Inside The Agent Network Hunting & Collecting Major Success

The managing director of Travellers Choice took up his guitar once more at the company’s annual conference in Melbourne last week, staged under the title “Nailing It”.

And nail it he did with a stirring rendition of the Hunters and Collectors song Holy Grail, dedicated to the company’s recent five-peat as ‘Australia’s Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network’ at the National Travel Industry Awards.

In an interview with Traveltalk managing editor Jon Underwood, Hunter said everyone within the organisation was singing from the same song sheet.

“It has been a solid year,” Hunter declared, emphasising the company’s performance. “Sales-wise it’s been solid, profit-wise it’s been good and we’ve had a really good influx of new members which are now starting to impact the group in a positive way.”

The organisation’s commitment to quality over quantity has been a defining characteristic of their growth strategy.

“Our focus hasn’t been purely on just numbers for numbers’ sake. We’ve got a really strong value proposition for the right sort of agent in terms of what we provide and what they’ve got access to.”

One of the most striking achievements has been the consistently high member satisfaction rating.

“We get great feedback from members. We have 100% satisfaction, with our Net Promoter Score still at 90, which is off the charts,” Hunter noted.

This success stems from the organisation’s core philosophy of responsive support. “We actually work with the members, get their feedback, listen to it and respond to it. We’re nothing without the members. We need them to be performing, we need them to be successful.”

The highlight of the conference – other than Hunter’s performance – was the announcement of a game-changing AI initiative which the MD called “the most exciting project we’ve ever embarked upon”.

“We know that AI is barrelling down at us all in every sector,” Hunter explained. “We wanted to be on the front foot and harness the positive side of the technology to really support the members.”

The projected benefits are substantial, with the potential to generate 20 additional working days of productivity per year for every staff member.

But the AI project goes beyond mere efficiency. Hunter sees it as a comprehensive learning tool, particularly for new industry entrants.

“It’s going to play a really big role with new or less experienced people, providing a safe place to learn, to teach themselves and to drive their own knowledge.”

Despite geopolitical tensions affecting destination choices, Hunter remains optimistic about the travel industry’s future in general and for Travellers Choice in particular.

“The group is tracking well ahead of last year in FY 26,” he said. “We’ve added 24 new members in the last two years and hopefully, we’ll see that number increase even further.”

The annual conference itself embodies the company’s collaborative spirit. “It’s like a reunion of friends or family,” Hunter described. “We put a lot of effort into the content to make it meaningful, hoping that people will leave and start implementing what they’ve learned.”

Reflecting on the company’s achievements and future prospects, Hunter’s passion is palpable.

“We remain flexible. We get feedback. We adapt,” he said. “Providing members with support is what sets Travelers Choice apart and we’ll continue to do it for as long as I’m around.”

Pictures courtesy Melissa Hobbs

www.travelagentschoice.com.au.