This article originally appeared in the June issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
The popularity of multigenerational family vacations, which grew exponentially in the aftermath of 9/11, has been supercharged following the pandemic, say veteran travel advisors.
“During the pandemic, people lost so much, including time, memories and loved ones,” said Lori Stephens, owner of Sojourney Travel. “Not only are we seeing a surge of people who wish to travel more, we’re seeing a surge of grandparents who wish to make more memories with their children and grandchildren. We’re also seeing a surge of the younger generations placing increased value on the time that they can spend with the older generations.”
1. Lucrative Repeat Business
Once an advisor sells a multigenerational vacation, in all likelihood those clients will become repeat customers. “In our experience, once families/friends travel together as a group, they tend to want to travel together again every year or every other year,” said VIP Vacations President Jennifer Doncsecz.
“We actively market to previous multigenerational groups, and we reach out to the parents/grandparents of our previous wedding couples to see if they want to investigate planning another big family vacation,” she said.
2. Seeking Out Family Groups
“If you have a few people in the same family traveling, ask them during the booking process, ‘Do you have any family members who would like to go with you?’ ”suggested JoAnne Weeks, vacation division manager at Acendas Travel.
“That simple question may open up the door to a multigenerational group.”
For her part, Stephens recommended that advisors scout out business from festival and gardening club events.
“These in-person weekend events are where people go to get out of the house and spend time with one another, and it is very common that we’ll see an adult daughter walking alongside her mother and daughter,” she said.
“They’re in the process of making memories during that day, so when they approach our booth, we use it as a key opportunity to discuss how they can make even more family memories.”
Family enjoying Wailea Beach Resort. (Photo Credit: Wailea Beach Resort)
3. Marketing Strategies
“We use Mailchimp for weekly email blasts and also post regularly on our company’s Facebook and Instagram pages for the different incentives for groups that are being offered,” Doncsecz said.
“Our company also provides a webpage for each group that they can share with their friends and family members and a link for payments to make it easier on the group organizers.
“We also market to our previous wedding couples a year before their 10th wedding anniversary to see if they would like to do a renewal of vows, and we also continually contact the group leaders from previous years with targeted email blasts listing different group promotions.”
Chris Caulfield, owner of a CruiseOne franchise, offers his clients a custom webpage with all the information about the cruise.
“It makes it easy to share with the whole family and friends who may join,” he said.
4. Targeting Grandparents
“In most cases, we usually see the grandparents initially reaching out about a trip,” Stephens said “Although email and social media marketing is effective in most cases, when you’re marketing multigenerational travel, you must appeal to your audience.”
Family on a nature walk in Bali, Indonesia. (Photo Credit: Tropical studio/Adobe)
Generally speaking, Stephens noted, the older generation may not read an email newsletter – they’d prefer a face-to-face conversation. “This is where we’ve found our greatest multigenerational sales,” she said.
5. Capitalizing on Pied Pipers
Stephens said she uses Pied Pipers for most her group travel bookings. “It usually starts with one client that invites a friend on a trip. From there, we’re able to promote the deals associated with booking a certain number of rooms.
“Once we promote and explain that we’re able to handle all of the reservations and details, we usually see an influx of people jumping on board. That breeds more groups as the Pied Piper talks to others about how easy it was for us to handle their group.”
“All you need is that one person who is willing to take on the task of being the group leader,” Weeks said.
“Explain how the Tour Credit will work and how they could ultimately ‘go for free.’ That’s a huge incentive right there for them to start spreading the word.”
Weeks stressed the importance of advisors providing group leaders with as much support as possible. “The easier you can make it for them, the more profitable it will be to you and successful for the overall group,” she said.
Selling Tips
- “It is important to highlight the perks that groups can get to demonstrate the savings and incentives, and many resorts require only five or six rooms versus 10, which makes it much easier to put a group together.” — Jennifer Doncsecz, VIP Vacations
- “When dealing with older generations who did not grow up in a digital age, it is often necessary to simplify everything and provide them with clear bullet points and check lists. When you, as an advisor, hold their hand, you become their hero.” — Lori Stephens, Sojourney Travel
- “When having conversations with clients, ask if they thought about getting the family together for a cruise. Or if there is a major milestone coming up.” — Chris Caulfield, CruiseOne
- “Once confirmed, make digital flyers for your group leader to email to everyone promoting the group. Design a custom reservation form for the group where they can add in all of the necessary information required.” — JoAnne Weeks, Acendas Travel
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