How to Be a Star When Booking Luxury Hotels
by Harvey Chipkin /Anybody can book a luxury hotel themselves, so travel agents who provide this service need to take the right approach, while demonstrating to clients that they provide significant value.
Travel Market Report asked two agents who specialize in high-end hotels how they work with clients to meet their needs while maximizing their own sales in this segment.
Diana Hechler owns D. Tours Travel, an Ensemble agency in Larchmont, N.Y., and Maria Caruso, CTC, is an independent contractor in New York with Frosch Travel, a Signature member. Here are their insights.
Are you right for the client?
When the stakes are high, as they are with luxury hotel bookings, agents should feel comfortable about their relationship with the client before they qualify the client – especially with new clients.
One of the first things Hechler addresses when talking with a new client is whether she has the expertise they need.
“If it’s a referral, they know what to expect. But if it’s honeymooners that came through some kind of wedding fair channel, I have to show them I know what I’m talking about and can get what they need.”
Caruso agreed. “It all comes down to a sense of trust,” she said. “You came to me because your father or friend booked with me. After a couple of trips I hope we get to that point of trust as well.”
Make the right match
Not all luxury hotels are alike so it’s critical, as it is with all bookings, to match client and product.
“There’s a lot of nuance in matching clients with hotels,” said Hechler.
“It’s my job to find just the right one by knowing local experts who can help me sort it out. That’s where we have to show that we know our stuff.”
Working with new clients comes with its own challenges and demands.
“The first question I ask is where have they been in the past that they like,” said Caruso. “Then I ask if they want to have that same kind of experience again. The answers will quickly tell me the kind of client [they are].
“It’s tougher with a new client, especially a clean-slate client, like honeymooners who may not have traveled enough to know what they like.”
Advise, but don’t push
While advising clients is important, “there’s a point beyond which you can’t go as an advisor,” said Hechler.
“I had a client with two teenage boys, and they wanted a certain hotel. I knew it was not a perfect fit and told them so, but booked it. The boys were bored.
“I had another client who I know gets restless quickly. I booked him into two different hotels in Italy, but he listened to a friend and stayed in one for five days. He came back and, sure enough, he had been bored staying in the same place.”
In those cases, it’s best to bite your tongue. “When they come back, there’s nothing to be gained by saying ‘I told you so,’” Hechler said.
Of course there are times when it pays to be firm. “If it is going to be a really big mistake, you have to stand your ground,” Hechler said.
Agents have other ways of working around clients’ misguided requests, including by putting their client insights to good use.
Caruso gave this example. “If I have city people who say they want peace and quiet, I will try to offer them a compromise – something close to the action – because they will start going crazy after a couple of days of peace and quiet.”
Emphasize your clout
Agents who are affiliated with a large agency or consortium or both, should make sure clients know what those relationships do for them.
Hechler reminded agents to be sure to take advantage of benefits such as free breakfasts, room upgrades and other perks that are available through their preferred relationships. Then tout those extras to your clients.
Develop on-property relationships
Building personal connections with hotel general managers can be a huge asset to agents and their clients, said Hechler, who has developed relationships with general managers she met at the International Luxury Travel Market conference in Cannes last year.
“I can now write to them and say I have a client coming to your hotel and would appreciate your paying special attention to them,” Hechler said.
“I recently got an email from a client who was just back from Florence. The GM not only greeted them but upgraded them into a two-bedroom suite, and they not only had breakfasts but a dinner as well. That’s value.”
Caruso agreed. “Everyone loves to be expected and personally received. An amenity is nice, but if somebody is standing there welcoming you – that’s worth a lot.”
Find other avenues
Agents can’t be everywhere, nor can they visit every luxury hotel, which means they need to be resourceful when it comes to keeping their knowledge current and pulling strings to get top service for their clients.
“If I don’t know somebody on property, I will go to the rep or reservations manager or somebody else who knows the property,” Caruso said.
“I will also go to the marketing group, like Preferred, where I know the agency liaison person. I will also go to road shows to meet salespeople or GMs.”
Make yourself available
For Caruso, it’s a point of pride to make herself available to clients 24/7. She encourages clients to call her with problems that arise any time of the day. “I am a 24-hour kind of person,” she said.
“I love it when clients get in touch with me, because I would rather be the first to hear about any problems.”
New clients can be reluctant to call her during off-hours. “I recently had a new client who didn’t like her room location, but she didn’t let me know until she got back. She said she didn’t want to bother me. I told her that was my job.”
The right partners are everything
Hechler recently had clients on a 30-day trip to Asia. Everything went smoothly for 28 days, but on two days things went awry because of missed transfers.
She heard from the local operator even before she heard from her clients. She was told the clients had already received an apology and a bottle of wine and were satisfied with the resolution.
“That’s when I knew I had a good partner,” said Hechler.
The same goes for your luxury hotel partners.