AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Signature Travel Network president
and CEO Alex Sharpe encouraged members and supplier partners attending the network's
annual Owners' Meeting to adopt the term "adviser" to describe agents
following ASTA's recent name change to the American Society of Travel Advisors.
Signature jumped on board the bandwagon shortly after ASTA
announced the change, stating that "adviser" would become its name of
choice for members going forward. Sharpe discussed the change last week at the
meeting at the Ritz-Carlton here.
"It was something that I thought was fantastic,"
Sharpe said. "We needed to unify under one name."
He recalled using terms like "agent," "consultant,"
"counselor" and "adviser." ASTA said its consumer research showed
"adviser" was the best descriptor, and so did Signature's own
research, the CEO said. Some were a little reluctant to the change because Virtuoso
had already adopted adviser as its term of choice, but Sharpe said it works.
He urged members and suppliers to adopt the terminology for
the greater good.
"Look, we have been a fractured industry for a very
long time," Sharpe said. "It is hard to advocate for the value of a
travel 'something,' right? ... As a collective, if the industry can get behind
the term travel adviser, we'll have a much louder voice in unison."
He pointed specifically to things like supplier marketing,
direct mail, e-marketing and commercials that previously referenced "travel
professionals" or similar.
"If it was all synched, we would start to send a
message," he said, adding that "our collective voice could be very,
very loud."