This year has seen some of the biggest changes in Avoya Travel’s history. With roots dating back to 1964, Avoya was run as a family business until June, when co-CEOs Jeff and Michael Anderson sold their stake in Avoya to Certares, which had been an investor in the host agency since 2021.
And last week, the company announced that Marc Kazlauskas — who was appointed CEO in August — will be departing the host agency to become the president of Norwegian Cruise Line, effective Jan. 19.
As a result, Avoya has promoted Phil Cappelli to be CEO of Avoya. Cappelli joined Avoya in fall of 2023 as chief sales officer (CSO) and previously served as senior vice president of preferred partnerships at Signature Travel Network, with earlier roles at Insight Vacations/Luxury Gold and Tauck.
Cappelli admits that this wasn’t the original plan for Avoya, but believes that he is well-poised to lead the company forward, promising continuity, stability and further growth.
How do you feel about Marc’s departure?
It's bittersweet. I love Marc, and we have worked together for about 30 years, so the idea when we brought him on was that we could do it together. But you can't blame him. It's a bummer, but when he called me about [the new position], I said he absolutely had to take that job.
How are you positioning it to the advisors at Avoya?
We just went through the transition to Certares ownership [following the sale by] the Andersons, and so it's only been five months since we brought Marc on. So, there's a lot of rockiness there, but the continuity of me being at Avoya now for almost three years helps. I've worked with this group for a long time, even before I was the CSO, as a supplier.
Advisors should feel confident that the things that matter most — support, stability, access to suppliers and growth opportunities — remain unchanged and are, in fact, strengthening.
Advisors should feel confident that the things that matter most — support, stability, access to suppliers and growth opportunities — remain unchanged and are, in fact, strengthening.
Since you were hoping to lead Avoya in partnership with Marc, what does that mean for how you're going to approach the role of CEO?
I was in charge of sales, marketing and partnerships. And as CEO, I will oversee human resources and finance, which is something that I know well. I was president of Insight Vacations for a long time, so I understand what it takes to be in that role. It just changes my mindset from focusing on those three areas to now the whole company. I have great people here and a good foundation.
So, you were a natural choice for CEO.
Back when they were looking for a new CEO — during the whole transition before Marc came on — I was talking to them about it. Once [Marc] said he could come, I decided to stay in my seat, and we'd do it together. So, I was looking at it back then for myself, and Avoya was looking at me for it, but I think the reason we went with Marc was to get another person like me who could help the company.
I know your phone has been ringing nonstop. What sort of outreach are you receiving?
A lot of support and appreciation from the network, from our partners, from the team —that has been No. 1. And then continuity, just making sure I'm not going anywhere.
Will you be making any changes as CEO?
Marc and I already built our plans for 2026 together. So, we're positioned well and our sales momentum is good. The plan's pretty much baked, and so it's just a matter of making sure we execute it.
Marc and I already built our plans for 2026 together. So, we're positioned well and our sales momentum is good. The plan's pretty much baked, and so it's just a matter of making sure we execute it.
We want to make sure the culture is strong with the Avoya staff and with the network. And our partnerships are some of the best in the industry, so we're really blessed there. So, I don't see changes for that. It's just really keeping the hammer down.
How do you plan to keep the organization aligned and confident during this change in leadership?
Alignment starts with clarity and communication. We are being very intentional about keeping teams, advisors and partners informed, not just about what we are doing, but why we are doing it.
We are reinforcing clear priorities, measurable goals and accountability across the organization, while continuing to invest in leadership development and cross-functional collaboration. Just as importantly, we are staying close to our advisors and supplier partners to ensure we are listening, adapting and responding in real time.
Confidence comes from consistency, and that will be a hallmark of this next chapter.
What’s the vision and strategy for next year?
The areas that are massive for us are culture within our own group and our network, technology improvements, and platform upgrades. We've always been best in class with technology, and that will continue. We're doing a lot with AI already, but you'll see more from us there.
And then at the end of the day, it's growth: Growing leads for our network, growing our market share — just growing across the board. It’s a three-pronged approach: people first via culture; technology — making sure they have the right systems available to them; and continuing to grow.
When you say culture, what are you speaking about specifically?
We are finding out what Avoya’s staff needs to succeed in their roles — what's missing, and what's been great. Things change over time, and we want to do some base case of where we are as a company around culture and making sure that we're addressing the needs of that group.
How about your Independent Advisor network?
We had our biggest conference ever, with more than 600 people on MSC Cruises’ World America [in October], which was an outstanding event. We've added a lot of tools and technology —we’ve added Tern, for example. We've also improved the network’s incentives and how they can earn with us.
And how are you feeling about 2026, in general? How is business looking?
Travel is great, and we had our best month ever coming off Black Friday. And the first few weeks of December have been really strong.
Whenever things feel really good, something happens. So, I'm always cautious about global uncertainty. There's a lot out there that can bite us, but now we're positioned well, and the momentum is strong for 2026. The level that we're booked already looks strong, so it's about continuing to do what we're doing to drive business and then adapting to anything that happens.
Who is the typical Avoya advisor these days, and what is this advisor selling?
We're probably in the top five with Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania and all the big cruise lines. Avoya's always been heavily tilted toward cruise. About 80% of our business is cruise, so we've always done well there, and we're on the luxury premium side. And we're putting more tools out there on the air side, because we want more air and land business.
When you have 2,600 advisors, you run the gamut. So, we've also got a lot of new people coming into the business who are new to industry, and they're working their way up.
Are you hoping to grow your advisor numbers significantly, or are you talking about growth in other ways?
We want to grow revenue, and we want to bring on more advisors this year. Sometimes they're new to the industry, and that's great because we've got a great training track for new people.
Avoya is a great place to land if you really want to be a professional and learn this craft.
There's so much noise in our space trying to attract new advisors. But if you look at Avoya, we're almost like a 60-year startup because we've been doing this for so long, but now we're with a private equity group and we're investing in certain things. And so, Avoya is a great place to land if you really want to be a professional and learn this craft.
Is there anything else you want Avoya’s advisors and the wider travel industry to know?
Avoya is entering this next phase from a position of strength and momentum. We believe deeply in the independent advisor model and in the power of partnerships across the travel ecosystem.
This leadership transition represents opportunity, not just for Avoya as a company, but for our advisors, our partners and the broader industry we are proud to be part of. We are committed to growing together, investing for the long term and continuing to raise the bar on what it means to support independent advisors at scale.
