Under the A | T Collective umbrella, a new luxury brand has emerged: EVOKE | INSPIRE. EVOKE | INSPIRE will reflect Collective’s vision for high-end, curated travel, while Pleasant Holidays continues as an elevated premium brand, offering exceptional tours and experiences for advisors’ clients. With today’s official launch of the new brand, Journese will transition from the portfolio.
To mark today’s official announcement, the brand is offering a $300 future travel credit on qualifying bookings made through May 31, 2026, for travel any time and on air-inclusive bookings with a minimum seven nights’ accommodations.
Designed for travelers seeking highly curated vacations, EVOKE | INSPIRE allows advisors to craft tailored experiences through an expanded portfolio of luxury hotels, private villas, yachts, private jets and rail journeys. The brand also introduces a dedicated concierge team and 24/7 U.S.-based customer service to assist advisors and their clients.
Advisor-friendly policies include a cash-back, cancel-for-any-reason protection plan with full commission protection, no change or cancellation fees on many bookings and a 5-day courtesy hold.
“What we’re doing on the luxury side is radically different from what Journese was,” said David Hu, President and Chief Executive Officer of A | T Collective, the parent company of Pleasant Holidays, in an interview with Recommend. “Rather than refreshing that brand, we chose to launch something entirely new to signal that this is a different approach and a different level of experience.”
A Reset for the Portfolio
EVOKE | INSPIRE represents a deliberate reset of the company’s luxury offering, with a streamlined focus on high-end experiences and service.
The brand is positioning itself as a lifestyle-driven travel platform for clients who value comfort, convenience and memorable, elevated experiences. For advisors, the program emphasizes personalized service and support designed to make complex luxury itineraries easier to build and manage.
“We had to kind of reset,” said James Kareka, Vice President & Managing Director, Trade Brands, in an interview with Recommend. “We knew we had to refine Pleasant Holidays and elevate that brand, and for Journese, it was complicated because to some degree, we lost our identity. We felt that it was best to sunset that brand and start anew because what EVOKE | INSPIRE will be moving forward is a completely different company.”
The changes extend to the brand’s hotel portfolio. Kareka eliminated mid-tier accommodations and focused exclusively on luxury properties. Under the new strategy, the brand’s accommodations portfolio will consist solely of 4.5- and 5-star hotels and resorts, a significant shift from Journese’s broader mix of properties.
Advisor-Centric Luxury Model
EVOKE | INSPIRE is a B2B-focused platform that works exclusively through travel advisors rather than directly with consumers. For Kareka, the brand’s success hinges on building deeper collaboration with advisors to understand their clients’ preferences and deliver more tailored travel experiences.
“For us, what we really want to focus on is the destination experience and the traveler’s needs,” Kareka said. “We do that by working closer with the advisor to collect information that is meaningful about their client—dietary needs, room preferences and what they ultimately want from the destination experience.”
Luxury services now available through EVOKE | INSPIRE include private car and driver transfers, meet-and-greet airport services and concierge support for experiences such as restaurant reservations, spa appointments and private excursions.
Soft Launch with Advisor Input
Before a full rollout, the company is testing the brand through a soft launch with a select group of advisors. Approximately 25 travel advisors are currently participating in the program’s initial testing phase, providing feedback to shape the brand’s development before its broader launch.
“They are helping guide us,” Kareka said. “They are the curators—they are helping us with product and service recommendations.”
Early demand trends show several destinations already leading bookings. According to Kareka, Hawaii currently ranks as the brand’s top destination, followed by the Caribbean, Mexico and North America.
A Broader Evolution for Pleasant Holidays
The launch of EVOKE | INSPIRE is part of a larger evolution underway at Pleasant Holidays and its parent company, A | T Collective.
“The goal is to have EVOKE | INSPIRE serve as our flagship luxury brand, while Pleasant Holidays continues to deliver strong value for more traditional vacation bookings,” Hu said. “Each brand is designed to serve a different traveler and a different advisor need.”
At the same time, Pleasant Holidays itself is undergoing a refresh, including a new brand identity, updated technology and advisor-focused service enhancements.
“Pleasant Holidays has had a successful formula for more than 50 years,” Hu said. “What we’re doing now is taking that core DNA—especially our focus on travel advisors—and elevating it. It’s really about refreshing the brand and doing what we’ve always done, but doing it even better.”
Hu said the decision to sunset Journese ultimately came down to clarity in brand positioning.
“One of the first questions I asked when I came to the company was, ‘What’s the difference between Journese and Pleasant Holidays?’” Hu said. “It was difficult for people internally to answer—and travel advisors couldn’t clearly explain it either. When a brand doesn’t have a clear distinction, it creates confusion, so we decided the best approach was to start something completely new.”
New Advisor Tools and Technology
As part of the broader brand refresh, Pleasant Holidays recently launched a redesigned advisor booking portal at PleasantAdvisor.com to improve usability and help advisors streamline the booking process. The updated platform features a simplified navigation structure and the ability to view applicable promotions directly within hotel listings and destination pages.
For more information about Pleasant Holidays, visit pleasantadvisor.com.
For more information about EVOKE | INSPIRE, visit evokeinspire.com.
