New host agency Nicer aims to arm travel advisors with AI technology that will make them more efficient sellers while providing consumers with a mobile app to find then connect with an agent.
Global Travel Collection president Angie Licea, who also sits on Nicer’s board, said she’s excited about Nicer’s platform.
“I’m excited about what this potentially means for advisors in the marketplace,” she said. “How can it potentially enable more leads? How can it enable enhanced productivity? How can it enable access to content?”
Nicer is affiliated with GTC, Internova Travel Group’s luxury division.
Nicer’s CEO and co-founder, Ragan Stone, was a travel advisor. While she still works with clients, her full-time role is with Nicer.
Advisors work solely on Nicer’s web-based platform. Stone said that offers the benefit of avoiding multiple sign-ins to a GDS or itinerary-management software.
Clients use Nicer’s app to fill out a profile, find an advisor and view itineraries. Advisors are connected to clients via the app; they can also invite existing clients to use the app.
Right now, Nicer offers advisors a CRM tool, an itinerary builder and a point-and-click booking platform for air, hotel and rental cars.
While Nicer’s AI features aren’t live yet, Nicer already gives advisors a leg up with time savings, Stone said. Any profile information clients fill out via their profile on the app is automatically entered into the CRM. Nicer is working on a digital wallet where clients can save payment information so advisors don’t have to manually gather and input it.
“It’s eliminating a lot of that information organizing for advisors,” Stone said.
AI features are in the pipeline, Stone said, and are expected to be released in the coming months. Nicer is still collecting data, but when the features go live, the platform will proactively recommend things to advisors.
For instance, Stone said, if a family didn’t like being overscheduled on a vacation last year, it will suggest the advisor eliminate a tour. Or, it might recommend certain hotels based on what other advisors have booked for similar traveling parties.
By using technology, Stone posits, advisors will become more efficient and be able to sell more.
“Right now, many advisors kind of top out at a certain sales number just because of typical work-life balance constraints,” she said. “With the help of technology and making the process a bit more seamless, if you were selling a million and a half but feeling burned out, you can probably sell more like $3 million with Nicer and not dramatically increase your workload.”
Nicer currently hosts about 20 advisors. Stone said her goal is to host 100 advisors by the end of the year.
“We’re definitely not looking for the hobbyist advisor,” she said. “We’re looking for the professional travel advisor who wants to really grow their career.”
Nicer charges advisors a platform fee and utilizes a commission-split model.
