SmartFlyer has celebrated its top-producing travel agencies through its recognition program, SmartFlyer ONE, which this year included Ash Chin of Sojourns Of in Sydney, Australia.
Chin was the only non-US based travel advisor to make the esteemed list, which included 17 other SmartFlyers.
This year, SmartFlyer unveiled a new designation – SmartFlyer ICON, which honours agencies that have achieved SmartFlyer ONE status five times or more.
Within its tight-knit community of like-minded entrepreneurs, a culture of excellence and collaboration thrives. The SmartFlyer platform supports over 250 travel agents spanning the United States, Australia, and Europe, many of whom have developed their own brand identity within the agency’s ecosystem.
The New York City-based travel company this year celebrated 18 of its affiliate agencies have received the coveted recognition of SmartFlyer ONE 2023.
SmartFlyer ONE was conceptualised in 2015 as a way to recognize the agency’s top-producing advisors; at the time, the minimum revenue to achieve the honour was just over US$1 million in sales.
Recipients’ revenue threshold to earn SmartFlyer ONE 2023 recognition starts at US$6.3 million in actualised sales with several agencies producing over US$17 million in sales.This year’s SmartFlyer ONE 2023 Recipients included:
Robert Merlin, SmartFlyer, St. Louis, Missouri
Judy Stein, The Stein Collective, New York, New York
Kara Slater, SmartFlyer, Los Angeles, California
Elisa Brown, MAPPS, Southport, Connecticut
Kyle Seltzer, KAX Lifestyle, Miami, Florida
Michelle London, Away We Globe, Los Angeles, California
Addie Bell, Jetset & Travel, Park City, Utah
Jacqui Weidman, SmartFlyer, New York, New York
Deborah Director, SmartFlyer, Boca Raton, Florida
Erin Trager-Kusman, SmartFlyer, Louisville, Kentucky
Amanda Poses, Poses Travel & Co., Austin, Texas
Betsey Brown, Betsey Brown Travel, St. Louis, Missouri
Kimberly Gavin, Canvas Travel Co., Newport Beach, California
Betsy Polatsch, SmartFlyer, Westchester, New York
Suzy X Dodd, SmartFlyer, New York, New York
Ash Chin, Sojourns Of, Sydney, Australia
Anthony Goldman of SmartFlyer Australia told LATTE he was thrilled to see Chin listed as one of SmartFlyer’s top producers for 2023.
“Ash made a career switch just three years ago from a career in Marketing, after finding his passion for travel advisory. He is one of the success stories during post-pandemic times,” Goldman said.
“He loves the travel industry and suppliers join us in celebrating his success. Ash has an enviable client list and works tirelessly to ensure his clients are happy and have the best travel experiences possible.”
Goldman continued, saying “SmartFlyer Australia attracts the best of the best remote advisors in Australia. We are not about the quantity of advisors, rather prefer to attract the right luxury and premium advisors in the industry. With various programs to enhance our team’s productivity, we strive to create an environment for excellence.”This year, in addition to the sixteen single Principal agencies listed above, SmartFlyer recognised two affiliate partnerships: Imperial SmartFlyer and Marchay.
“We’re thrilled to honour advisors whose extraordinary performance has not only set them apart within our SmartFlyer community but whose long-standing commitment to their business has fostered mentorship and industry-leading success,” said Michael Holtz, SmartFlyer CEO and Founder.
“The relationships we’ve built dating back to bringing on our first independent contractor in 2010 and the introduction of SmartFlyer ONE in 2015 illustrate our mutual commitment to excellence on behalf of our clients.”
The 2023 SmartFlyer ONE advisors will be recognised during the agency’s three-day summit at SmartFlyer CORE in London. Later this year, Holtz and Pindar will co-host the annual SmartFlyer ONE retreat in a yet-to-be-announced location. The four-night itinerary will include exclusive access to one of the world’s most coveted properties.
As always, the ethos of the trip is centered on the continued collection of shared knowledge; every experience is meant to provide both inspiration and first-hand recommendations to be passed on to existing and future clients.
Meanwhile, the SmartFlyer ICON designation that honors agencies that have achieved SmartFlyer ONE status five times, has welcomed six founding members. They are:
Robert Merlin, SmartFlyer, St. Louis, Missouri
Kara Slater, SmartFlyer, Los Angeles, California
Kyle Seltzer, KAX Lifestyle, Miami, Florida
Katie Jacobson, Ever After Honeymoons, Newport Beach, California
Deborah Director, SmartFlyer, Boca Raton, Florida
Kimberly Gavin, Canvas Travel Co., Newport Beach, California
“We’re proud to act as the platform for an exemplary group of advisors who not only raise the bar within our community but across the entire travel industry,” said Erina Pindar, COO and Managing Partner of SmartFlyer.
“Introducing our SmartFlyer ICON recognition is representative not only of the value we place on the ever-increasing Top Producer revenue threshold but also how much it means to us that top booking advisors have built their careers alongside us.”
Lead image: Anthony Goldman, Joint Managing Director, Goldman Group; Ash Chin and Michael Holtz, CEO, SmartFlyer.
