Fabrice Allion joins Havas Voyages

Fabrice Allion, who previously worked for brands such as Zadig & Voltaire, Des Petits Hauts, Décathlon, Lacoste, and Apple, has joined Havas Voyages as the director of leisure networks. His arrival allowed the company to adopt best practices from the retail sector.

Internal reorganization follows leadership changes

Grégory Baumann, previously deputy general manager of Havas Voyages, was promoted to a higher position following the appointment of Christophe Jacquet as general manager of the Marietton group, which owns Havas Voyages. Laurent Abitbol gave Baumann the keys to the company, leading to an internal reorganization.

Network management and franchise direction

Among the main changes, Fabrice Allion was hired to manage a network of nearly 200 integrated agencies: 176 Havas and 13 Auchan Voyages. Arnaud Abitbol retains the direction of the franchise, as the relationship is historical and works well. The network includes 350 integrated and franchised agencies.

Strengthening business travel operations

In parallel with Allion's arrival, the company strengthened the business travel direction, which accounts for 50% of their activity, by hiring two people: Cyril Pellegrin as commercial and marketing director and Brice Nicolas who oversees all operations as well as their 17 BTC - their business tables - throughout France.

Company's growth and service philosophy

The reorganization is linked to the company's ambition and the growth they want to achieve. On the business travel side, they aim to continue to inscribe their DNA - that of service in a highly digitalized profession - and to anchor this service offered to travelers and companies. Their credo is to take care of business travelers and company budgets.

Historical recognition and new market positioning

Historically, they were very recognized in the SME market. Gradually, they are positioning themselves on major accounts. They recently signed an account on the French market that is worth 30 million euros. They organize round tables with their customers two to three times a year to set the roadmap for the coming months and years. They are launching a major customer satisfaction survey.

Adapting to customer concerns and expanding services

Current concerns of their business customers include maintaining their budget in an inflationary context. They are the leading French network in terms of NDC ticket sales: one out of every two Air France tickets sold by Havas Voyages is an NDC ticket. They also offer other services: they have changed their content with Amadeus Cars, expanded their rail offering with foreign companies; and they handle all requests for compensation in case of flight delays.

Premium positioning on the leisure side

On the leisure side, Havas Voyages is a premium brand on the market, with a DNA, a reputation, 80 years of experience. Their ambition is to offer their customers the best experience in a travel agency, emphasizing "the art and the way" of practicing their profession. The art is their teams, their expertise, their experience, their passion. But they cannot rely solely on art, it is important to have the method, that is, the best methods to deploy in an agency to ensure that the customer experience is perfect from start to finish.

Customer relationship and specialization

They work with their teams on the entire customer relationship, from the first meeting to the signing of the travel project, to provide the answer or travel project that best meets the customer's criteria and requirements. They want to create moments, instants, experiences. Their second project concerns specialization. Their customers have become "knowers," they want to be the pilots of their travel projects. They need experts who are even more knowledgeable, capable of telling them the best options based on their preferences.

Training specialists and customer engagement

Of the 400 Travel Planners in the Havas Voyages network, 70 are trained on specific destinations, as part of their "Specialist" program. They put them in contact with customers who come through "leads," that is, people who search online how they could be accompanied for their trip. The process is in two steps: the customer contacts their call center or asks questions on the Havas Voyages website chat, then is redirected to the specialist who best understands the destination.

Sales performance and brand positioning

The average basket at Havas Voyages for the leisure side is over 4,000 euros. And over 8,000 euros within their "Specialist" program. They sell everything - packages, circuits, short stays, cruises, etc. - and are present on all market segments, but the brand's positioning is rather premium.

Allion's perspective and team dynamics

Fabrice Allion has been in the travel sector for a few months now and is still learning a lot: names, technical terms, between air and land. He finds his energy from the teams. Their 400 employees are all passionate about travel. He has managed different networks, worked for Decathlon France, Zadig & Voltaire, Lacoste, and opened the first Apple Store in France. Here, the difference is that instead of selling products that generate immediate pleasure, they sell emotions, happiness, moments. It is a completely different philosophy and it takes a lot of time. Buying a jacket takes ten minutes. Buying a trip requires reflection, trust, you have to create a bond. And having passionate people in their teams is extraordinary.

Improving customer experiences through methods

Since his arrival, Allion has implemented methods to help their agencies better travel their customers: longer, more often, further in the mind, with different experiences, details in the trip, lifestyle, discoveries off the beaten path. He helps the agencies to better serve their customers, because when the trip is successful, the customer, in their mind, returns. An example is Nathalie, manager of the Laval agency, who has been with them for 40 years, in the same agency. A customer said: "I don't go to this agency. I come to see Nathalie." This is extremely important. Once you have traveled a satisfied customer, they return to see the person because they trust them.

Performance in 2026 and market challenges

The year 2026 will not be the best year for Havas Voyages. On the business travel side, it is a year that holds, that resists. They were not impacted by the crisis in the Middle East, and that is very good news. The repatriation period was complicated for the entire industry, but overall, they did not experience any slowdown and should finish the year with slight growth in business travel. They gained new markets that support them.

Leisure side performance and recovery efforts

On the leisure side, there were months where they flirted with -30%, particularly May, which was very difficult. Summer went well, slightly above last year. However, they do not think they will make up for the delay in the first half of the year, having had consecutive months at -10%, -20%, -30%. They have nevertheless achieved some very good commercial operations, one on Polynesia in September and another, still ongoing, on Japan, which is working very well. They are tripling their sales on the destination.

Autumn challenges and customer hesitation

Autumn is on a tightrope, on the edge, it is fragile. They cannot predict what will happen by the end of the year, and even less so in the context of this weekend. It is not good for business, it is fragile. The decision-making process is slowed down among their customers. They are recording damages among Havas agencies, with the two Rennes agencies - one integrated and one franchised - having been degraded. They were trembling all weekend and remained in contact with their agencies, the regional director, the network director, and themselves. For the case of Rennes, they filed a complaint and protected the agencies by putting up chipboard on the windows.

Future plans and brand development

They are working on a new artistic direction for their social networks: image, charter, etc. A subject they have not invested enough in. A new identity is emerging on the networks, which is more like their brand: on Instagram for leisure and on LinkedIn for the business side. They have a second project, which is to strengthen training, relying on their best agents to train their teams. A leader is someone who is exemplary, recognized, and inspires their colleagues. Therefore, who better than the best to help them pass messages? They will offer training to their teams on destinations, sales techniques, the method, customer experience, etc., co-hosted by the leaders of their agencies. Always in the same desire to help their customers travel under the best conditions.