A Tour to Profits

PHOTO: Chris Accomando of Sceptre Tours and Jennifer Halboth of Globus family of brands.

Travel is a rapidly evolving industry at the leading edge of rampant and rapid lifestyle changes. Travel horizons are expanding. New areas are becoming available to travel. New styles of travel are finding favor with travelers.

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All these changes converge in the tour and packaged travel segment, because it is at the heart of the travel industry, combining all components of a travel experience into a single product and making that product available through travel agents.

So tour operators and vacation packagers have to be very alert to trends in the travel industry at large, and they can serve as early-warning messengers to travel agents about changes on the horizon that might eventually affect their businesses.

With this in mind, Agent@Home surveyed top tour operators for their take on the changing industry and how you can both hone your tour-selling techniques and leverage those changes to build your tour sales.

Use email as a resource. Going through your torrent of emails is a time-consuming necessity in today’s world, but it can be a great resource for travel agents, says Mickey Huang, marketing manager for Alexander + Roberts.

“Everyone’s inboxes are inundated these days, perhaps travel agents’ more than others,” says Huang. “We all know how much tour operators, airlines and cruise companies rely on e-marketing to communicate their latest offers. And though it may be impossible to read every email, agents should at least open and quickly scan as many emails as possible. Knowing what discounts, specials and exclusive offers are out there can give an agent a competitive advantage — and the right tool to tip the scale and turn a shopper or prospect into a buyer and client. There are also educational emails.”

Use video. According to John Stachnik, president of Mayflower Tours, “Videos sell — the hottest thing going right now is showing videos that highlight the product. Look to suppliers who have videos of their product on their website, YouTube or some other similar site. You will be glad you used this method of pre-selling and closing.”

Involve the tour operator in the sales process. Dave Wiggins, a 37-year veteran of the adventure travel industry and a representative of Austin Adventures, says, “My best advice, is to not be afraid of involving the tour operator in the sales process, especially adventure travel where there are so many questions and hesitations on the part of the buyer.

“Suggest and initiate three-way calls to answer hard questions. See if the operator can put your clients in email or phone contact with a past guest (in a similar demographic, such as family, senior or solo). so that the past traveler can share their experiences, highs, lows and suggestions,” says Wiggins.

“People buy from people they trust and people they like. Offering that prospect the opportunity to talk to a non-sales person like a trip alum, it’s a soft sell versus a hard sell that really works.”

Target the millennial market. “Make your move on millennials. Data suggest that millennials are open to working with travel agents, even more so than gen X and younger boomers,” says Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing for the Globus Family of Brands. “So what are you waiting for? Put together a plan to start infusing your database with millennials and you’ll have solid clients for a long time — through honeymoons, ‘babymoons,’ 40th birthdays and more.”

Speaking of honeymoons, Halboth notes that Globus’ Monograms brand of independent packages “makes booking honeymoons not only insanely easy for you, but also gives your honeymoon clients on-trip support so they can rest easy, relax and enjoy their once-in-a-lifetime trip. Very few couples want to plan a honeymoon after planning a wedding.”

Use tour operator educational programs. One of the most important ways to leverage your relationship with tour operators is to take advantage of the educational opportunities they provide. Collette, for example, offers an e-learning program called Collette University that is designed to help travel agents earn more by selling Collette tours.

“E-learning is designed for the busy travel professional who can take these courses on their own time,” says Courtney Iannuccilli, Collette’s director of strategic marketing. “Collette listened to the feedback of agents who asked for more materials to use in their own marketing campaigns, along with valuable tools to really learn about our product offerings.”

Collette University is an online course that includes bite-sized lessons on the advantages of Collette tours, and the inclusions of various tours. Agents who complete the course become Collette Specialists and have preferred status when it comes to taking familiarization tours, where even more product education takes place.

Emphasize tour inclusions. With tour and packaged travel, clients need to understand the extent of what these products include to be able to appreciate their value. Chris Accomando, president of Sceptre Tours, says, “Emphasize the value of the inclusions in the specific tour you’re selling. The cost of a tour is spread across 18 people, as opposed to traveling solo without a preset itinerary. Your clients will be well aware of the upfront cost and what is included in their vacation, making it a convenient experience overall.”

Follow up on e-marketing with the personal touch. “The one-two punch of selling travel today is mailing/emailing the right clients with a good, relevant marketing message and then following up with a personal call or email to facilitate closing the sale,” says Globus’ Halboth. “Your clients are probably as busy as you are and they need an extra nudge. Remind them that this was the year that they said they wanted to go to Italy or to Machu Picchu.”

Halboth adds, “Personal outreach from you, ideally with a specific promo or vacation in mind that you know will appeal to your client, will definitely boost your sales.”

Target clients by their interests. All clients are not alike. Today’s tours are created with that in mind. Learning something about your clients’ interests can help you find the right product, one that matches their desires.

“Most tours or packages are set up around a specialized interest or theme, such as cuisine, wine, art history or genealogy,” says Sceptre’s Accomando. “This is a great selling tool that allows you to appeal to your client’s passions, likes and hobbies.”

Take advantage of partnership marketing plans. Most major tour operators are active in working with travel agents and partnering to create marketing campaigns that will result in more tour sales. The Collette Partnership Plus marketing program, for example, gives travel agents online access to tools they can use to create customized marketing pieces using their own logos and calls to action. Through the system, brochures are mailed to clients, followed by postcards using bulk mail rates, and Collette splits the cost.

“The marketing pieces will highlight Collette’s vast travel collection of our top-selling tours,” says Dan Sullivan, Jr., president and CEO of Collette.

“Partnership Plus offers travel professionals an opportunity to engage with their clients over numerous touch points and allows them to maintain their lists in a secure and organized fashion.”

Inform clients that tours attract like-minded travelers. One of the underappreciated values of escorted tours is that a tour, because of its destinations, inclusions and themes, attracts people who share certain interests and passions. “Tours are a great opportunity for your clients to travel with their own group of friends or family, or even meet new friends from all over the world,” says Spectre’s Accomando. “With our small group tours, travelers really get to know one another by the end of the trip and many become close friends.”

Harness the power of special events. “Special Events create immediacy,” says Mayflower’s Stachnik. “Events that occur once a year, once every four years or once in a lifetime have a sense of immediacy and urgency. Your clients won’t want to pass up the opportunity to experience an event of this nature.”

Combine land and sea. “Land + Sea = Happy Clients,” says Globus’ Halboth. “Wish as we may, airfares to Europe will probably never be low again. But you can help your clients feel better about their air costs by developing a combination vacation that is sure to send them back to you happy. Pair a seven-night European cruise with a land package. For instance, pair the cruise with a Globus tour or Monograms city stay and, voilà! your clients get to see and do more, and you make more money.”