Nexion: 30 years of resilience: Travel Weekly

ORLANDO — For the past 30 years, Nexion Travel Group has been witness to changes in the travel industry. And the host agency will be here for the inevitable changes of the next 30 years, said Nexion president Jackie Friedman.

Friedman reflected on the host agency’s anniversary — and its future — during its annual CoNexion event, held in early September at the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando.

Born as a tech play for travel agents, Nexion has weathered everything from the rise of OTAs to the pandemic. It’s been a tale of pivots, from advisors increasingly charging fees to focusing on niches and suppliers. 

On stage, Friedman looked back at her beginnings in the travel industry, where she got her start as a frontline advisor at a brick-and-mortar agency in Toronto in the 1980s. Her desk was stacked with paper brochures, and her CRM system was a Rolodex.

The 1990s brought airline commission cuts, with many agencies exiting the industry while others pivoted to home-based models and introduced service fees. While many agencies at the time were threatened by the nascent internet, Nexion was born of it in 1995: It was founded as a technology solution enabling agents to issue airline tickets anywhere they had an internet connection.

The 2000s brought the surge of the OTAs and the tragedy of 9/11, which devastated agencies already weakened by commission cuts. Many storefronts closed or downsized. Experienced advisors went in search of a home, often found with a host. To combat OTAs, “advisors began niching down,” Friedman said, looking to specialties like honeymoons, ocean cruising and adventure travel.

During the next decade, advisors reintroduced themselves to the world as that: advisors, not ticketing agents of the airlines. They turned to social media for marketing and became trusted brands and personalities.

The 2020s began with Covid. Many agencies closed up shop, but those who stuck around adapted and continued to provide value for their customers, Friedman said. When the world reopened, business boomed.

“From the 1980s, we learned that trust is timeless,” Friedman said. “From the ’90s, we innovate when the model breaks. From the 2020s, show up when it matters. In the 2010s, be visible to be valuable, and from the 2020s, lead with resilience and empathy. These lessons are not just reflections. They are our road map.”

Friedman says Nexion has staying power

Friedman said she was confident that Nexion will still be around 30 years from now. 

“We might look different. We may offer different services. But [we will be] bringing communities of advisors together, giving them what they need,” she said. 

The changes of the past three decades are indicators that the host agency community and its advisors will adapt as necessary to what the future brings.

“What travel advisors are going to have to do is figure out, ‘What can I do that said disruption can’t do? Where is my value? How do I make sure I communicate that value? What resources do I need to be able to shine?'” she said.

That’s where hosts have stepped up, in the form of resources like technology, she said. While hosts, and the consortia they are often members of, offer many similar services, Friedman argued the two are complementary, offering advisors layers of resources and support. Marketing is one example: Nexion advisors have access to Travel Leaders Network’s marketing programs, with Nexion’s own programs layered on top.

One future disruption is clear to her: More bookings will go supplier-direct, simply because there is so much more product to fill as new ships, hotels and other travel products come online. Advisors need to ensure they are filling their portion of that new inventory.

She encouraged advisors to sell complete trips to clients, even if it includes products they haven’t been comfortable selling in the past, like air. It’s important to be the most relevant and assist if travel disruptions occur.

“Be all in,” she said. “Don’t say to your clients, ‘I’m not going to book your airline tickets. I don’t do airline tickets.'”