NEW YORK — Nearly 100 Travel Leaders Network advisors have signed on to try TobyAI, a generative AI engine that helps them create itineraries, create communications, and more.
Stephen McGillivray, chief marketing officer at Travel Leaders Group, hopes that number will grow to 1,000. He and other executives spoke during a media briefing this week at The Ritz-Carlton New York Nomad.
He said the tool will help advisors work more efficiently. That's why TLN has rolled out this service to some advisors for free for the first year (with preferential pricing when you renew). He encourages you to use it and see if it helps your business.
Feedback from advisors so far has been positive.
Mr. McGillivray shared the words of his advisor, Debbie Sebastian, who called TobyAI “my new best friend.” She uses it for research, itineraries, and correspondence.
“This allows advisors to focus on building trusting relationships with clients, understanding their unique preferences, and providing thoughtful recommendations,” Sebastian said. “Overall, AI allows advisors to spend more quality time with their clients and access resources to create custom travel experiences.”
Online leads are strong
The TravelLeaders.com website had another record year in 2023, McGillivray said. He delivered 250,000 leads, resulting in 63,000 bookings, $381 million in sales, and $46 million in commissions.
McGillivray said the website has grown as a lead generation tool as consumers increasingly rely on advisors, and the site's strong SEO has made it a leading search result for years. .
Cory Voss, TLN's chief information officer, said the high search rankings were a natural result of the original content agents posted on their agent profiler pages.
Voss also said TLN is developing a CRM-agnostic API. This gives members the opportunity to make the most of His TLN's services, which rely on integration, while using their preferred CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools.
TLN currently provides connectivity to ClientBase and AgentMate. Given the number of his CRM solutions that currently exist, Vos said TLN wants to offer more flexibility to its members.
TLN President Roger Block said part of the driving force is onboarding for large agencies. They often come to TLN with their own CRM developed in-house. The new solution also connects with these CRMs.
