Flexibility Is Key to Keeping Gen Y on the Job

What Matters to Young Employees?
Are you concerned about attracting young talent to your agency and then keeping these employees productive and happy on the job? Management training consultant Bruce Tulgan, a specialist in Gen Y workplace issues and owner of RainmakerThinking, has some insights that can help.

Tulgan says there are eight factors that motivate today’s young employees to work longer, harder, faster, and with more intensity and commitment:
•    Performance-based compensation

•    Flexible schedules

•    Flexible location

•    Marketable skills

•    Access to decision makers

•    Personal credit for results achieved

•    A clear area of responsibility

•    The chance for creative expression

Love the Ones You’re With
“Agencies spend way too much time courting potential customers and far too little time remaining in love with existing customers.” – Tim Smith, GlobalPoint Travel Solutions

Six Degrees of Disney Travel Consumers
What type of traveler stays at Disney resorts? Ed Fouche, senior vice president of travel industry sales Americas for Disney Destinations, presented market research information at the recent CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. 2012 National Conference. Here’s a look at the travelers who visit Disney resorts most often.

1.    Fans. These people already have a strong emotional connection to the Disney brand. Fans usually spend about $7,000 per year on vacations and are willing to spend more on premium vacations.

2.    Travelers. They focus on experiencing many different types of vacations, spending about $8,000 per year on trips. They are less interested in theme parks.

3.    Savers. These Disney guests only spend about $3,000 per year. They are focused on forging bonds and plan their big vacation for when their kids are out of school.

4.    Actives. These adult travelers want to spend time on their own. They spend about $8,000 on their vacation and often take cruises.

5.    Friends. Adults who grew up watching Disney movies and shows, these resort guests spend about $4,000 on vacations.

6.    Grandparents. They take their grandchildren to experience Disney.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
“We’re seeing a trickle of clients coming back to us who have been booking travel online with disastrous results. During an open house at our office, we heard someone ask, ‘Why should I use a travel agent?’ Another visitor said. ‘I’ll tell you why. I wanted to go Costa Rica, so I booked a hotel on the Internet and then found a dirt cheap airfare. I thought I was so smart. But when we got to the airport, we found that our tickets were to San Jose, Calif., not San Jose, Costa Rica.  We had to cough up $3,000 to save the vacation.’ This kind of thing happens more than you might think.” – Charlie Funk, Just Cruisin’ Plus

Ensemble to Participate in ChangeLabs Study
Ensemble Travel Group is participating in a sales and customer service research study conducted by business consultant Peter Sheahan, president of ChangeLabs, Over the next six to 12 months, ChangeLabs will conduct detailed sales and customer research on a test group of Ensemble agents, clients and suppliers. The results, plus best practices and solutions, will be delivered at Ensemble’s Executive Retreats in 2013 as well as at its 2013 international conference in Colorado Springs.

“We believe the results will provide a formula for improving members’ sales performance, elevate their overall value to both their current and future customers and enhance their skills as successful business people,” said Ensemble co-president Lindsay Pearlman.

Don’t hang up
“If your clients call you a lot, it means they trust you. People complain, but would you rather they call someone else or go to Travelocity?” – Cory Andrichuk, brandU Coaching Inc.

Signature Promotes Key Executives
Signature Travel Network announced the promotion of two executives – Alex Sharpe to chief operating officer and executive vice president and Karen Yeates to executive vice president, information technologies. Sharpe has responsibility for member service, member recruitment, training, marketing and preferred supplier relations. Yeates oversees all technology and digital services for Signature.

Technology: A Means to an End
“It’s important to embrace – not fear – technology. But technology is not a be-all and end-all. It’s a means to an end. Travel is about people. A mobile boarding app doesn’t change the travel experience.” – Libby Rice, co-president, Ensemble Travel Group

Andrew Sheivachman and Judy Jacobs contributed to this report