Experienced agents, especially those with high-end clients, may find it a positive - and profitable - idea to work directly with a destination management company, according to Pam Young and Rob Veden, founders of Navigo360, a representation firm for DMCs.
Both have had long experience working for luxury tour operators, including Abercrombie & Kent and Cox & Kings. They left Cox & Kings last year when they decided that there was a need for independent DMCs to reach travel professionals in North America. So they created Navigo360, which launched early this year.
Young and Veden have created a network of DMCs with whom they've worked in the past, as well as some new ones. But their approach is to vet each of those companies with a personal visit, even if they have worked with them in the past - with follow-up visits on a yearly basis. In addition, they are accompanying DMC clients on U.S. road shows to visit agents and arranging fams.
"Our expertise in the past was to focus on sourcing DMCs for luxury brands," Young told TravelPulse. "It is a time-consuming process that even many tour operators don't want to handle. We won't represent just any company but only those with whom we've worked for years and who we have recently visited."
Navigo360 currently works with DMCs in several regions with the goal of creating a global network.
While agents might be used to working through tour operators-who in turn have relationships with the DMCs-Veden said there are advantages to working directly. For one thing, communication is so much easier than in the past so that agents can easily stay in touch with those on the ground.
And direct contact may be preferable at a time when travelers are seeking memorable experiences, the kind provided by Navigo360's affiliates. That might mean traveling to Sudan with a team of archaeologists, truffle hunting with dogs in Croatia, or participating in a dance performance in Bhutan.
Also, working directly means more flexibility in pricing. Agents can agree on a net price with the DMC and then add fees or markups as works best for them. "It all depends on the needs of the agents," Veden said.
"We are happy to see agents work with whatever channels they choose." Since DMCs are the clients of Navigo360, there is no cost to agents.
And Navigo360 will be available both for an introduction between agent and DMC and as a backup in case an agent has issues. That is especially relevant because Navigo360 is affiliating with DMCs in remote locations to offer the kind of experiential travel now demanded by high-end clients. And the priority of the company, said Veden, is the quality of the DMCs.
"What we are doing," Veden summed up, "is offering the kind of resource we wished we had when we were looking for the best DMCs in the market."
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