For our seasoned Avanti Travel Advisor partners, this name likely rings a bell – 13 years ago, Nathan Guilfoyle entered our Reservations Department, working as a Travel Consultant for several years before moving into Operations for a stretch. Nowadays, Nate is the brains behind the Web Department – you may even recognize him as the host of our interactive web trainings. Not only does he lead our sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays to bring you information and updates about Avanti’s online tools, but he works behind the scenes on the website’s interface to constantly ensure it's updated and accessible to operate. Nate is also continuously searching for opportunities to innovate. While we have already launched several new online resources in recent months – including our interactive Destination Guide and a fresh new dashboard – he reports that there is still much more to expect in 2024. Additionally, Nate is one of Avanti's most knowledgeable travelers, having participated in over 15 Avanti Educational excursions over the years and even more personal expeditions – in total, he has visited 48 countries! Learn more about Nate, the web, and his insider travel tips below.

What Excites you About Working with Avanti: "I find a ton of meaning and value in supporting people and helping everyone find what they need. Every day I have the pleasure of managing the processes on our website and translating information from our departments onto our page – whether Marketing, Operations, Groups, Product, IT, or Accounting, I ensure that information gets onto our website for our partners to access and digest. I also work closely with Travel Advisors and help them understand how to use our available online tools. We offer web trainings every Tuesday and Thursday that cover various areas of our page, and we also showcase creative ways to book different destinations. Not only is it fun to train people on our website, but I love building relationships along the way. After being with Avanti for 13 years, I have gained valuable partnerships with my colleagues as well as our external partners – I love what I do."

Favorite Feature of the Avanti Website: There are so many handy features of our site but I am particularly proud of the Planner tool (under 'Quick Quote'), which we built from scratch to make the planning process easier and more efficient. It allows Travel Advisors to create a quote within minutes online, giving them independence to plan an itinerary and send it to their clients quickly. Also, our recently launched Destination Guide is a valuable feature – it's an umbrella where all of our destinations and products live, allowing TAs to digest the information and apply it directly. The interactive map is a useful visual to show advisors where their clients will be going, how they can get there, and what is available in each destination."  

An Online Feature You Think More People Should Use: Within the planner tool, there is an ability to copy an itinerary. This is extremely useful, because Travel Advisors can duplicate any itinerary, make adjustments and changes, and send it out. Perhaps they are looking to give multiple different options to one client, such as showcasing different dates, highlighting the price difference when adding private transfers, or changing the hotels and locations. Additionally, you can copy and save a particular trip as a suggestion to multiple different clients – let's say you build a specific wine-lover's excursion and want to copy and save it for future travelers who may enjoy it. This copy feature is extremely helpful and can save you a lot of time when building out a trip."

Something That People Might Not Know About Avanti: "People might not be aware just how educated our staff is. Avanti is highly invested in this aspect of our business, and is dedicated to everyone's ongoing growth. When onboarded, our staff receive weeks upon weeks of destination training and learn to become specialists within a given region. Additionally, we host several in-office trainings with various suppliers. People in our Reservations Team travel at least once a year on Educational Trips to experience our products first-hand. We love when our staff can say 'Yes, I've been there!' and can give trustworthy input and expertise into the products we sell. I also think people are surprised by our wide variety of products and services. People may lean toward the most popular tours, but we actually offer so many unique experiences beyond the ordinary, and I really encourage Travel Advisors to dig deeper! We offer various hidden gems such as boutique hotels, private cooking classes, excursions with locals, and so much more."

Most Memorable Avanti Travel Experience: "In 2016 we went to Patagonia, and it was incredible. We explored Santiago, Chiloé Island, and later flew to Punta Arenas, the southernmost tip of the Americas, often referred to as the 'End of the World,' We visited the Grey Glacier, hiked out, and had tea within a 20,000-year-old ice cave. The colors were insane – I saw the bluest blues I could ever imagine."

Top Recommendation for Travelers: "Japan is a must-see. It's full of breathtaking nature and truly traditional experiences. Travelers can participate in cultural sharing, whether trying on local clothing, eating shabu-shabu style dinners, or being linked into the past by visiting areas that still operate by tradition. Because it's a craftsman culture, people dedicate their entire lives to a given craft, meaning you can find the best of the best when you visit – whether fiber arts, sushi, or curated whiskey in oak barrels. Kyoto is fascinating because it was the old capital and has a ton of history. I loved Hakone and its location near Mt Fuji – the towns are based around onsen and hot springs. In general, Japan is one of my top recommendations for travelers because of its beauty and diverse experiences."

Your Goals for 2024: "I think my key word for 2024 is 'Refining.' We plan to fine-tune a lot of the tools that already exist, and not only add more capabilities, but make the processes even easier and more straight-forward to use. We love listening to our Travel Advisors and making sure we are representing their needs online, so it's important to me that we continue honing in those requests to create an even more polished platform. Our Destination Guide has been getting a lot of activity lately, so I think continuing to look at how we can expand that as well. We also hope to create a new feature where Advisors can search for interest-based itineraries – let's say a client is looking for a curated wine excursion and wants to know what wine regions and options exist around the globe. This is an exciting time to be on the Web Team because there will be so much more to generate this year."

Want to delve deeper into the web and better understand everything it offers? Check out our extensive library of web trainings!

Thank you, Nate, for sharing your insights, and for all that you do for Avanti!