Travel Agent Professional Dec 2011

Travel AgentProfessional

December 2011Issue 14

JamaicaForADay.comBy Sherry Laskin

Clients For LifeBy Mitchell J. Schlesinger

December 2011

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Travel Agent Professional TAP

2011

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64 JamaicaForADay.com —By Sherry LaskinTravel Writer, Blogger & Social Media Advisor

68 How Much Are You Worth?By Rusty Pickett, ECC, Shellback Cruises

10 Clients For LifeBy Mitchell J. SchlesingerVice President, Sales & Marketing Voyages to Antiquity

14 Working Smarter with Special GroupsBy Mary Brutscher

18 Travel Less & Enjoy More By Paull Tickner Creator of Special Interest Britain

22 I Count My Blessings Instead of SheepBy Scott KoepfVice President of Sales Avoya Travel/American Express

26 The Road “Rarely” TraveledBy Sue Shapiro, President, Shapiro Travel Resources

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December

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Travel AgentProfessional

December 2011 Issue 14

Travel Agent Professional has its roots in Home Based Trade, the firstmagazine of its kind, started by Joel Abels in 2004. Joel and Lenore Abelsran Travel Trade for nearly half a century – it was started by her grandfa-ther, John S. Lewis, and her father, Sidney Lewis, in 1929, and they tookthe publication over after her grandfather’s passing.

Under Joel’s direction, the company grew to be one of the travel agentindustry’s leading publications, reaching more than 45,000 agentsthroughout North America. It spawned a famous series of trade showsand three monthly magazines – Cruise Trade, Tour Trade and Home BasedTrade.

The Abels also garnered enormous respect – Joel received the NealAward, called “the Pulitzer Prize of the business press,” for his hard-hit-ting editorials.

On a personal note, after working with Joel for over a decade and stay-ing with him until the end, I grew to truly care for and respect the man.He was like a second father to me. Joel was old school, he stood by hisword and believed in his work. There will never be another.

While nobody can replace this industry legend, we’re hoping thatthis new publication, which reunites the original Home Based Tradeeditorial board, will be able to carry on his passion for travel andthose who sell it.

Ann M. Hoek

Travel Agent ProfessionalP.O. Box 120202

Staten Island, NY 10312E-mail:

[email protected]:

718.227.7541

Ann M. HoekPublisher/Creative Design

Bonnie WallingEditor

Meet Our Editorial Board

Mitchell J. SchlesingerVice President, Sales & Marketing

Voyages to Antiquitywww.voyagestoantiquity.com

Mary BrutscherFormer Host Agency Owner & Travel Educational [email protected]

Rusty Pickett, ECCShellback Cruises

www.shellbackcruises.com

Les-Lee RolandOwner of The Package Deal

Scott KoepfVice President of Sales

Avoya Travel/America’s Vacation Center

www.joinavoya.com/default.cfm?ref=11583

Sherry Laskin, ACCTravel Writer/NACTA Webinar Moderator

www.cruisemaven.com

Sue Sh apiro, PresidentShapiro Travel [email protected]

www.shapirotravelresources.com

Paull Tickner,Creator of Special Interest Britain

[email protected]

ContributionsLee Rosen, CEO

Leisure Popswww.leisurepops.com

Joel M. Abels Legend In the Travel Industry

April 1927 to January 2007

September 2011

This online magazine is dedicated to the memory of Joel Abels, Travel Trade's editor andpublisher. Joel and his life's work may be gone, but with your help it can live on.

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December 2011

alternative to the traditional cruise line shore

excursions: JamaicaForADay.com. You can spend a

very relaxing day at a premium all-inclusive resort

for the cost of, or less than, most ship’s shore

excursions. I was very curious to see how this all

fell into place. Whether the cruise ships docks at

Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Falmouth, Jamaica,

there’s a resort option for everyone.

While in Falmouth as a port stop for the

Celebrity Millennium, I decided to opt out of the

cruise line’s tours and head over to one of the

JamaicaForADay.com hotels.

For a bit of background info, Falmouth is the

“new” historically-themed port of Jamaica. A

recent collaboration between the government of

Jamaica and Royal Caribbean began a revitaliza-

tion construction project to the tune of $250 mil-

lion. So what to do when you get there? Here’s

how I spent my day in Falmouth.

Once cleared to leave the ship and with my hotel

pass and transfers to/from the ship in hand, I fol-

Sherry LaskinTravel Writer/NACTA Webinar Moderator

www.cruisemaven.com

By

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Many of us have clients who cruise

simply for the ship experience and a

week of relaxation, not for the ports.

They’ve been to the Caribbean more

times than they can count. Other cruise

guests just want a break from the 5,000

other passengers.

Enter Stuart Cohen’s latest venture:JamaicaForADay.com

Stuart Cohen, a long-time travel industry leader

and innovator, has a company which offers an

JamaicaForADay.com —A Change From the

Usual Cruise Line Excursions

5

Travel Agent Professional

lowed the flow of cruise guests through the

Disney-esque themed Falmouth port area. After a

10 minute walk, I found the collection of tour

buses waiting for their passengers. I approached

one of the uniformed Falmouth tour/information

directors and informed her that I was to board a

bus to go to the Hilton Rose Hall Resort with

JamaicaForADay. ”Oh,” she said with a grin, “You

are part of Stuart Cohen’s group.” Everyone

knows Stuart.

A few minutes later, I boarded the clean and air-

conditioned mini-bus and we were on our way. Mr.

Earl — the driver, and I chatted for the entire

twenty minute ride. The newly built roads made for

a very pleasant and sometimes scenic drive along

the north coast. Once at gate to the Hilton Rose

Hall, a guard checked my pass and within a couple

of seconds we were at the covered front entrance.

I’m a cruise person…I don’t stay at hotels very

often so I have very high expectations when I

spend even so much as one day on their turf. The

warm personal welcome that I received when I met

with the hotel guest services manager immediately

put me at ease. She was expecting me. Wow. That

doesn’t usually happen on a ship!

Wearing my colorful wristband, I was on my own to

enjoy the resort. I could stay until 6PM…but I’d

miss my ship so I requested that the mini-van return

at 3:00. That would give me about five hours to take

my tour, enjoy the beautiful beach, have lunch and

still have time to relax. Maybe try the lazy river.

There were plenty of activities to choose if I want-

ed to be busy. Maybe I’ll borrow one of the non-

motorized water craft and paddle in the ocean for

a while. Or maybe grab a tube at the Sugar Mill

Water Park and try the lazy river. I wasn’t sure

what to try so I just kept wandering around, snap-

ping photos and enjoying the scenery.

It was still about one hour until the restaurants

opened for lunch, so I decided to try the Monday

Special drink, “Tropical Dreams.” And since drinks

and food are included with the excursion and I

wasn’t driving anywhere, I thought it a great idea to

enjoy a pre-lunch foo-foo drink. (continued on page 6)

For more information visitJamaicaForADay.com

6

December 2011

Your wrist band entitles you to two towels that are loaned from the Activities Building right at the entrance to this

huge water park. Everything you could need for a memorable and easy-to-do beach day is part of your

JamaicaForADay.com package. According to their website here’s a list of what’s included:

• Full access to resort amenities including Private Beach and Pools.

• BIG NEWS: enjoy Sugar Mill Falls Water Park with tube slide and lazy river.

• Unlimited lunch & snacks.

• Unlimited beverages like sodas and juices.

• Unlimited house brand drinks to quench your thirst like beer, wine, tropical and

frosty drinks.

• All beach lounge chairs and beach towels.

• Non-motorized water sports including Snorkeling, windsurfing, kayaking, sailing,

volleyball, aerobics, and tennis.

• Participation in daily activity program.

• Live daily entertainment.

• Bathrooms available for changing.

Sell more add on products and

h

If your ship departs late (like Oasis of the Seas),

you can stay through 6:00PM if your cruise ship

departure time permits a later stay!!!

You might recommend to your clients to sit out-

doors for lunch and overlook the crystal clear sea

at the Seaside Grill. Service was very “Jamaica-

friendly” and I struck up a nice conversation with

my waiter. I asked him to surprise me with some-

thing wonderful and he returned with a plate of

jerk chicken (can’t miss that in Jamaica) rice and

peas (though actually beans, in Jamaica they’re

called “peas”) and a side of icy cold cole slaw.

By the time I finished lunch, walked up and down

the beach, stretched out for an hour’s siesta and

returned my towels, it was time to head back to

the lobby and wait for my ride back to the port.

As soon as I reached the reception area (and

there’s free wifi in the business center adjacent to

the lobby) the driver was already there.

The cost for this JamaicaForADay.com shore

excursion, is $90 per adult and $75 per child. This

also includes the $15 round-trip transfers. It’s a

seamless way to enjoy a wonderfully relaxing day

in Jamaica without all the hustle and bustle of the

ship’s tours. I highly recommend it.

If you’re cruising to other Caribbean ports, Stuart has six

more…ForADay resorts in Nassau, Barbados, Grand

Cayman, Cozumel, Freeport and St. Maarten.

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Leisure Pops:Your Ultimate Assistant

Leisure Pops sits quietly on your desktop and waits for an opportunity to help you. It can save you time and keystrokes, or remind you of preferred-supplier offers, or notify you when there is an opportunity to sell add on products like show tickets or travel insurance, or automatically log your qualified bookings into contest sites like Win With Amex, or Las Vegas Agent Rewards.

How

Much Are YouWorth?

Have you ever thought about how much your ser-

vices and expertise are worth? It’s an important question that

we sometimes ignore when we are trying to make a sale in

competition with the online direct marketers. I am pretty

sure that our tendency is to undersell our value.

Recently, I had a repeat client inquire about their annual fami-

ly cruise during summer vacation. They have been good

clients and have brought friends along. The last time they

booked, I offered them a cruise with Royal Caribbean –

which, as we know, actively requires level playing field pricing.

Like most of our clients, they had done some research online

and had found the same price on one of those travel sites —

only with a big batch of onboard credit as a booking incen-

tive. They asked me if I would match the value. Since 100% of

zero is zero, I said that I would, decreasing my net commis-

sion accordingly.

This year they again approached me for the family cruise,

favoring Royal Caribbean again. Because the kids had grown

older, they were booking two cabins, and asked if there was

any discount or deal I could get them. I said that I would pro-

vide them with $50 onboard credit per cabin, which is in line

with my standard “bon voyage” gift guidelines for the com-

mission on these bookings.

December 2011

8

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Rusty Pickett, ECCShellback Cruises www.shellbackcruises.com

They hemmed and hawed for a while, then sent

me an E-mail stating that a certain travel site was

providing pre-paid gratuities. I reiterated my $50

per cabin offer. They hemmed and hawed some

more. They came back stating that they really

wanted to go on the cruise, but the husband want-

ed $200 per cabin on board credit.

I finally had had enough haggling and decided to

put out my real feeling, replying, “As one of the top

agents in the country, I do not discount excessive-

ly, which $200 onboard credit would be in this

case. I provide you with a service that is the best

that you would get by any means based on what

my national client base tells me by feedback. Do

you ask other professionals — your doctor,

accountant, etc. — to discount service to you?”

After a few more days, they booked their cruise.

Discounting is dangerous, and I was glad that I

finally stated to a client what I have felt for some

time. As we have read in the trades, cruise lines

are reducing the commission rate to 5% in Europe

because of excessive discounting. It would be dis-

astrous for our agent community in North

America if that were to happen here.

Unfortunately, the cruise lines are probably closely

watching the dot-coms’ value-adding practices in

this part of the world to see if the 5% is appropri-

ate for North America. Although they profess loy-

alty to the travel agent portal, business is business.

The bottom line is that we must not undersell

ourselves. There is enough business around that

we don’t have to compete with the on line direct

marketers. We clearly provide better service and

personalization. We, and the cruise lines, need to

continue to make that known.


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Mitchell J. SchlesingerVice President, Sales & Marketing Voyages to [email protected]

Lets start with the basics. If you don’t do this now, but have actually have the data some-where, make sure you have an organized file for each and every one of your clients reflecting:

• All of the trips they have booked with you

• The number of days of each trip

• The ticket cost per person for each trip

• The destinations to which they have traveled

• The categories of travel (cruises, tours, FIT) booked

• Types of accommodations purchased

• The time intervals between trips purchased

• Special requests they have made when booking trips

• Personal information you know about them

• All social and civic organizations to which they belong

• Hobbies, passions etc in which they are involved

• Birthdays and anniversaries of all family members

• Contact information for siblings and relatives (irrespective of where they live)

• The names of everyone they have ever referred to you

The concept of “Clients for Life” is simple and

starts with understanding just how essential your clients are to

your business success. The key word is essential. With the

absence of a loyal client base, it is very difficult to build a thriving,

long term business. This series of articles will focus on the impor-

tance of client loyalty and the myriad of steps required to insure

that you are achieving this and benefiting from it financially.

10 Clients For Life

The Dollars and Sence of

Client Loyalty

December 2011

(continued on page 12)


TRAVELSAVERS TWIN Global TravelManagement Company Plants Flags on Five of Sever Continents

Travel Firm Helps Multi-National Businesses Control Travel Spending,

Provides Personalized Service Around the World

The TWIN (TRAVELSAVERS

Worldwide Independent Network,

www.twintravelmanagement.com)

global travel management company

today announced a major expansion

into Russia, Asia, Italy, Germany, and

the U.S. With these strategic moves,

the company is now helping multi-

national corporations control their

travel spending by providing on-the-

ground representation on five of seven

continents: North America, South

America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Travel is the second largest

expenditure for most corporations

today,” said Rick Mazza, President &

CEO of TWIN. “Travel managers

have the tough job of controlling

expenses while keeping employees

safe as they traverse the globe. We’re

helping companies cost-effectively

meet these objectives through our

organization of top travel agencies

and suppliers worldwide. We pool

our resources to provide the most

integrated multi-national business

travel solutions available today. We

understand the importance of having

a travel management partner that

maximizes the financial advantages of

a global program and delivers it with a

local, personalized touch.”

TWIN provides corporations with

a global preferred rate hotel program

featuring over 96,000 negotiated hotel

rates in 124 countries; a policy-compli-

ant corporate self-booking tool; a trav-

el data consolidation tool; the indus-

try’s leading 24-hour global emergency

travel service; and in-country repre-

sentatives in 23 countries.

TWIN has now expanded its global

service by establishing locations in:

Russia – The newest TWIN

member, ctms Travel, has been ser-

vicing the corporate travel industry

for over 20 years. Within that time

they have grown at a rapid rate cov-

ering travel services around the

world, including Canada, the U.S., the

U.K. and Russia, with expansions to

continue in 2012. The agency offers

an extensive and diverse suite of ser-

vices; an impressive list of proprietary

travel technology; and employs inim-

itable service and cost saving pro-

grams. ctms Sports was also estab-

lished in 2011 to provide custom

travel services to large NHL and

NBA sport franchises as well as uni-

versity and college sports teams.

Asia – New member SingExpress

Travel is a large agency group in Asia

with headquarters in Singapore. They

also own and operate a travel

agency in Malaysia, one in Macau,

another in Hong Kong and 30 more

in China. The agencies handle all

facets of travel including: corporate

travel, leisure travel, MICE, inbound

logistics, luxury cruise holidays, pre-

mium tour packages, car rental ,

worldwide ticketing, and hotel book-

ing and travel insurance.

Italy – A leader in its region,

Frigerio Viaggi was established in 1974

and today operates in various sectors

of travel including: retail services with

nine offices; franchise networking

(Frigerio Viaggi Network was estab-

lished in1999 and currently has 63

franchises throughout Italy); and busi-

ness travel, MICE, leisure and holidays,

supported by over 200 employees.

Germany – Established in 1996

and based in Hamburg, Germany,

Image Tours is a full-service travel

management company that offers

travel services and technology solu-

tions for corporations worldwide.

The agency’s core services are: busi-

ness travel; MICE; special hotel pro-

grams for China, Russia, Baltic states

and former Soviet states; 24/7 call

center service; online bookings; and

visa services.

Showcase

To find out more about how to become part of the TWIN global network, independent travel agencies can visitwww.twintravelmanagement.com, email [email protected], or call 516-624-0500 x5080.

12

December 2011

One of the great clichés in the business world is;

“Failing to plan is planning to fail”. And while it is a

cliché, it is one businesses great truisms. Regardless

of which software system you use, or just create files

in your computer, if you are not accumulating the

information above, you are planning to fail. This infor-

mation is the lifeblood of your business because of

what flows from it.

For those with very up-to-date records, you have

the ability to calculate the value of every one of your

clients in terms of their impact on your annual rev-

enue. And the impact they provide not only comes in

the form of their own travel, but much more impor-

tantly, the business they refer to you. Think of client

loyalty like a legal pyramid scheme. Every time they

refer someone to you who books a trip, it creates

another branch system on a tree with the next gen-

eration of referrals from the original ones. And this is

crucial as it costs significantly less to generate busi-

ness via repeat and referral clients compared to the

cost of generating brand new customers.

A theme of this series that will be repeated over

and over and over is the concept of managing your

clients travel over time. This is all about your focus on

their demographics and psychographics which are

inextricably linked to what they buy and when they

buy it, and how that changes as they age and go

through the various stages of life. The travel they pur-

chase when they are in their 30s with 2 young children

at home will be very different than what they will want

25 years later as empty nesters. It is up to you to

effectively manage the travel purchase pattern year

after year and decade after decade. Of course, this

presumes that you performed the necessary steps to

insure that they will still be your clients as time passes.

This attempt to inject concern comes from three

specific standpoints. The first is simple. If you don’t

dote on your clientele, they have no real reason to

be loyal to you, or consider you “brand centric” as a

service provider and therefore purchase trips from

other agencies. The second, are all the outside

sources playing siren songs to your clients attempting

to lure them into purchasing their travel through

alternative resources. This includes not only other

agencies, but more obtrusively, product suppliers

attempting to enhance their direct sales.

The third is financial. For the better part of the

past 20 years, through a litany of educational venues,

there has been a consistent effort to convey the con-

cept that your clients are like an annuity. Just as

investments grow and generate incremental interest

income, the same can be said of longtime clients as

they age. As they reach empty nester status and get

into their 50s, 60s & 70s, these clients begin to travel

to farther flung destinations, spend more time travel-

ing, purchase more expensive travel alternatives, trav-

el more frequently and book their trips well in

advance of the actual travel. All of which results in

commissions which continually grow over time like

interest on investments.

I wrote this first article presuming that those of

you who are reading it and have gotten to this point,

are divided into two main groups. The first group has

the information above and either realizes now or is

calculating immediately and will quickly recognize the

actual value of existing clients. The second group I

hope are in some form of panic because they do not

have the above information in an organized fashion

and are not taking full advantage of what value their

clients provide. The goal is that anyone in group 2 is

making a promise to move into group 1.

The notion of “clients for life” is simply that your

clients are worth more to you as they age both in

terms of repeat travel and referrals. It is your chal-

lenge to retain these “client annuities” as they con-

tinue to book travel through their lifetime or lose

this lucrative business. It is just common “sense” to

protect these dollars.


We are committed to helping independent travel agencies live a lifestyle of success and are looking for p

O

Avoya Travel/American ExpressAnnounces Never Before Seen Instant

Commission Program

Independent Agencies No Longer Wait for Vendor Payments

Avoya Travel™/American Express®,one of the leading travel companiesin North America and beyond, todayannounced the launch of its AvoyaTravel Instant Commission™ pro-gram. Up until now, travel agencieshave had to wait on vendors forweeks or months after making abooking before collecting any com-mission. But now, Avoya Travel’snetwork of Independent Agenciescan receive commission immediate-ly after the booking is made.

“Avoya Travel is a family-orientedcompany, and with the holidayseason upon us, we recognize thatgenerosity is a trait cherished byeveryone and more sooner is bet-ter,” said Brad Anderson, Co-President of Avoya Travel. “Withthe Instant Commission program,our network of IndependentAgencies is able to accelerate theircash flow to further grow theirbusinesses and be more generousto others this holiday season.”

Avoya Travel (www.JoinAvoya.com)has always understood the impor-tance of timely commission pay-ments and was the first host agencyto pay commissions to itsIndependent Agencies weekly viadirect deposit, versus other hostswho typically pay bi-weekly ormonthly. The Instant Commission

program is another innovative stepin Avoya Travel’s continued com-mitment to its unique SharedSuccess model and its elite networkof Independent Agencies.

“Avoya Travel continues to leadthe way in creating more oppor-tunities for my business to thrive,”said Pepe Delgado, owner ofDELRU, LLC, an IndependentAffiliate of Avoya Travel. “AvoyaTravel is constantly asking itsIndependent Agencies for feed-back and looking for ways to helpagency owners like me be evenmore successful, and they havehit a home run with the InstantCommission program.”

Avoya Travel has received manynotable accolades, includingbeing named ‘Travel Agency ofthe Year’, by American Express,Royal Caribbean, CelebrityCruises, Oceania Cruises,Carnival Cruise Line, NorwegianCruise Line, MSC Cruises, andBrendan Vacations. Avoya Travelhas also been featured for itsgroundbreaking technology,innovative Live Leads™ program,and leadership in travel by topindustry publications, includingAgent @ Home, Travel Agent,Travel Weekly, TravelAge West,Vacation Agent, and more.

Showcase

Travel agency owners and professionals interested in growing their business should contact Avoya Travel / AmericanExpress at 800-521-2597 or visit www.JoinAvoya.com. Travelers interested in booking their next vacation should call800-753-1463 or visit www.AvoyaTravel.com.

About Avoya Travel/American Express:

Avoya Travel™/AmericanExpress®(www.JoinAvoya.com) isone of the largest andmost awarded travel com-panies in North Americaand beyond. As anAmerican Express TravelRepresentative for morethan 20 years, AvoyaTravel is deeply commit-ted to Integrity andProfessionalism™, qualityservice, and success inevery aspect of planningvacations and cruises.With hundreds ofIndependent Agencies inits network, Avoya Travelprovides exclusive dis-counts, amenities, andfirst-class customer ser-vice to travelers world-wide.

December 2011

14 Working Smarter with Special Groups

I knew a minister who conducted marriage semi-

nars and he and I discussed putting some of them

aboard a cruise ship. I knew for an event such as this,

we would need to keep the cruise at around four

days in order for it to work with their specific needs.

The minister and his wife had a particular cruise

line that they preferred, so that was the line I

used. Getting the meeting space they needed on

some of the older ships was a challenge at times,

but when things did get a little confused onboard

the ship, it ended up working out for the group’s

benefit. This niche was perhaps the easiest and

most simple group sailing that I worked with -

and often the most fun as well!

The next niche I began to carve for myself was “fan

cruises” for fiction writers. This niche is a little harder

to work and if you are not experienced working with

groups, I suggest you not try a group such as this.

Getting the interest of a popular writer wasn’t

the hard part of working with this type of group.

It wasn’t even working out the financial aspect. It

was the promotion! You don’t have a group if you

don’t have the fans!

Once you have a writer who is interested in

sailing with fans, you need to discuss what

their fees (if any) will be. I negotiated with two

popular writers who were very demanding.

One wanted free cruise, free air and a fee.

Another wanted no fee, but wanted a free

cruise for the whole family (and it was not a

small family!).

The first author I successfully worked on a cruise

with wanted only their stateroom to be paid,

which was a benefit to both of us. I benefited by

not having to pay a fee and the author benefited

by the publicity and the fan interaction.

When I used to own a travel agency, I always

looked for ways to compete with the larger agen-

cies, both locally and online. I quit wanting and

looking for every bit of business I could find and

got rid of time-wasting customers who took me

away from potentially “good” clients. It was also at

this time that I decided to go after incentive and

meeting business, as well as carve out some other

niches for myself.Contact information for Mary ismailto:[email protected]

By

M

ar

y

Br

ut

sc

he

r


You will also want to sail (preferably) out of a

port as close to where the author lives as possi-

ble to save on travel expenses.

When it is time to promote the cruise, you want

to send announcements out to all of your clients.

Put information about the cruise on your Web

site. Ask the author to include cruise information

on his or her site as well, and also in any printed

material or E-mail blasts. You may also want to get

information about the writer’s publishing house, as

they can also be a tool for promoting the cruise.

Professional incentive cruises and meetings at sea

was by far my most lucrative niche. It was also the

most work! However, if you find a specific compa-

ny that is well organized and you offer excellent

service so you get repeat incentive and meeting

business from them, it is well worth it!

You will need to be highly organized to work

meetings at sea. Have a plan that covers every-

thing from pre-cruise marketing to post-cruise

followup — you want to find out from the group

leaders how things went onboard the ship and

what their future needs may be.

Selling the idea of a meeting at sea will not be as

easy today as it was in the past. The economy is

sluggish and many companies are barely hanging

on. However, that does not mean the business is

not out there; it just means that you have to work

a little bit harder in selling the idea and its benefits.

Some of the cruise lines will already have a com-

parison in their incentive and meeting materials

that show the comparison of a land meeting com-

pared with a meeting at sea, but that is not

enough. You need to show how having a meeting

at sea can benefit the employee and business.(continued on page 16)

15

16

December 2011

For example, some employees can’t afford to take

a nice, relaxing vacation, but if the company is pay-

ing for the employee and the employee just has to

pay for their companion(s), this may be an afford-

able vacation.

Additionally, happy employees tend to take less

days off from the job and are more productive.

These studies have been in the news for years and

should be easy enough to find online — one exam-

ple is at http://www.tampabay.com/news/busi-

ness/workinglife/article990727.ece.

Also, instead of staggering vacation times out

through the whole year, most, if not all employees

can take a vacation at the same time(s) even if it

means two separate meetings at sea.

When you have a business interested, get with the

cruise lines and start getting quotes. You’ll want to

review the line’s contracts and see what is included

with the meeting group. For example, you may need

microphones or smart boards. You may want to

request a hostess table just to make things a bit eas-

ier for the attendees in communicating with others.

After you have the quotes, go back to the business

and explain the contract, the payment options, can-

cellation policies and all other important informa-

tion. You will also need to present them with a

contract for your services.

Depending on the size of the group, I do not

always charge a service fee because of the com-

mission on the products. If you do, that fee will

need to be included in the contract as will cancel-

lation fees and change fees for your business.

You will also need to draw up a credit card per-

mission form showing you are authorized to make

charges for the cruise, airfare, hotel stays, etc.

Depending on the size of the group, you may need

to dedicate a complete file drawer for them. You

will want a folder that has the cruise line contract

and information as well as your contract. You will

also need a file for dining room setup, meeting

space requests and special group requests, pay-

ments made, etc.

Each room will need a file that contains the

employee and guest’s personal information as well

as special requests.

When you are speaking with a representative for

the company, take notes and keep the notes. File

them either in the company file folder or the fold-

er for the employee being discussed. Never throw

notes away for a group like this. I can’t begin to

emphasize how important it is that, when neces-

sary, you be able to put your finger quickly on

booking information for specific attendees or

information on what was previously discussed.

Meetings can also take place on land at a resort.

Did you know that it is possible to rent out a full

resort, such as some of the Club Med facilities?

Activities, food and privacy are all benefits of this

type of group and will actually hold a little more

interest for some companies than a cruise would.

Make sure to offer this type of venue to potential

clients as well.

Each one of these types of groups can work even

in today’s economy and each of these groups

should bring you individual business from the

attendees as well. It may take a little more work to

get the business, but it will be worth it.


By

P

au

ll

T

ic

kn

er

December 2011

Paull Tickner, creator of Special Interest Britain, is affiliated with the Greatdays Travel Group. For over 30 years, he has been developingand operating customized niche travel programs for the United Kingdom and Ireland. For more information, visit his Web site atwww.greatdays.co.uk and E-mail him at [email protected]


Travel Less & Enjoy More With Britain’s

Heritage Cities

While cities like Oxford, Bath,

Stratford upon Avon, Chester, Carlisle and

York make excellent 1- or 2-night stopovers

for the major tour operators, to resourceful

travel agents, they also offer the chance for

you to be far more creative with your U.K.

travel plans.

Because I’ve spent over 30 years designing

and operating imaginatively themed, cus-

tomized tours, it comes naturally to me to

look at destinations like these and ask:

How do they stack up for a garden tour

for a rose or herb society, a group of Master

Gardeners, the Friends of a Botanic Garden?;

What are their literary connections for a

Jane Austen, Alice in Wonderland or Harry

Potter tour?;

What could they offer a Minister who’s

looking for a special cathedrals-based tour?;

Do they deliver for an art gallery or a theatre

group looking for a value-added fund raiser?

Not surprisingly, when you take a closer

look at Britain’s Heritage Cities (www.her-

itagecities.com) the answer’s a very big YES,

especially when you cast the net a little

wider and start looking at what lies on the

doorstep of these historic places.

The 3 Heritage Cities form a (funny look-

18

December 2011

ing) triangle. If you locate Oxford, Stratford upon

Avon and Bath on a map, you’ll find another huge

iconic destination for you to use in itinerary plan-

ning — namely the Cotswolds, which by the way is

where I live!

If you do the research (or ask me nicely to do it

for you!), it will produce a selection of really eye-

catching itineraries.

Take, for example, a garden tour, perhaps timed to

coincide with the annual Chelsea Flower Show (May)

or the Hampton Court Flower Show (early July).

When it comes to your Theatre contacts, I find

it hard to believe that you couldn’t impress them

with the stuff that can be arranged at the Royal

Shakespeare Theatre and the Shakespeare Houses

in Stratford upon Avon.

Add to this an actor-led tour of the Theatre

Royal Drury Lane in London, plus a backstage tour,

dinner and a performance of Shakespeare under

the stars at the Globe Theatre and you’ve begun

to create a winning formula.

Don’t worry about packing your itinerary with

too much theater (or of any given theme for that

matter) – that will only appeal to your travel

group’s Pied Piper. The trick is to add other, some-

times seemingly irrelevant visits that, in their own

way, enrich the mix.

Thus, you could add the city of Bath (with some

non-theatre flourishes in the Cotswolds) and visits

to their two Theatre Royals. The original Royal

Theatre dates from the mid-18th century and is

now a fascinating Masonic Museum, while the other

one has been beautifully and lavishly restored.

Throw them in your itinerary “blender,” along

with a castle here, a garden or two there, a Jane

Austen walking tour, a lesson in Dowsing within

the ancient stone circle at Avebury, a pub lunch

and an English Afternoon Tea. You then have an

itinerary that will start a really interesting conver-

sation with your theatre friends.

The northern trio of Chester, Carlisle and York

needs to be studied equally closely, especially if you

have access to the growing number of non-stop flights

into the north of England gateway of Manchester.

20


This means YOU if you are in or close to

Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Newark and New

York. If you live on the West Coast, to avoid the

fun and games at Heathrow, fly to Las Vegas and

take Virgin’s non-stop to Manchester instead.

On the other side of Immigration and Customs,

you’re just 30 minutes from Chester, where visi-

tors can take a fascinating look back to the time

when the Romans inhabited the area.

Clients can also have a unique, sophisticated

shopping experience in The Rows, a series of

medieval galleried walkways that run the along the

four main streets that then meet at the High Cross.

Chester also provides a very good base for trips

into North Wales and the Beatles’ hometown of

Liverpool. Other nearby attractions include

Wedgwood, Spode, Royal Doulton and Portmeirion

in Britain’s China Capital, Stoke on Trent.

Heading further north look out for Flopsy,

Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter Rabbit as you head

through the Lake District to Carlisle. Guests who

stay here can discover some of the historic cas-

tles and outstanding gardens that are just across

the border in Scotland. The city also makes a

very good base for a visit to Hadrian’s Wall

where guests can step back in time and see what

life was like at the most northerly region of the

Holy Roman Empire.

Finally, there’s the city of York, which should be

rebranded as Britain’s Capital of Festivals. Among

the themes are Vikings, Romans, Early Music, New

Music, Food and Drink and Ghosts.

There are two new additions to the 2012 calen-

dar — the chocolate festival in April and Railfest

in June, which is a must for all steam preservation

society fans.

You and your clients may have formed their love

of Britain by seeing it through the eyes of a tour

operator’s set departure tour.

If you take a few minutes to see what you

missed, I think you’ll find that Britain’s Heritage

Cities offer massive potential for some really

saleable, travel less see more value added tours,

especially for your anglophile clients.

21

By

S

co

tt

K

oe

pf

December 2011

I Count My Blessings

Instead ofSheep

O

Scott KoepfVice President of Sales

Avoya Travel/American Express

www.JoinAvoya.com

22

As we come into the holiday season I

will continue with musical theatre references.

Although most of you will know the show

from its movie predecessors “Holiday Inn”

or “White Christmas”, this one just recently

made it to the stage. While I love the most

famous song from “White Christmas”, it is

the lesser-known song crooned by Bing

Crosby that I think we can really learn from.

In these difficult times there are a few specif-

ic suggestions that can help you, but no skills

or advice will help you if you are focused on

the bad news all around us. This is not to

ignore the realities of our world, but those

who will be the most successful over the

next year will focus on the positive, or in the

words of the great Irving Berlin:

When I’m worried and I can’t sleepI count my blessings instead of sheepAnd I fall asleep counting my blessingsWhen my bankroll is getting smallI think of when I had none at allAnd I fall asleep counting my blessings


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December 2011

24

Now is the time to not only count your blessings

but to focus all your energies on them! The

bankroll line is so true for most of us who have

been through a few rough years financially! But

just immerse yourself in the soothing velvet vocals

of Bing Crosby and know that things could be

worse. Your attitude is a choice and it is also con-

tagious. Enthusiasm and optimism cannot be

taught — only caught. Counting your blessings is

not just to help you with your attitude, but it has a

business rationale also. Your clients are also wor-

ried and have seen their bankrolls shrink, so they

need to be encouraged to travel and spend their

money. If you don’t feel positive, you are going to

have a hard time convincing anyone else to feel

good enough to spend money. This is fundamental

to anything else you do to increase sales in these

tough times.

So assuming you are counting your blessings every

night here are two specific suggestions to focus

on. First, determine who your top clients are and

write down a specific communication program

with them for the next year. You may hear this

advice often and most everyone shakes his/her

head in agreement. However the agents who will

really excel will have written down every touch

point and will hold themselves accountable to the

planned schedule. To make sure you not only

implement your plan but also track its results, now

is the time to fully utilize a CRM system. The best

systems will set up reminders and automate many

aspects of a good plan. If you have ever thought

about getting and using a CRM system, then do it

now. I truly believe all serious travel agents need a

system to track, maintain data, and record details

about the only asset they have — their clients.

The other thing I suggest for all agents is to set up

at least two groups in the next 12 months. I don’t

mean promotional space, but a unique group pack-

age. Plan on hosting the groups yourself and make

that a real selling point. Your ‘exclusive’ hosted

trips may make all the difference in these difficult

times. Travel fills an emotional need and given the

increased fear to spend money, your clients need

reassurance. You being the host is immediate vali-

dation that you believe in the product and also

makes clients feel comfortable that someone they

know will be going with them. Also, groups tend to

grow based on word of mouth — so set up these

unique vacations to take advantage of peer pres-

sure! I do hope you will be counting your blessings

and watch your bankroll grow in the future!


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A new service called “eGlobal24”has been launched by eGlobalfares inconjunction with TRAVEL HELPLINEand agent24 for eGlobalfares sub-scribers around the world.eGlobal24 has taken standard after-hours service to higher levels by pro-viding agents with 24-hour assistanceon trips booked through consolida-tors worldwide.

Traditionally, once a consolidatorhas closed its doors for the day, thetravelers’ records are not accessibleand cannot be changed in an emer-gency, which makes the use of con-solidator fares risky for business trav-elers. The eGlobalfares softwaregives agents 24/7 access to PNRsand the capability to make changes.In addition, the eGlobal24 service,provided through the long-estab-l ished TRAVEL HELPLINE andagent24 worldwide travel assistanceservices, gives agents the ability tohave essential tickets issued or reis-sued or exchanged. Now travelagencies of all sizes can cost-effec-tively deliver the same level of ser-vice on consolidator-booked tripsthat they do on the rest of theirbusiness 24 hours a day.

“It became obvious to us as ournetwork of subscribers has continued

to grow that we needed to find a wayto smooth out the differences pre-sented by business practices and cul-tures around the globe,” said DaveRifkin, President & CEO ofeGlobalfares. “Although some largeragencies have 24-hour service, manydo not. So we turned to our long-time colleagues at TRAVEL HELPLINEand agent24, who responded favor-ably to the idea of eGlobal24 andagreed to invest the time to developthe program. We tested the conceptwith several suppliers and subscribersand it was very well received.”

Jim Mazza, COO of TRAVELHELPLINE and agent24, commented:“Travel agents who subscribe toeGlobalfares can now confidently sellto their corporate and leisure clien-tele tickets purchased through con-solidators and trading partners global-ly who participate in eGlobal24.Agents won’t hesitate to now usethese suppliers for their cl ientsbecause they’ll be able to elevatetheir service levels by making changesto clients’ itineraries even when theconsolidators’ offices are closed.”

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eGlobalfares, LLC has signed a multi-year agreement with TRAVEL HELPLINE and agent24 to provideeGlobal24 to eGlobalfares subscribers. For more information, contact Andrea Melendez at 516-624-5040 [email protected].

Showcase

As travel counselors, we’re always looking out

for a new destination to recommend to clients

before it becomes “hot.” I found the next “hot

spot”. It’s Malaysian Borneo. If you’re like me, you

thought that Borneo was part of Indonesia. It

is. But the “top half” of the island of Borneo is a

fascinating part of the Malaysian feder ation.

A short flight from Kuala Lumpur takes visitors

to Kuching, the capital of the state of Sarawak in

Borneo. Get rid of your perception of a primitive

village of headhunters. Kuching is a modern city

with excellent hotels (even a Hilton), wonderful

restaurants, beautiful architecture, quaint shops

and very friendly people. Like the rest of Malaysia,

the population is a mixture of Malay, Chinese, and

Indian and, on Borneo, the indigenous peoples rep-

resenting many tribes.

The “thing” to do in Sarawak is to get out of

the city and visit the Orangutan Sanctuary and the

native “Long Houses.” Kudos to the government

for protecting the orangutans but still providing

facilities for visitors to watch them eat, climb,

groom and play amid their jungle home.

Unique to Borneo are “Long Houses”, a kind of

apartment building for extended families.

To get you into the experience, the government

built and Hilton manages the Batang Ai Hilton Long

House Resort. It’s not 5* but it’s clean, comfortable,

air conditioned with private bath, a good restaurant

and bar plus spa facilities all located on a beautiful

man made lake within a tropical nature park.

But it’s the native long houses that are the main

attraction. They’re only reachable by boat since

there are no roads. Half an hour in a motorboat

from the hotel we came to the village of Mengkak

where 200 extended family members of the Iban

tribe live communally.

Try to imagine a typical Long House. It’s about

300’ long, built on stilts with two communal walk-

ways (one outdoor and the other covered by a

thatched roof) running the entire length of the

long house. The third section is individual apart-

ments for families.

The villagers were so gracious as to invite us

into their apartments and in one they cooked us a

delicious lunch. Each “apartment” consists of two

large rooms, one for cooking and eating and the

other for living and sleeping.

To thank the people we brought bags of cookies,

chips, candy and crackers in Costco sized packages.

The tribal chief has ritual whereby he distributes

the goodies to each family who come away with 50

or 60 small bags of snacks. They’re so appreciative

that they gave us a demonstration of native dances,

how they make their beautiful beadwork and how

to use a blow gun (no poison darts used).

So the next time someone asks you what’s

going to be the next “hot” spot, tell them about

Malaysian Borneo. Besides it’s just next door to

Brunei and it would be nice to meet the richest

man in the world.

December 2011

26

By

S

ue

S

ha

pi

ro

The Road “Rarely” Traveled


Travel Quest Announces 90% Commission Plan for Agents

Host agency launches 90% commission plan and lowers cost of100% commission plan.

(Albertville, MN., December 12,

2011) On Monday, Travel Quest

announced the unveiling of their

new 90% commission plan and

some other major enhancements

to their program. “We realized

there was a significant number of

agents that our program didn’t

cater to – experienced agents that

weren’t ready to commit to the

100% commission plan,” acknowl-

edges Stephanie Lee, Director of

Operations & Marketing. “For

the past 4 years, we’ve built a

strong, lasting foundation for our

host agency program and now

we’re excited to start expanding.”

Dubbed the TQ90, agents joining

the new plan wil l have access

into the same programs and ser-

vice offered to all Travel Quest

agents and wi l l rece ive 90%

commiss ion on a l l bookings ,

including service fees. Highlights

of Travel Quest’s agent plans

include Stream— a pre-paid hotel

program that pays 12% commis-

sion, top tier commissions, and

access to Travel Leaders’ direct

mail marketing program.

The host agency also launched a

lower rate for the TQ100 plan.

This enhancement allows travel

agents to receive 100% of their

commissions for $19999/month,

saving agents $50/month, said

Lee. Travel Quest agents previ-

ously on the 100% plan without

GDS access will be automatically

dropped to the lower price of

$19999.

Why the drop in fees?

“Previously we inc luded GDS

access into our 100% plan. Our

new program allows agents to

customize their plan to suit the

needs of the agency , and for

most agents, that means cost sav-

ings,” explained Lee.

Showcase

Travel agents interested in learning more about Travel Questenhanced hosting program can visit http://www.TQagents.com orcall 800.357.HOST (4678).

About Travel QuestFormed in 1994, Travel

Quest is a host agency

dedicated to building a

thriving community of

independent travel agents.

Through their hosting

program, agents have

access to the education,

support and technology

needed to build a success-

ful independen travel

agency. Aligned with the

Travel Leaders Franchise

Group, Travel Quest cur-

rently hosts over 400 trav-

el professionals in their

network and the company

is member of ASTA,

PATH, OSSN, IATA,

CLIA, and ARC. Travel

agents can find more

information by visiting

http://www.tqagents.com

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Documents

Travel Agent Professional Dec 2011