Meet Nick Wickers

• 18 Oct 2024
• Lily Fox

During the summer Nick Wickers joined our global business travel team. In his new role, Nick reports to Andrea and is leading our air, ground and technology commercial team. He will be focusing on curating a defined strategy to build and maintain strong trusted partnerships with key suppliers to negotiate the best commercial opportunities, building on the Advantage Air Programme and other products for our members. Find out more about Nick below – his favourite place to visit and what he’s keen to bring to his new role.

Could you share a little bit about your travel background?

I’ve over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry, starting as a front-line travel consultant before moving into supplier relations for the last 20 years across a (very) wide range of agency types, both TMC and Leisure. I have saved the best until now though, obviously! 

Tell us about your role at Advantage As Head of Supplier Partnerships

I’ll be using my experience to build on the great work already done to drive best-in-class commercial outcomes for our members across air, ground and technology, giving them the very best tools available to drive their individual businesses. We’ll only be successful if that’s done by delivering on what our members actually need and will use, so I’m super keen to listen and understand that fast. So please do reach out and tell me! 

What do you feel is the most valuable part of your role here at Advantage?

Coming from an agency background, I try and look at all our supplier conversations through the lens of a front-line agent. How useful is this content, does it create a point of difference? How will this benefit the bottom-line commercials of the member agency? We have such a breadth of membership that one size will not fit all, so it’s important to bring the varied experience we have in our supplier team to be agile and responsive in our negotiations. 

What advice would you give to a potential travel agent looking to start a career in the industry?

Although we have some great technology to support us, travel is a people first industry. It doesn’t matter if you’re arranging a dream holiday or a complex business trip, its success is in your hands and building relationships and trust with your clients as well as your colleagues is essential to that. 

What is your favourite thing about working in the travel industry?

I entered the industry in the first place as travelling was a passion, and I’ve never changed that view. I’m still that person who gets excited about a new route launch announcement, so Tbilisi here I come next summer! 

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

This is an easy one, I first visited South Africa in 1999 to play cricket and have clocked up 50 visits since. Cape Town is the best city in the world to visit (sunshine, landscape, vineyards, no jetlag, and much, much more), and I’ll remind myself of that once again when I head back in February.