300 Associate and Affiliate Members Joined TLN in the U.S.

ALEXANDRIA, VA (February 7, 2024) – Travel Leaders Network (TLN) grew its membership in the U.S. at a record pace during 2023. The travel industry’s leading consortium welcomed 300 new agencies, representing both Associate (franchise) and Affiliate members.

“Travel advisors are undergoing a renaissance and are seeking out new partnerships for their businesses,” said Roger E. Block, President of Travel Leaders Network. “We can offer advisors of all sizes and specialties access to amazing lead generation programs, marketing opportunities, technology and more. Not only am I excited for these agencies to take advantage of our offerings, but I am also looking forward to the fresh ideas and energy they will bring to TLN.”

Travel Leaders Network is also offering its members (including these new agencies) a record number of leads from Agent Profiler, their award-winning lead generation solution. In 2023, TLN delivered over 250,000 leads to their members. Agent Profiler is powered through the consumer-facing www.TravelLeaders.com, where travelers can search to find the right advisor with expertise in their destination and type of travel.

In addition to Agent Profiler, new members have access to a host of TLN programs and tools, including:

· Leaders Alliances for proven experts in luxury travel, romance travel, technology and host agencies

· Award-winning education, such as Specialist Certifications and supplier-driven webinars

· The annual international conference EDGE

· Technology solutions like the new Toby A.I. Marketing Tool

· Corporate travel programs

· Cruise programs like cruise block space, Distinctive Voyages and the Culinary Collection

· Marketing programs to retain existing customers

· Numerous publications branded with the advisor’s contact information

“The number of new agencies who have sought out TLN shows that our future is bright,” Block said. “Our programs and services are vast, but our size doesn’t make us inflexible. On the contrary, travel agencies join us because we give them what they need to make their business more profitable—in whatever way works best for them. And all signs point to 2024 being just as successful of a year as 2023.”

For travel agencies interested in learning more about the award-winning programs and diverse offerings of Travel Leaders Network in leisure and luxury travel, business travel, honeymoon and destination weddings — as well as active and adventure travel — visit TravelLeadersNetwork.com.

About Travel Leaders Network

Travel Leaders Network (www.TravelLeaders.com) assists millions of leisure and business travelers annually and is one of the largest sellers of luxury travel, cruises and tours in the travel agency industry, with approximately 5,700 travel agency locations across the United States and Canada. Travel Leaders Network is part of Travel Leaders Group, a division of Internova Travel Group

About Internova Travel Group

Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.

The torrid rate increases that business travelers experienced in 2022 and 2023 are expected to subside this year. Leisure travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels and the growth in capacity across all travel segments is beginning to meet or, in some cases, exceed demand forecasts.

Still, even with some degree of rate stabilization, the cost of taking a typical business trip will range from 9 percent to 14 percent higher in 2024 compared with 2019, before the pandemic, according to the ALTOUR forecast.

“With prices increasing, there are many factors for companies to consider when booking flights, hotel stays and car rentals,” said Gabe Rizzi, President, ALTOUR. “That’s where the expertise of a travel management company like ALTOUR is invaluable. We know what’s happening in each sector of the business travel market and can assist your company in finding the best options within your budget, taking into account duty of care obligations and a commitment to sustainability.”

When it comes to airlines, there are already signs that capacity and demand are equalling out, which should lead to a small increase in airfares, or even a decline in some parts of the world.

Domestic airfares are projected to rise from 2 percent to 4 percent on a year-over-year basis. Major U.S. carriers have continued to fortify their domestic hubs, improving the overall strength of their networks. In hub-related markets, fares could increase by more than 4 percent simply due to a carrier’s dominance.

Looking globally, some airfares could decrease on a year-over-year basis, driven by the decline in ticket prices in the Asia-Pacific region from 2023, when there was strong demand and limited flight capacity.

In key driver markets, such as the United States to Europe and Latin/South America, airfares are expected to increase in the range of 2 percent to 5 percent year over year.

For businesses that renegotiated airline corporate sales agreements in 2023, the major takeaway was a reduction in discount offerings, particularly in domestic travel that touched airline hubs, and limited, if any, negotiating ability. The only area of leverage is with premium cabin international travel in competitive markets, which is highly coveted by airlines and comes with better discounts in return for increased market share. In some cases, this can be used to leverage better discounts for domestic travel.

The average daily hotel rate is projected to increase from 2 percent to 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, a much slower pace than in 2022 and 2023. Still, the average daily rate in the United States will be 21.3 percent higher than it was in 2019. For the 2024 rate season, ALTOUR’s hotel consulting team is reporting an aggregate 2 percent year-over-year average daily rate increase across its customer base.

It’s important to note that there will be large fluctuations in rate changes depending on the city and type of hotel. For example, rates in cities like New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles and Paris will see a year-over-year increase that’s higher than the general rate forecast. These locations have a combination of business, meetings/events and leisure travel components that drive hotel rate increases. This is particularly the case with upper hotel tiers and “big box” properties.

Conversely, for lower-tier, limited-service properties, rate increases will be limited, because factors that drove this segment’s full return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 are changing. The substantial increase in leisure or “revenge” travel is subsiding. As a result, this hotel segment will become more dependent on business travel in order to meet 2024 revenue projections. In fact, ALTOUR’s hotel consulting team negotiated static rates with some hotels in this tier for 2024 that are 10 percent or lower compared with rates in 2023.

For business travelers who need to rent a car, the outlook is mixed.

As supply-chain issues have subsided, the vehicle inventory has vastly improved. Still, travelers can expect to pay 3 percent to 4 percent more in daily rental rates for 2024 on a year-over-year basis. Higher labor costs, the cost of acquiring vehicles and inflationary pressures will drive the rate increase.

Car rental companies are continuing to expand their electric vehicle offerings, which will help business travelers comply with their corporate sustainability initiatives. But EVs are 25 percent to 35 percent more expensive to rent than their gas-powered counterparts. This is certainly a consideration when balancing sustainability and budgets.

For ALTOUR’s business travel consulting group, the philosophy related to rental car contracts is to focus not just on the rate per car type, but on other factors that can increase the average daily rate. These can include city surcharges, weekday rental surcharges, vehicle licensing fees and energy recovery charges, among other costs.

ALTOUR’s business travel forecast was compiled with information from multiple industry sources, including the International Air Transport Association, Global Business Travel Association, Business Travel News, STR, CBRE and Car Rental News, as well as insights from ALTOUR’s internal data and consulting divisions.

Internova Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel services companies, recently announced that Travel Leaders Corporate and ALTOUR’s business travel division will integrate under the ALTOUR brand. For more information on industry forecasts, preferred travel vendor negotiation and strategy, please contact Eddie Albertson, Senior Director of Business Travel Consulting for ALTOUR, at ealbertson@tlcorporate.com.

About ALTOUR

ALTOUR is one of the largest travel management companies in the United States and around the world serving the corporate and leisure luxury and mid-markets and entertainment community. ALTOUR is part of Internova Travel Group, which is the highest-ranking American corporate travel management company, according to Business Travel News.