PHOTO: Kensington Tours’ specialty has historically been custom-built independent itineraries for couples, families and friends. Now it is providing products and services to all agency groups. (All photos courtesy of Kensington Tours)

Kensington Tours, a Toronto-based operator that started with custom FIT programs to Africa and now operates throughout the world, has launched an all-out drive to build its group travel business in response to growing demand from travel agents for group programs.

“This introduction of the groups department is a great opportunity for us to utilize what we already do, but perhaps to formalize it a bit more,” said Michael Gregurich, who is the director of Kensington’s new groups department.

Gregurich moved to Kensington eight months ago from Sanctuary Retreats for the express purpose of building Kensington’s group travel business.

Kensington’s specialty has historically been custom-built independent itineraries for couples, families and friends, providing unique, memorable experiences, behind-the-scenes access and guides with expert knowledge of specialty fields of interest. At the same time, however, Kensington has been handling larger groups.

“The truth is,” notes Gregurich, “we’ve been in the groups space for some time, but we really haven’t had the dedication to it that we do now. That grew out of the fact that the company has seen a significant increase in requests from the travel agent world over the past 12 months. So we’re creating this dedicated department not only to meet demand, but also to ensure that we have the necessary tools and resources to help us all be as successful as possible.”

Personalization and Value
Kensington’s groups drive corresponds with two strong trends in the travel marketplace today: personalization and value.

While the demand for luxury and adventure travel has grown, it is also true that consumers today are looking for the best value for money, depending on how they perceive value.

Group travel provides a way to use the economic leverage to provide services and experiences that might otherwise be prohibitively expensive for individuals.

“People are showcasing the value of travel today,” says Gregurich, “and that’s where the groups opportunity [for travel agents] really does excel. We are trying to showcase the value of customized group travel to the agent community. We get to show some great experiences to the group traveler that we don’t to the FIT traveler all the time.”

As consumers have become more conscious of value for money, they are also increasingly interested in personal service and custom-designed itineraries.

“One of the biggest trends in travel today is the personalization,” says Gregurich. “Giving clients what they want, when they want it — this is something that Kensington has been excelling at from the beginning. This is the focus of our new groups department. It’s almost like giving a blank slate to the travel agents to go out there and capture these new group opportunities.”

Kensington wants to provide a support system strong enough to give agents the confidence to go ahead and take the plunge into higher-profit group travel.

PHOTO: Kensington Tours has 70 destination experts, including Africa expert Christine Willner, to work with agents on their groups.

“Everybody out there is looking for new revenue streams, new ways to find business and this is certainly one of them,” says Gregurich. “That’s what we want to showcase to agents and show them they have support. I think a lot of agents shy away from this kind of business, because the idea of it can be a bit daunting.”

He adds, “I’m sure many have seen these opportunities in their own backyards to offer group travel experiences, but maybe they don’t have the access or don’t know the right partner, or the partner that they work with can’t really be flexible to provide what they are looking for. I think it causes a lot of agents to stay away from this kind of business.”

However, as Gregurich notes, the opportunities for group travel are all around you. “Whether it’s a nonprofit organization looking to offer unique travel experiences to their members or a country club looking for a wine tour of Tuscany or a group of friends wanting to go to Africa, all [travel agents] really need to do is go out there and find the business,” he says. “We as Kensington can do the heavy lifting to make these outstanding pieces of business a reality.”

A New Level of Agent Relationship
“As today’s travelers get more sophisticated so do the needs of agents,” says Gregurich. “Kensington’s deep destination knowledge and global connections allow us to deliver extraordinary programs. Our turnkey approach allows agents to enhance both their customer service and their profitability without the logistical headache.”

Kensington, still a relatively young company in the tour operator market, has grown robustly and has built up its staff of experts to the point that it has the muscle to take on more groups business and lift its growth curve onto another level.

“Kensington’s goal is to broaden our commitment to and partnership with travel agents to more efficiently and effectively serve their complete needs for premium and luxury level FIT and group travel,” says Gregurich.

Founded as a technology-driven, direct-to-consumer adventure tour operator, Kensington changed its business model in 2008 to one of a wholesaler working through travel agents. In a decade, the company grew from an African adventure operator to a provider of custom travel worldwide. During that time, it learned that the most effective way to sell its products and services is through close partnerships with travel agents.

Kensington’s partnering with the retail network has been an unqualified success for the company, powering dramatic year-on-year growth since changing its model in 2008. Now it wants to multiply the returns on that success through groups.

“Our groups department is created from our experience and our success in the world of customized, private-guided travel,” says Gregurich. “No one better understands the logistics and complexity around custom travel than we do. We run thousands of custom FIT trips a year and offer incredible options, access and experiences in all our programs.” It’s easy enough to do the math to see how much more profitable groups are than individual travelers, but risks are involved as well. Kensington’s groups department was created to minimize risk and to demonstrate to agents that there is enough support to go for the gold. With the new dedicated groups department, Kensington Tours swill leverage its FIT expertise for groups of a dozen or more travelers.

Kensington’s new groups operation is designed to provide turnkey service that any agent can plug into and instantly be up and running in group travel. (See sidebar opposite.) The group travel service will include pre- and post-tour services, knowledge of more than 90 countries, logistical experience, integrated travel insurance and attractive travel documents.

The company’s sales and marketing staff are also on hand to aid in the marketing and selling efforts of the travel agent. “If agents need stunning itinerary examples to showcase, or a webinar with one of our destination experts, or someone from Kensington Tours to speak personally at an event that showcases the program — these are all options that are open for discussion and examples of what we can do to support our agent partners.”

According to Gregurich, Kensington’s people, including its 70 destination experts, are the company’s primary asset, followed by its technology.

“Central to all of this is our industry-leading proprietary technology,” said Gregurich, “which provides us with the ability not only to be quick and efficient, but also to have seamless operations with our local offices. It also enables us to create and distribute stunning travel documents and booklets — all personalized for the group and branded any way the agent would like.”

For more information on Kensington Tours, see www.kensingtontours.com.