First and foremost, when promoting and selling family holiday travel this year, the best policy is to be candid and well-informed when counseling clients, said John Maddox, owner of Bartlett, Tenn.-based Travel by John.

"Be flexible and honest with your clients. Stay out of the vaccine debates and stick to facts. It’s really important for you as an advisor to stay on top of changing requirements."

For his part, Richard Turen, managing director of Churchill & Turen, advised agents to not be hesitant to sell overseas holiday trips for the upcoming holiday season.

"Don’t buy into the hype regarding holiday travel in the U.S. – the COVID reality is that many overseas destinations are safer," he said. "Let potential clients know this."

Curated Agency Programs

Turen also suggested forming an in-house holiday specialist team to design three or four holiday departures created by agency staff.

"Think about tie-ins with country clubs, private schools and community associations where members would naturally be thinking about holiday travel," he added. "Do not forget that most schools get out before Christmas. Schedule a Christmas shopping tour to Europe that departs around the 16th and gets back in time for Christmas."

Similarly, JoAnne Weeks, Kansas City, Mo.-based vacation division director at Acendas Travel, noted that many families are not aware that traveling during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays can be more expensive than during other parts of the year.

Getting the Best Rates

"Moving days before Christmas or after New Year’s could save hundreds, even thousands of dollars," she said. "Book early to get the best rates, best room categories and best air schedules."

If clients are flexible, try booking vacations over the Thanksgiving holiday period. "It tends to be much less expensive than over Christmas and New Year’s, and you tend to avoid weather delays that can be an additional challenge in late December," Weeks said.

Travel advisors would also be well-served to turn to their consortia and preferred suppliers to help boost family holiday bookings.

"I look for emails from vendors about family travel and visit Signature Travel Network’s agent website to see what our partners are offering/suggesting for the time frame," said Claire Schoeder, an Atlanta-based independent contractor with Elevations Travel.

Staying engaged with your clients is also key to boosting business. "I have been talking with clients who have children or grandchildren to see what they might be interested in doing as a multigenerational family group," she said.

What's Booking?

Schoeder said she is booking domestic resorts for the holidays, as well as some villas, both domestically and in the Caribbean.

"I have booked a few cruises, but clients with younger children have been waiting to see how the cruise lines are handling COVID – including handling infections on board," she said. "Many of my clients are choosing domestic vacations for holiday travel due to the ever-changing entry requirements for many countries."

Turen said he is booking Christmas market river cruises in Germany and Austria, and "London and Paris … with insider shopping arrangements."

For Weeks, the most popular family holiday bookings are all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, Hawaii and Florida, she said.

"We are praying they stick, and [clients] actually travel."

Looking Ahead to 2022

The booking picture is brightening for 2022 family holiday bookings, travel advisors said.

"I have booked cruises so far for 2022 holidays. Clients feel comfortable with that time frame," said Claire Schoeder of Elevations Travel.

"Many of my clients prefer the large cruise ships for multigenerational travel as they generally have something to entertain guests of all ages and that makes the travel less stressful for everyone. I also have booked a couple Caribbean villas as well for the 2022 holidays."

Richard Turen of Churchill & Turen is booking upscale tours designed for families, which operate when schools are closed.

"The best of these are Tauck’s Bridges programs and Abercrombie & Kent’s special family departures," he said. "We also have families booked for safaris in East Africa – the highest satisfaction rate of any family holiday getaway."

In the view of John Maddox of Travel by John, Mexico and cruise vacations are likely to prove popular next year. "I also think that domestic travel will continue to be an attractive option," he said.