to be price adjustments. I think most of us have early booking bonuses in the market right now. There’s a reason that customers should really book early, even if there's more capacity in the market. But the dollar is going to be a factor this year. The end of summer is typically when the winter season kicks in, but it's nice to see bookings happening now.

PAX: Are people still rapidly buying upgrades like they did coming out of COVID?

NM: Yes. At Air Canada Vacations, Aeroplan is a big part of our DNA today. We launched an evergreen Aeroplan offer, which gives customers more points on their bookings with specific partners. These customers tend to spend more, book higher categories, and they book early. We have a few trade partners who have really adapted to Aeroplan and they're making a killing. They're making a lot more commission because they see the value in participating. There are almost nine million active customers using Aeroplan today. So, it makes sense for our trade partners to understand the program, and talk to it. Aeroplan customers will attach their card knowing they're getting points, and they're spending. And I'm not talking about redeeming. I'm talking about them being able to accumulate points. They spend more.

PAX: What can you say about the state of the vacation market? What is the biggest change this year?

NM: People want sun, but they also want experiences. They want to be able to go away and not just sit on the beach. For example, we launched “Chill Out,” an LGBTQ trip at the Gran Muthu Rainbow Hotel in Cuba three years ago, and it's doing very well. This year’s trip is in January and it’s already 70 per cent sold out. Between Toronto and Montreal, there are two planes full of LGBTQ customers – and it's only August. We’ve also launched a fitness retreat in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in partnership with Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts. We’ve partnered with Good Life rewards, we’re bringing two trainers and yoga instructors from Canada, and there's a whole agenda for the week. Guests will have their beach time, but they have fitness included. It's about creating experiences that cater to communities. We’re trying to offer our travel agent partners something unique.

PAX: Let’s talk about Tulum. It seems like everyone is talking about it ever since the destination opened its new airport, Felipe Carrillo Puerto International, earlier this year.

NM: Remember, Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations were the first to fly into Tulum! I’ve heard the airport experience is phenomenal. I haven't been yet, but we had a FAM go there in May and the feedback was incredible. It's a smooth transition through the airport. The transfers to the hotels in the Mayan and Tulum are much easier then flying into Cancun. It’s a different experience. It's doing really well.  

PAX: What winter trends are you tracking right now?

NM: We're seeing short getaways. And groups are really starting to trend back. We had a period where we weren't able to service the customer as well as our competitors, but that's all changed. We're doing more group business today. We’re seeing city stays and new products we’ve added, like Australia and Asia. Australia is a winter destination because it's their summer, right? We're seeing good sales into Australia and same for Asia.

At Air Canada Vacations, the trends have really changed. Our diverse product really allows a customer to go anywhere. For the 65-plus group, we're seeing longer stays in places like Portugal – Lisbon is a year-round for ACV. People are going to Europe, versus maybe a Florida. I think Canadians just want a change. They want new experiences.  

PAX: I guess that’s how Australia and Asia fit into the picture. What should travel advisors expect from these new ACV packages?

NM: ACV gives you a package price, so pricing is going to probably be a little bit less than if one were to put it together on their own. It also gives you a sense of relief. You don't have to worry about anything. I did it myself in Tokyo, Japan. We had a guide who told us what time we were going to be picked up at, what time luggage needed to be out. It’s easier. It’s easier for our trade partners as well. The packages are the packages. We're not the type of company that's going to modify each tour based on what a customer wants to change. These are the tours. It makes it simpler. Yes, there are other companies out there, but we stand behind our product.

PAX: Let’s talk about groups. This is a pain point for the trade. How is ACV improving the group booking experience for agents?

NM: At last year’s product launch, I stood up told everyone about a new Insta Quote tool. I said phase one was going to be delivered, and we delivered. Then phase two kicked in almost immediately. Coming out of COVID, and prior to launching this tool, we were at 50 per cent staff. A lot of new staff were hired, and it has taken time to get them to understand the product. Now we have an Insta Quote tool, and I'm very happy and confident when I say we're in a good position. We're now fully staffed in groups and travel agents are now able to quote themselves, using the tool, and then send a quick note via the tool to convert it into a booking, and it gets converted for them.

We've tried to make it easier for agents. But the trade is still hesitant. They're hesitant because they had a rough couple of years with us, and I understand that. But I would encourage them to try the tool and make a booking with us. They'll see a huge difference from the past.

PAX: What other self-help tools can agents use this winter?

NM: With Trip Book or Manage My Booking on our website, we are probably the most competitive when it comes to allowing agents modify up to five days prior to departure. That means correcting a name – it's easy to make a mistake. We recognize that. Having the ability to correct it at least up to five days prior, and not have to call in and wait in a queue, is a big deal.

We’re also added CareFlex to the tool. One of the challenges we had previously was agents booking a package and then having customers come back and request a Care product. Agents would have to sit in a queue to add it. Now, agents can add Care products themselves – up to 48 hours after the initial booking is made. It’s a package that gives a sense of security to the customer, and for the trade, we're paying 20 per cent commission on it. There's a little bit in there for everyone.

PAX: What about telephone wait times? How are they looking these days?

NM: Our wait times are way down and I don't foresee them going up. We are staffed up. We were able to hire enough people to answer the phones.

PAX: ACV has also restored its advisory board. Why was it important to bring this back?

NM: Coming out of the pandemic, ACTA had a meeting with its board members and they invited the tour operators. This is where they hit me with ACV not having an Insta Quote tool, us (all) cancelling flights, not paying commission on cancelled flights, on files that cancelled when it was on deposit. Our advisory board was another item. I can now say that ACV has addressed all of the items that were brought up at that meeting – the final one being the return of our advisory board. They want the travel trade to have a voice within our company. That’s no problem.

PAX: What is your number one piece of advice to agents this winter?

NM: Book early is my number one. We also have lot of product now and travel advisors need to work with their area sales managers. Agents who need dedicated product training should reach out to our area sales manager. We’re set up and ready to do it. In some cases, there's going to be an agency focused on Europe, on sun or cruise. We can train them on each of those. It doesn't have to be all of it.

And back to Aeroplan. It really does make a big difference. Agents need to stop worrying that Aeroplan will steal their customers – you can't promote to anyone without their consent anymore. Period. Have customers redeem their points for an Air Canada gift card. The customer is using their points, they redeem for a card, the agent uses the card as a form of payment, and they get their commission. A gift card can be a form of payment at Air Canada Vacations, so it's a win-win.

Air Canada Vacations’ annual Dream Makers product launches return this fall, with events happening in Vancouver (Sept. 4), Edmonton (Sept. 12), Halifax (Sept. 17), Montreal (Sept. 19) and Toronto (Sept. 26).

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