TravelManagers’ Jo Patton Wins Big with Virgin Voyages
Featured photo: Last year’s meeting with Virgin Voyages founder, Sir Richard Branson, inspired TravelManagers’ Jo Patton to become a Mermillionaire.
A memorable meeting with Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Voyages CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu, which came about as a result of her impressive sales performance in 2023, inspired TravelManagers’ Jo Patton to set her sights even higher when the cruise line announced its Mermillionaire incentive program for Australian travel advisors.
Patton, who is a personal travel manager (PTM) based in Ulladulla, NSW, says she had already spent the previous twelve months learning as much as possible about the Virgin Voyages products and systems, while simultaneously building an online community of clients who love the product as much as she does.
“I have sailed on five voyages aboard the Resilient Lady since December!” she notes. “My clients see my passion and enthusiasm for the brand, and I now have clients (and even complete strangers) recommending me on social media as the go-to agent for Virgin Voyages in Australia.”
Patton has cemented her position as the number one agent for Virgin Voyages in Australia over the past twelve months by coming out on top in the Mermillionaire incentive program. She was one of three PTMs to represent TravelManagers in the top ten, and she says she’s thrilled by this recognition of the effort she has poured into nurturing her business.
“It’s such a great product: my clients love the rock-star onboard atmosphere and the fact that it’s unapologetically adults-only, not to mention the all-inclusive elements which even covers things like specialty dining, gratuities, essential drinks and wifi.”
Patton’s reward for achieving top seller status is one million Velocity points, which she will be able to redeem on a lengthy list of products and services: hotels, car hire, gift cards, electronics and anything else offered in the Velocity store.
“One million Velocity points is a mind-blowing amount,” she smiles. “I worked out that I could fly return to Fiji in business class fourteen times… but I am hoping to use them to fly to San Juan and Europe to join the Virgin Voyages cruises that I have lined up for 2025.”
