This article originally
appeared in the May issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
Tauck,
the luxury tour operator, will mark its 100th anniversary in 2025 by
celebrating its long history while also planning for its future and continuing
its tradition of innovation, said the company’s CEO Dan Mahar.
Since Arthur Tauck, Sr. began offering all-inclusive tours
of New England in 1925, the operator has seen its company culture as central to
its having thrived for almost a century. Great longevity “is usually associated
with having a deeper purpose than selling a product,” Mahar said.
Enhancing People’s Lives
The Tauck family, which still fully owns the company,
realized early on “that we could enhance peoples’ lives,” Mahar said. What
motivates all employees is “taking good care of our customers and constantly
innovating.”
“After a century, we have an amazing team of employees,
amazing partners and amazing relationships with travel advisors,” Mahar said.
“We call all of these stakeholders our global family, and it is this family of
people who have united to serve the guest.”
Looking Ahead to 2030
Next year, Tauck will celebrate its milestone by thanking
each element of that family. It will also be the time when the company unveils
a five-year strategic plan that will take it through 2030, answering the
question: Where does Tauck want to be at 105 years old?
The person overseeing that five-year plan will not be Mahar
because Tauck’s recently announced succession plan promotes him to chairman and
Jennifer Tombaugh, who has served as president since 2011, to CEO in October.
Arthur Tauck, Jr., currently chairman, will become chairman emeritus. Jeremy
Palmer, chief operating officer since 2019, will become president, and Phil
Crosby will continue to serve as CFO.
Both Tombaugh and Palmer, Mahar said, have had the
opportunity to run different parts of the organization and have also worked
closely with the board of directors. And Crosby, he said, has been with Tauck
for decades and possesses “an incredibly deep knowledge of the company’s
operations.”
The succession plan has been in the works for a long time,
and the company is undergoing this process from a position of strength. “We
want to demonstrate continuity to our stakeholders and assure them that Tauck
is in good hands in its leadership,” Mahar said.
Broadening The Base
Tauck has evolved significantly over its century of
operation and plans to continue to do so, Mahar said. One overriding strategy
has been to broaden its customer base while maintaining its traditional levels
of quality and all-inclusiveness.
The first expansion was in 1993 into small-ship cruising.
The company then moved into Tauck Bridges family vacations, then river
cruising, then ocean expeditions. And within its land programs – with products
now available in 70 countries – expansion has continued with small groups to
reach different market segments.
Consistent Level of Quality
“One thing I continually hear from advisors is that with all
of these different product lines, we haven’t changed the quality of the
product,” Mahar said. “As a result, customers can move freely from one to
another and feel comfortable in the kind of experience they will enjoy. We
never wanted to introduce a lower-cost option.”
Outside of Tauck Bridges customers, Tauck clients tend to be
empty nesters – traditionally Baby Boomers and now Gen X. In addition, there is
a substantial amount of multigenerational and “grand travel” (grandchildren
traveling with grandchildren), Mahar said. Another important segment is younger
families “who want to create memories with their children.”
All Tauck programs are truly all-inclusive. “We build a
complete experience so that the customer doesn’t have to worry about buying
anything,” Mahar said. Because all of Tauck’s products are all-inclusive,
advisors receive commission on every element of a trip. And since the average
itinerary has 180 different components, that adds up to significant
compensation.
Creating Complete Experiences
With programs on seven continents, there are always new ways
to discover a place. “The world is our canvas and since our founding our goal
has been to create experiences, long before that became a standard concept in
travel,” Mahar said. “From the beginning of planning an itinerary, we consider
how to build a complete experience. With all that’s included, the value is
tremendous.”
Travel Advisor Programs
“When it comes to advisors, it’s been a great marriage, and
we want to continue to see it flourish,” said Tauck CEO Dan Mahar. To help
advisors prosper, the company offers a range of educational and rewards
programs.
- Tauck Academy: Where advisors experience a Tauck trip,
combined with immersive classroom education. They are then designated Tauck
Certified Advisors, which includes such benefits as advance notification of
news and events and opportunities to save on personal travel.
- Tauck Specialist: An online training program that enables
advisors to familiarize themselves with Tauck products along with sales tools
to expand their portfolio of Tauck clients.
- Agent Rewards: A sales based incentive program where
advisors can earn up to $12,000 in credits per year toward a Tauck journey.
- Tauck Webinars: Monthly educational webinars hosted by
national account managers and special guests. Advisors who participate receive
a value-add for first-time Tauck clients who book within 30 days of the
webinar.
- Agent Connect: An online platform providing advisors with
the ability to view their client’s upcoming reservation, access sales resources
and manage payment details and pre-journey requirements.
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