Link Travel Group (LTG) and supplier partners celebrated a successful first full financial year on Wednesday, 29 November, with a network update and drinks at the stylish InterContinental Sydney.
Despite a heavy storm soaking Sydney, causing transport chaos and meaning some had to miss out due to flight cancellations, almost 100 Australia-wide invitees braved the weather to reconnect, reflect and celebrate together on the year that was.
With many of the group’s luxury and corporate members reporting record financial years for 22/23, the mood was celebratory, grateful and optimistic as spirited conversations centred around what comes next for the group and its supplier partners in 2024.
A much-talked-about joint venture and invitation-only group that began in May 2022 between Flight Centre Travel Group, The Goldman Group and The Spencer Group of Companies, the collective now comprises 16 members and 22 outlets, with Perth-based Travel & Sports Australia as its latest addition.
Indeed, more significant member growth is forecasted, with LTG general manager Scott Darlow telling Karryon that the group is “gearing up for some pretty heavy expansion throughout next year, and especially in the middle part of the year,” saying he is anticipating near “double-digit” member additions in 2024.
However, despite the market curiosity and interest, Darlow shared that the group’s advisory board had declined 53 applications to join the group in the last 12 months due to their being businesses “which we just don’t see as a fit for Link.”
Addressing invitees on the night, Darlow reiterated the group’s strict criteria and adherence to its Link Standard and four critical pillars of integrity, transparency, connection, and collaboration at all costs: “We are absolutely committed to not being a mass market group, and we will still stick by our principles to get the right people,” he said.
Highlighting her pride in the newfound relationships, collaboration and support that has developed between the group’s members since its inception, Dani Galloway, Global MD of FCTG’s Premium and Independent Divisions and co-founder of LTG told Karryon that she believes the group’s core strength is the connection of its like-minded members.
Enhancing that connection, she said, is the benefit that “members have got the ecosystem of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) that sits in the background, not the foreground, and I think that’s not necessarily what everybody thought would be there.”
The positive outcomes, says Ms Galloway, have been that “It has been the perfect match of what business owners needed as a combination of connecting and getting incredible knowledge from like-minded businesses but also getting the FCTG ecosystem technology, product and support.”
Reflecting on what has “been a great year”, Penny Spencer, founder and managing director of Spencer Group of Companies and a co-founder of LTG, told Karryon, “I think what we’ve loved the most is the support. The support from the industry, and the support from other independent agencies coming to us and saying “we’re not part of this, but we want to be part of this.”
The last 12 months have seen many highlights for LTG, including celebrating its first birthday in May, while in September, the group’s board met in Brisbane to mark an “amazing” start-up year and farewell an inaugural director, Mel Waters-Ryan.
Most recently, in October, the group held its inaugural “Owners Retreat”, hosted at Mount Lofty House and Sequoia Lodge in the Adelaide Hills with supplier partners.
For more information on Link Travel Group, click here.
