Latest news with #F1S
Travel Weekly
08-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
First in Service Travel rolls out its own after-hours service
First in Service Travel (F1S) has fully rolled out its own after-hours support for advisors. The service is branded as F1S Service Around the Sun. The initiative soft-launched in March and is now fully operational for travel advisors. Starting this fall, it will be open to F1S clients. F1S CEO Fernando Gonzalez said a differentiator of F1S's service, compared to other after-hours services in the industry, is that the agency's employees staff it. "This means the person on the other end of the line has a personal stake in the success of every advisor and client interaction -- aligning with our Fanat1cal Service pillar, which is part of our broader One Global Network philosophy," he said. F1S has built up its after-hours staff in Canada, Colombia, the Philippines and Spain to support its leisure, corporate and entertainment advisors whenever they need assistance. Service is offered in English and Spanish.
Travel Weekly
05-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Remodeling success: First in Service tweaks the way it supports ICs
Jamie Biesiada Fernando Gonzalez, CEO of New York-based First in Service (styled F1S), looks at his agency as one that essentially exists to serve 130 other companies. Those 130 companies are F1S's independent contractors (ICs) and their teams, and they were top of mind when F1S decided to embark on a "remodel." The agency, Gonzalez said in a recent interview, already has a strong foundation and a well-defined culture. But he recognized the ongoing need to introduce new technology and review processes and procedures, hence the remodel. "Like any remodel, you have to first take into account what it is that we need and what it is that 130 of our business units need, so that we can properly prioritize and invest in the right things," he said. That process is a little more complex because F1S not only serves leisure clients, but also corporate clients and clients in the entertainment world; music is the entertainment vertical's bread and butter, but F1S also serves clients in television and film production, fashion and sports. F1S in-house support for ICs F1S has been going through the process of understanding the needs of its ICs, and something has become abundantly clear: They are busy, and they need extra help. F1S experienced 23% year-over-year growth in 2024, and that trajectory continues into 2025. "From a people perspective, and I think from an after-hours perspective, it's giving them more hands," Gonzalez said. "Allowing them to have more individuals, people, that can serve their clients." F1S is bringing its after-hours support in-house, Gonzalez said. The in-house part is key, because it brings an inherent layer of trust that the service for their clients will be at a high level. "The second phase of that is having enough staff that, if they need to take a break, they can," he said. "Whether it's because they're not feeling well one day or because they deserve a vacation." The double-digit growth has been a boon, Gonzalez said, but his priority is ensuring ICs get proper support to keep doing their job well. "The margins are great, but how long can we run that sprint?" he said. Organic growth at F1S Gina Gabbard, chief strategy officer at F1S, said a lot of the agency's growth in 2024 was organic. F1S's ICs have grown their own businesses, leading to overall growth. ICs focused on entertainment have also begun diversifying, Gabbard said. "Instead of just doing a tour, a lot of the artists will want to take a few days off, maybe in between cities or they have a break," Gabbard said. "Instead of the advisor not handling that, now we're seeing them take that on." The same thing is happening on the corporate front, she said. ICs traditionally focused on corporate are beginning to offer leisure services to those same clients. F1S has a global footprint, and it is realizing growth abroad, especially in Mexico and Canada. While it only has five advisors in Europe, Gabbard said those advisors saw 400% growth last year. Groups in all of F1S's verticals — leisure, corporate and entertainment — are also on the rise, contributing to overall growth.
