North American consortia, Ensemble, has revealed a new membership collaboration with Helloworld Travel Limited. The newly formed partnership will see Ensemble relaunch in Australia and New Zealand via Helloworld’s extended network of over 2,400 independent travel agents and brokers in the region.

“This alliance aims to provide the company’s travel professionals with enhanced tools to achieve maximum success and profitability,” Ensemble said.

Cinzia Burnes, COO and Executive Director at Helloworld Travel Limited, said, “We reached out to Ensemble after closely watching the consortium’s transformation over the past two years.

“We were particularly impressed with the new luxury accommodation program Ensemble has launched to support travel advisors including their proprietary booking platform, ADX,” Burnes said.

“This is both user-friendly and delivers enhanced profitability for travel advisors, making it a valuable asset for our networks to embrace.”

Michael Johnson, President of Ensemble said: “While our primary focus remains North American based, we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with likeminded organisations around the world that share our vision of empowering travel professionals.

“Helloworld Travel Limited’s mission and dedication to tailoring personalised and highly curated vacations for clients aligns perfectly with our commitment to supporting advisors through best-in-class programs and resources.”

Ensemble has introduced several new programs to enhance advisor support, including a new luxury program offering exclusive benefits and competitive rates at a wide range of luxury properties worldwide, and a new DMC Program providing access to the best destination management companies around the world to ensure unique and immersive travel experiences for clients.

Last month, Ensemble also launched a Luxury Certification Program, developed in collaboration with The Travel Institute.

The parties said that foundational to Ensemble’s advantages in the travel agency consortium space is “ADX”, Agent Digital Experience, a proprietary booking platform designed to maximise efficiencies and profitability for members and is delivering a comprehensive selection of luxury product at above average industry margins.

All agents in Helloworld’s Branded, Associate, Magellan, Business Travel, Alatus, My Travel, MTA, Express Travel and First Travel Group will have access to the program effective 1 August 2024. Previously, before it was acquired by Helloworld, Magellan had a long-standing partnership with rival US consortia, Signature Travel Network. That partnership has dissolved slowly in recent years.

As part of the overhaul of its marketing program, Ensemble launched a new consumer facing print publication, Range Magazine, which was named among the top three travel magazines in North America, alongside Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler. This magazine provides advisors with inspiring content and valuable insights to share with clients, and can also be customised to the member’s agency.

LATTE has been the sole Australian travel trade title reporting all Ensemble’s relevant news since it exited the local market at the outset of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. Ensemble had a presence in the ANZ market for more than five years, with around 40 member agencies. The local arm was initially lead by Trish Shepherd, SVP and General Manager Australia/New Zealand, who was succeeded by Katy Muyt in 2019.

In 2022, Ensemble was acquired by Navigatr Group which ultimately saw former Executive Chairman David Harris succeeded by Michael Johnson. At the same time, Ensemble appointed former Virtuoso executive, Beth Butzlaff, as Senior Vice President Global Partner Relations.

Earlier this year, Ensemble announced its second consecutive year of profit sharing with 90% of members increasing their payouts from the previous year. While in January, Ensemble introduced a new ‘Luxe Circle’ to its stable of communities, recognising the significance of the high-end travel segment.