American Marketing Group, the umbrella company for Travelsavers, NEST and The Affluent Traveler Collection, last week brought its luxury travel specialists and broader agency community together in San Antonio, Texas, for two consecutive conferences at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. (Pictured above: AMG advisors gather to celebratre success.)

Held Sept. 22-24, The Affluent Traveler Collection Symposium drew about 250 attendees for meetings focused on luxury travel. Travel Market 2026 followed on Sept. 24–27, bringing together close to 1,000 advisors from Travelsavers and NEST for supplier meetings, training and discussions about marketing, technology and agency growth.

The combined meetings gave advisors attending an opportunity to move from developing their luxury business to examining the tools, partnerships and strategies supporting their travel agencies. At The Affluent Traveler Collection, advisors reported higher luxury spending and bookings this year. At Travel Market, Travelsavers and NEST detailed agency recruitment gains, new marketing and technology programs, and survey showing changing client behavior.

The relationship between the events begins with the company behind them. American Marketing Group  (AMG) began as Travelsavers, a travel agency consortium founded by Rick Mazza in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1970 to help independent agencies compete with larger agency groups. As the operation grew, AMG became the umbrella company for Travelsavers, NEST and The Affluent Traveler Collection. Based in Oyster Bay, N.Y., AMG encompasses 19 companies that work with about 25,000 travel advisors generating $20 billion in annual sales.

Rick Mazza remains president and CEO of AMG, while his family members oversee day-to-day operations. His daughter Kathryn Mazza-Burney oversees agency relationships, his other daughter Nicole Mazza oversees marketing and supplier relationships, and his son Jim Mazza oversees technology and business travel. 

Travelsavers primarily serves storefront agencies with an international network encompassing more than 2,000 independent agencies serving leisure and corporate clients in more than 35 countries. NEST (Network of Entrepreneurs Selling Travel), serves more than 500 home-based agencies in the U.S. NEST Plus is a separate U.S. host agency with about 175 affiliates, allowing advisors to operate through the host’s booking credentials.

The Affluent Traveler Collection (ATC) is an invitation-only luxury program for about 350 agencies drawn from Travelsavers, NEST and NEST Plus. Agencies qualify based on sales with luxury preferred partners rather than overall sales. ATC also has a portfolio of luxury hotels and other preferred suppliers that agencies throughout the networks can sell, whether they are members of ATC.

The ATC Symposium brings qualifying agencies together with luxury partners. Travel Market, held every other year, gives those advisors and the wider agency community additional training and business development opportunities across travel specialties. Some Symposium attendees stayed in San Antonio for both meetings.

How ATC is Growing Business: The ATC meeting started off with reports of stellar results from ATC’s agency members. ATC said spending per guest with luxury preferred partners increased 45 percent year over year, from $14,300 to $20,800. Luxury ocean cruise sales rose 31 percent, overall cruise average price per day increased 10 percent and river cruise sales grew 12 percent.

Luxury cruise suite bookings increased 33 percent, with associated suite revenue rising 37 percent. Luxury hotel room nights grew 44 percent, while average daily rates increased 20 percent. For 2027, luxury land bookings were averaging 23 percent more per guest than comparable 2026 bookings. Sales of luxury ocean partners were pacing 40 percent ahead, while luxury river bookings were 84 percent ahead. 

Nicole Mazza encouraged ATC advisors to consider what those higher transactions could mean for their businesses and to focus their sales conversations on the experiences clients want. Her presentation emphasized personalization, access and the feelings associated with a journey, rather than relying solely on descriptions of hotel rooms or ship accommodations.

How Travelsavers and NEST Are Growing: At Travel Market, the focus widened to sales across both the. Travelsaver and NEST networks, which collectively reported that 2026 FIT land sales increased 7 percent while guided sales rose 8 percent compared to last year. Cruise and river cruise sales each increased 14 percent, while hotel room nights grew 8 percent. Those gains follow 15 percent network revenue growth in 2025. Bookings for 2027 are showing double-digit growth across most travel segments, according to the company.

“Our innovation strategy has always been laser-focused on helping advisors grow stronger, more profitable businesses while delivering exceptional value to travelers,” said Nicole Mazza, chief marketing officer. “For more than 56 years, we've developed solutions that help agencies sell more and operate more efficiently. We're building on that legacy today with powerful new tools, expanded partnerships, and advanced marketing capabilities that give our advisors a competitive advantage now and into the future.”  

Recruitment has added agencies to both Travelsavers and NEST. Travelsavers has welcomed five new affiliates so far in 2026, representing $78.9 million in preferred partner sales. That follows 11 agencies which joined in 2025, bringing $86.9 million in preferred partner sales. Meanwhile, NEST has added 36 agencies so far in 2026, representing $91 million in preferred partner sales. In 2025, 88 agencies joined with $273 million in preferred sales.

“Savvy travelers are discovering that booking through an advisor results in a superior experience,” said Kathryn Mazza-Burney, Travelsavers’ chief sales officer and NEST president. “Agencies are looking for a network that helps them capture this growing demand, and that's exactly what Travelsavers delivers. We empower advisors to grow faster, operate more efficiently, and create exceptional experiences for their clients.”

Travelsavers offers protected territories to its agencies that provide them with exclusive opportunities to receive leads and serve clients within designated markets. Its business analysts meet with agencies at least twice a year to review sales and develop plans suited to their goals. When an agency books with a nonpreferred supplier, an analyst may identify a comparable preferred partner and explain how moving that business could increase commissions.

For Travelsavers and NEST agencies, business analysts also work on marketing effectiveness, technology use and ongoing coaching. The network describes itself as the industry’s first and only network dedicated to home-based agencies. Affiliation remains invitation-only: agencies must be independently owned, home-based businesses and meet preferred supplier sales requirements.

“NEST has created a collaborative family where home-based travel entrepreneurs can thrive,” said Mazza-Burney. “Each agency benefits from strategic guidance from experienced business analysts, innovative marketing programs, and proprietary technology solutions that help them operate more efficiently and grow revenue. As our affiliates succeed, they spread the word about the value of the network, fueling interest from high-quality agencies across the country.”

Both networks offer profit-sharing opportunities, preferred supplier relationships, lead-generation programs, marketing, proprietary technology, education and exclusive events. Travelsavers also offers specialty niche programs. NEST’s benefits include higher commission opportunities while allowing advisors to retain 100 percent of their earnings, professional development and access to a community of agency peers.

More Marketing Support: Adding more marketing support was a recurring topic across the two conferences. At the Symposium, Nicole Mazza discussed the Marketing Hub and urged advisors to complete their online profiles so consumers reached through the company’s marketing could find them. Travel Market provided more detail about the hub’s functions and the campaigns supplying those prospective clients.

Launched about two weeks before Travel Market, the Marketing Hub sits within the tripXpress itinerary-building platform. Advisors can use its dashboard to manage email and direct-mail enrollment and preferences, organize customer data, build targeted campaigns and review performance metrics.

The hub provides access to campaigns, promotions, social media content, training and marketing support. Advisors can find lead-generation opportunities, consumer promotions, seasonal campaigns, supplier offers and website resources, along with ready-to-use social posts, images and templates. Connections to other network tools are intended to reduce the need to navigate multiple platforms.

“By bringing resources, insights and execution together in one place, the Marketing Hub transforms how advisors promote their businesses,” said Tim Paul, vice president of marketing for Travelsavers. “They’ll spend less time searching for materials and more time building relationships, serving clients and generating sales. The Marketing Hub provides more visibility into performance and makes it easier to plan and implement outreach with confidence and impact.”

More Tech Support: In technology news, a new partnership with Tern adds an option for managing agency operations. Tern combines trip planning, client management, payments, task management and reporting. Supplier integrations eliminate manual entry of sales data, while a direct connection with the Marketing Hub is designed to support client engagement and business development.

Tern joins existing technology partners Travefy and Tres, which also provide real-time sales insights, tools to improve operational efficiency and opportunities to increase commissions, along with preferred pricing to reduce costs. The partnerships connect marketing with booking activity and support both the systems advisors use and the booking experience they provide to clients.

Nicole Mazza said integration work would continue over the coming months. She also outlined plans for additional tripXpress content and integrations and expanded agency portal resources for owners, employees and independent contractors.

More Lead Generation: To help Travelsavers and NEST agencies attract clients, the networks have added searches by destination expertise and travel niches to their consumer websites. The enhanced searches are available through Travelsavers’ U.S. and Canadian websites, the ATC website and Your Vacation Specialists, which directs prospects to NEST advisors.

At Travel Market, the marketing team helped advisors with headshots and profile updates, including the destination and specialty information used in those searches. Nicole Mazza emphasized that completed profiles allow the networks to direct consumers reached through their advertising to the appropriate advisors.

The digital campaigns generated nearly 18 million impressions this year, four times last year’s total, and 323,000 website clicks, three times the previous year’s figure. Launched three years ago, the campaigns use video and social media to attract travelers seeking professional planning assistance. Targeted initiatives focus on guided vacations, adventure travel and romance travel, along with a yearlong campaign aimed at first-time cruisers.

OnlineXpress, AMG’s agency website service, recorded a 52 percent year-over-year increase in page views and a 33 percent increase in consumer email volume. The company said the service generates millions of page views and distributes millions of emails to support agency visibility and lead generation. Nearly 1,600 personalized Travel Clubs also help advisors promote exclusive traveler benefits, maintain client relationships and encourage repeat business.

Luxury outreach includes The Affluent Traveler magazine, digital campaigns and consumer email marketing. The magazine is available in print and digital editions, with distribution expanding into bookstores and first-class airport lounges across North America.

More Preferred Partner Programs: Travelsavers and NEST now have more than 200 preferred suppliers, 51,000 hotel partners worldwide and 1,400 luxury hotels and resorts through ATC. And additional preferred suppliers are boosting the products available to advisors and their clients.

On the cruise front, an enhanced VIP Program provides benefits advisors can use to secure cruise bookings. It now offers 30 percent more cruise departure dates and expanded traveler amenities across thousands of sailings on 14 cruise lines. Benefits include onboard credits, prepaid gratuities and select group-rate departures without requiring advisors to manage a group.

Agencies affiliated with Travelsavers, NEST and NEST Plus have access to two hotel programs. The Travelsavers Hotel Program serves business and leisure travelers, while the ATC hotel program offers luxury properties and added amenities. Agencies do not need to qualify for ATC membership to use its hotel program.

The Travelsavers Hotel Program recently welcomed Choice Hotels, Global Hotel Alliance and Grupo Posadas. The addition of Choice expands accommodations options across destinations and budget levels. Global Hotel Alliance provides access to more independent luxury properties, while Grupo Posadas provides more hotel choices in Mexico. Affiliated advisors’ room-night bookings in Mexico increased 28 percent year over year.

Travelsavers and NEST now have preferred relationships with all five ALG Vacations brands following the addition of Funjet Vacations and Blue Sky Tours. Funjet offers all-inclusive resort vacations, while Blue Sky Tours provides travel to long-haul destinations, including Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the South Pacific.

On the luxury front, AMG’s OnLocation program expanded its relationship with Abercrombie & Kent to include additional destination management companies. Live Life Safaris adds expertise in Africa and luxury tour operator Audley Travel has also become a new preferred partner.

New tourism board relationships include Visit San Antonio, the Mexican Caribbean Tourism Board, Costa Rica, Gran Canaria Tourism Board, Baja California Sur and Finland. These partnerships give advisors destination resources to help them respond to traveler interest and develop itineraries.

What AMG Offers on the Training Front: AMG’s online Kore program prepares newbies for careers as travel advisors. Available in the U.S. and Canada, the course covers topics including digital marketing and fraud prevention. Participants who need a mentor are matched with one in the network, and those seeking employment can receive help finding a position.

Other training includes webinars, supplier sessions and in-person events. Travel Market takes place every other year, with NEST Fest, a separate gathering for NEST agencies, generally held in the intervening years.

A Survey of AMG advisors: A survey of advisors released at Travel Market provided a closer look at the demand agencies are working to capture. Advisors affiliated with Travelsavers and NEST in the U.S. and Canada took the survey Aug. 5–31. Participation was open to affiliated advisors.

Among respondents, 22 percent predicted their 2026 sales would increase significantly compared with 2025, and 43 percent expected a smaller increase. Another 17 percent expected sales to remain unchanged, 16 percent anticipated a modest decline, and 3 percent predicted a significant decline.

“These survey findings highlight a travel marketplace that remains vibrant and full of opportunity for advisors,” said Wayne Spector, senior vice president, sales and service for Travelsavers and NEST. “From increased shoulder-season activity to stronger travel insurance sales and continued demand for memorable experiences, advisors are well positioned to finish 2026 and start 2027 on a high note.”

Those who said they saw gains in bookings for the shoulder-season also leaned toward growth. Nineteen percent of advisors indicated an increase of at least 10 percent, and 20 percent indicated growth between 1 percent and 9 percent. Another 28 percent reported unchanged business. Fourteen percent indicated declines between 1 percent and 9 percent, while 9 percent indicated larger declines.

Another 10 percent said there was no longer a distinction between shoulder season and other periods. In presenting the results, AMG executives described those advisors as busy throughout the year as demand spreads beyond traditional peak travel dates.

Booking windows varied considerably. Six months to a year before departure was the most common window, cited by 38 percent of advisors. Another 25 percent cited three to six months, 14 percent said one to three months, and 2 percent said a month or less. Eleven percent said clients typically booked a year or more ahead, 4 percent reported a split between last-minute and far-ahead bookings, and 2 percent saw no pattern.

Compared with a year earlier, 40 percent said clients were booking closer to departure, while 22 percent reported bookings further in advance. Thirty-four percent saw no change, and 2 percent reported movement in both directions.

Organizers described reports of a U-shaped pattern, with some clients reserving far ahead to secure pricing and availability and others waiting for late opportunities or value-driven offers. Some advisors said clients were already planning travel for 2028.

Insurance purchases have increased for many respondents. Forty-five percent said more clients were buying coverage than a year earlier, 47 percent reported no change and 6 percent said fewer clients were purchasing it. Advisors reported that 67 percent of their clients buy travel insurance.

Advisors also reported client demand at several different price levels. Thirty-four percent of advisors said clients were just as willing to spend on travel as a year earlier, while 32 percent said clients were more willing to spend on travel generally. Another 12 percent reported greater willingness to pay for premium travel experiences. Twenty-one percent said clients were more willing to compromise to reduce costs.

“The modern traveler is highly intentional,” said Spector. “Some travelers are investing more in meaningful experiences and upgraded accommodations, while others are finding smart ways to maximize value. In both cases, professional travel advisors play a critical role in helping clients navigate choices, manage risks, and get the most from their travel budgets.”

Among approaches to obtaining better value, 16 percent of advisors cited flexible travel dates and another 16 percent cited selecting destinations that offer the best value for a client’s budget. Fourteen percent cited booking further ahead to secure pricing and availability. Traveling during less busy periods and exploring emerging destinations each accounted for 11 percent.

Advisors reported that clients were willing to change travel dates, airline cabin or hotel category to reduce costs. Those choices give advisors ways to adjust a trip to a client’s budget while preserving the reasons the client wants to travel.

AMG’s annual fall surveys also tracked growing AI adoption among their advisors. Usage rose from 22 percent in 2023 to 59 percent in 2025, while the share who considered AI a great advisor tool increased from 16 percent to 45 percent. Those who said they did not use AI and would not use it fell from 24 percent to 7 percent.

Putting Resources to Work: Nicole Mazza encouraged advisors to leave the conferences with ideas to help their agencies grow: a luxury experience suited to a particular client, a supplier they had not worked with, or an idea from another agency owner or a tool they could put into practice. Her message across the two meetings was to turn access to partners, marketing and technology into a strategy for increasing sales and profitability.

For more information, visit www.travelsavers.com, www.jointhenest.com or www.theaffluenttraveler.com.