Are you looking to break into the lucrative destination wedding and honeymoon market? Or maybe you've been working in this area but are seeking greater insight and training. AskMeInc just might be your answer to booking the wedding, honeymoon or vow renewal ceremony of your clients' dreams.
"AskMeInc is a Miami-based firm that serves as an outside sales and marketing company for hotels and destinations, offering private call center services, travel agent training and incentive programs, and representation at consumer and trade shows," said Marilyn Cairo, AskMeInc's vice president of marketing.
Cairo took time to answer a few questions for TravelPulse and to provide some advice for how agents can plan the best event possible for clients.
TP:Can you give us a brief background on AskMeInc and a description of its destination weddings program?
Marilyn Cairo: At AskMeInc, we specialize in destination weddings and honeymoons. We work with couples, travel agents and wedding planners to coordinate a beautiful, stress-free destination weddings in luxury resorts in the best destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Our team members help plan every detail of a wedding from legal documents and vows to creative wedding favors and even scheduling a wedding group's activities throughout their stay.
TP: How does AskMeInc work with travel agents specifically?
MC: We believe that travel agents are the best sales force out there for hotels and destinations. AskMeInc works with travel agents in multiple ways. We offer booking incentives and commissions through our partner hotels, travel agent training and programs that benefit the travel agent's business. We also offer postcard mailings for travel agents, co-op advertising opportunities, co-op opportunities on travel and bridal shows, fam trips and more.
In regards to destination weddings, when a travel agent books a wedding, we work with them to coordinate all the details for the couple. The travel agent has the option to stay involved every step of the way, or to introduce the couple to our representative who handles all the details and keeps the agent posted on the status. Ether way, the agent receives their full commission and the couple gets the wedding of their dreams.
TP:Destination weddings are very complicated to plan: Can you provide four or five tips to agents on how to avoid major pitfalls in the planning?
MC: Our team at AskMeInc has more than 30 years of experience helping couples tie the knot in a tropical destination and we have experienced just about everything when it comes to working with couples and travel agents in planning a destination wedding.
Communication is the most important key to success in planning a destination wedding. A couple does not want to wait a day, let alone a week, to get an answer to their question. We respond to questions, emails and phone calls within one business day. If you don't respond quickly - even simply acknowledging receiving an email or voicemail - then you risk losing the business. After every conversation with the couple or travel agent, an email is sent reviewing the call and planning the next step. Once all the details are confirmed, that information is provided to the resort. We go through every detail with the resort as if it were our own wedding.
Delivering what you promise is very important with weddings. Couples can accept when something is not possible, but they won't accept when something was promised and not delivered. We work hand and hand with hotels to ensure all requests can be delivered and if not, we offer options.
It's all about location, location, location. From top ranking destinations to the hidden gems, we match the couple with the perfect destination and resort. With more than 7,000 islands in the Caribbean, the options can seem endless. We help select the one that best fits a bride's and groom's needs, desires and budget.
Help the couple accomplish their dream wedding without going over their budget. With more couples paying for their own wedding and 68 percent paying for their honeymoon, finding ways to save is a priority. One of the advantages of a destination wedding is that it is significantly more affordable than the average hometown wedding. In 2014, TheKnot.com reported that the average wedding, without the honeymoon, cost $31,213. Our destination wedding packages range from $1,500 to $15,000, already a significant savings considering the national average.
In addition to offering weddings for most budgets, our team at AskMeInc works with a variety of hotels in multiple destinations around the Caribbean and Latin America. This allows us and travel agents to offer couples options that fit within their budget when we start including airfare. For example, airfare to Dominican Republic and Cancun is more affordable than airfare to destinations with fewer flights. We take all elements into consideration and help couples manage through such options.
Make it easy. Eighty percent of the couples AskMeInc books have the legal service done at home and have the symbolic ceremony at the destination. By getting the legal details done at home, you don't have to wait for the residency period, pay legal fees or navigate foreign governments, languages or holidays. It is easier and saves at least $1,000. You can also make it easy on the couple by handling the entire group's reservations. This earns a travel agent more commissions and also ensures everything goes smoothly for the couple and their guests.
There are a dozen ways to make things easier for a couple. By listening to the their questions and concerns, you will find out quickly where they need help.
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