Search Travel Market Report

Scenic
mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Packaged Travel
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Air
  • Training & Resources
  • Who We Are
    • Brian Israel
    • Briana Bonfiglio
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Jennifer Arango
    • Kelly Fontenelle
    • Keri-Anne Slevin
    • Louis Intreglia
    • Tom McCarthy
Scenic

Agents Team Up Travel With Sports

by Richard D'Ambrosio / November 04, 2016


Americans like to travel for sports activities and events, whether they are destination marathons, college football games or themed events created by travel suppliers. Intrepid travel agents are tapping into this lucrative market by either selling packages and programs offered by third parties, or developing their own group specialties.

“Many ‘healthy’ groups are taking their offers to new heights by offering a package to marathons or walks for non-profits. I’ve even had a health club take a group on a cruise with an active itinerary planned for each day—with spa treatments too,” said Tricia Peacock, owner of Peacock Travel Group, Little Rock, AR.

Andrew H. Weinzoff, CEO and co-founder of AlumRide, a startup that books college sports group tours, cited the “incredible brand loyalty” of university alumni and college football fans. “When your alma mater or favorite team is having a winning season, groups of fans will pay top dollar for travel to feel like they’re supporting the school program,” Weinzoff said.

AlumRide is finalizing plans for its website to accommodate travel agent bookings at commissionable rates.

Provident Travel Agency in Cincinnati recently took 97 Cincinnati Bengals fans to London to tour and cheer on their team against the Washington Redskins at London’s famous Wembley Stadium. The five-night package, which cost $2,995 per person, included a London city tour, pub lunch, tour of Windsor and optional Channel Tunnel train ride to Paris.

Provident, which is wholly owned by AAA, has built a strong following in the Cincinnati sports world, so for Group & Incentive travel director Herb Reisenfeld, the idea of a trip to London was a natural. Reisenfeld was only expecting about 60 travelers to book with him when he put the idea together. He ended up filling two coach buses.

Provident Travel is known for sports tours. It’s organized a group called the Cincinnati Red Rooters, which includes trips to Spring Training, and also offers a popular Baseball All-Star Cruise.

Seek out different active lifestyle affinity groups
Colleges are an incredibly strong affinity group. Provident has sports travel programs with the University of Cincinnati and Xavier. 

AlumRide, a new travel startup, offers travel packages with roundtrip transportation, hotel accommodations and game tickets with several large universities and their alumni associations. The company recently launched “Tailgate Party & Bus Trip” packages, which alumni and friends can book as individuals or groups.

Similarly, Peacock Travel has built a strong following with sports-minded travelers and those with active lifestyles. “We do a lot of dive groups. We work with the dive master to put together trips,” Tricia Peacock said. Sometimes Peacock works with her all-inclusive partners, like Sandals Resorts, to offer packages for dive shops and clubs.

Peacock has built the business through creative sales techniques. “Some people have to have the picture painted for them. There is a lot to be said for planting the idea with someone like a dance studio owner,” she said.

Peacock also has found her cruise-line partners helpful in building her active lifestyle niche. “We have smaller groups who want to build a trip around the Celebrity Cruises Zumba classes,” she said. “The cruise lines are very proactive to listen to what our groups want, and make a week of healthy sailing.”

In an average year, Peacock books groups of bowlers to two to three tournaments in Reno, NV. “I have a lot of women who are members of teams and they will make a mini vacation, tying in a side trip to Lake Tahoe,” she said. Groups range in size from 8 to 50. “We get them a good group rate for the hotels, and organize shipping their bowling equipment.”

“Pied pipers” are your tour directors
Peacock advises agents to find tour leaders to accompany the group on the trip and take care of customer service on location. “It’s work to make group travel go smoothly. There are so many moving parts,” she said. Even if you or someone on your staff doesn’t have a natural inclination toward the group trip’s lifestyle, you can still put together groups by finding someone to act as a “pied piper.” 

“It’s typically an instructor or someone who is big on the sport. You can always find a dive shop owner or diving instructor, a dance studio instructor,” to go along, she said. “You’re looking for a person who can work with people, express a passion and lead a group. I probably have seven or eight pied pipers now. We debrief when they come back, and you find out something else you can throw in for the next trip, or a new destination. You don’t want to go back to the same place every time.” 

As she talked about how building a group business has made a huge difference to her sales and profits, Peacock noted that “there is a lot to be said for thinking outside of the box. If I were still doing business the way I was 10 years ago, I wouldn’t be here.” 

  0
  0
Related Articles
Super Agent Phyllis Stoller Builds A Loyal Solo Female Travel Tribe
Meet Angie Rice, Whose CPA Roots Make Her Push Instead of Pull
Travel Agent Helps Mom and Dad Score Big at FIFA World Cup
New York City Lawyer Would Rather Be a Travel Advisor
One Advisor’s Long Day’s Journey into Travel
Millennial Agent Takes a Very Traditional Path to Success
Meet Chuck Miller, America’s Newest Travel Agent
Going Platinum: Thoughts from Three Travel Advisors Celebrating 20 Years in Business
How Mission Trips for a 16-Year-Old Led to a Successful Advisor Career
For This Travel Advisor, Life Began at 50

MOST VIEWED

  1. The Best Black Friday and Cyber Monday Travel Deals for 2023
  2. The Ten 'Most Christmassy' Towns in the U.S.
  3. U.S. State Department Warns Travelers About GPS Dangers in South Africa
  4. How a Talent Shortage Is Threatening Agencies, and Why Underqualified Advisors Aren't the Answer
  5. The Worst Airports for Holiday Flight Delays
  6. Royal Caribbean Monitoring Haiti Violence


  1. What Will Be the Biggest Travel Trends of 2024?
  2. Here Are the New Cruise Ships Debuting in 2024
  3. Dondra Ritzenthaler to Join Azamara as CEO
  4. Iceland Travel Update: Southwest Earthquakes Heighten Risk of Volcanic Activity
  5. The World's Most Expensive Flights
  6. Royal Caribbean Ups Daily Gratuity Charge
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
Willamette Valley Oregon to Serve as Host of Tourism Cares' 2024 Travel Summit
Willamette Valley Oregon to Serve as Host of Tourism Cares' 2024 Travel Summit

The 2024 fall Meaningful Travel Summit will be held in Eugene Oregon, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. 

Read...
Survey Reveals Americans Seek Mindful Travel in 2024
Survey Reveals Americans Seek Mindful Travel in 2024

Travelers are taking more factors into consideration for their 2024 trips.

Read...
Classic Vacations Partners with Freelance Marketplace Provider for Low-Cost Advisor Memberships
Classic Vacations Partners with Freelance Marketplace Provider for Low-Cost Advisor Memberships

Membership gives advisors access to a marketplace of pre-qualified administrative assistants, content writers, and more. 

Read...
The Battle Against Junk Fees: Big Business Defends Deceptive Practices
The Battle Against Junk Fees: Big Business Defends Deceptive Practices

The resistance to rules requiring advance disclosure of the total price of services is across the board from big businesses.

Read...
Ask-an-Advisor: Do Successful Advisors and Agency Owners Have a Responsibility to Bring Others Along?
Ask-an-Advisor: Do Successful Advisors and Agency Owners Have a Responsibility to Bring Others Along?

What kind of responsibility do you think sellers of travel and agency owners have to the other members of the industry?

Read...
How One Advisor Leveraged Supplier Side Experience to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Agency
How One Advisor Leveraged Supplier Side Experience to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Agency

Lars Federhar started as a cabana boy at a hotel in Arizona. Today he leads a multi-million dollar travel agency. 

Read...
OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
Trends in River Cruise, 2023
European Travel Trends 2023
Winning in The Tech Era: Essential Insights for Travel Advisors
View All
Advertiser's Voice
//services.travelsavers.com/AMGService.svc/REST/GetImage?ImageID=c0852062-a67c-ee11-adc6-005056a855ed
Swan Hellenic: Beyond Ordinary
About Travel Market Report Mission Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events Outlook/Whitepapers Previous Sponsored Articles Previous This Week Articles
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News |Packaged Travel |Cruise |Hotels & Resorts |Destinations |Retail Strategies |Niche & Luxury |Air |Training & Resources |Who We Are
© 2005 - 2023 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy