The Wealthy Demand Kid Glove Treatment, Here Are Tips for Providing It
by Monique Burns /This is the second in a two-part series.
“The rich are different from me and you,” novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald supposedly told Ernest Hemingway. “Yes, they have more money,” quipped Hemingway.
True enough, but Hemingway missed the point.
Like any niche market, high-end clients have special needs. To win their trust, travel agents have to cater to them. Here’s how to give affluent clients the kid glove treatment.
1. Know your clients’ interests
Knowing clients’ interests is key to selling any trip. That’s especially true of the luxury market, where clients are well-traveled and looking for one-of-a-kind experiences.
“Challenge yourself to listen and be a good student of human nature,” said Robert Romano, CTC, of Fugazi Travel, a San Francisco-based Ensemble agency.
“Be attuned to hints that clients are throwing out,” Romano said. “Say that my client likes the Eden in Rome and I like the De Russie. It’s my job to find out what they like about the Eden, so I can suggest other hotels like that.”
2. Provide personalized, out-of-the-box experiences
Most upscale clients have been there, done that. Agents need to offer them top-flight vacations with highly-personalized itineraries.
Romano arranged a yacht charter for clients who originally talked about a cruise. The one-week yacht cruise will be followed by a luxury stay in Marrakech and a visit to Ibiza.
“So far, the cost of the trip is roughly $185,000, and we’re not finished planning it yet,” he said.
Romano is also arranging for added amenities at their Marrakech hotel and a special activity: “We found a fantastic horse stable in Marrakech and we’re sending them there as a surprise.”
3. Demonstrate genuine knowledge
Luxury clients are likely to be familiar with Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere around the world.
But they’ve sought out an agent for his or her expertise—and they want to know that that person knows the business inside-out.
“High-end clients really want to test your knowledge,” said Chris Tichy, co-owner of The Vacation Center, which has offices in Southington, Conn. and Coventry, R.I. and is affiliated with The Affluent Traveler Collection. “They really want to see that you know your stuff.”
4. Be detail-oriented
The affluent client wants every detail covered.
“High-end clients want everything done for them – from the limousine picking them up at the airport to the transfers to the excursions. They almost want to be babied,” said Tichy.
The pay-off for all that hard work? “If you display knowledge, attention to detail and passion, you’re going to have that client for life,” he said.
5. Expect affluent clients to be highly demanding
Expect to get lots of questions and special requests throughout the planning of one-of-a-kind itineraries for affluent clients.
“High-end clients can be very specific in their demands, like wanting to know if the seats in business class fold down or how many suitcases fit in the transfer van,” Tichy said.
“If they’re spending $25,000 or more on a trip, they want you to work for them.”
The hard work, though, is well worth it, netting lucrative sales, repeat business and referrals to wealthy friends, family and business associates. “High-end clients are the best clients for referrals,” said Tichy.
6. Work around clients’ schedules
Upscale clients are often very busy, so agents should be prepared to work around their schedules and be available at all hours.
“I would emphasize always being available,” said Romano.
“Upscale clients often are not willing to take time out of their 9-to-5 day,” said Romano, who makes himself available for conversations, and sometimes drinks or dinner, in the evenings and over the weekend.
7. Save money for your clients
Like everyone else, wealthy clients want value for their money. They’re also often hit with a barrage of solicitations for donations or purchases and that makes them especially sensitive to being taken advantage of.
Ansley Thomas of SmartFlyer in Atlanta, a Virtuoso agency, recalled one client who laid it out for her.
“The client said, ‘I don’t worry about budget, but if I ever find out that you took advantage of me, I won’t work with you again,’” said Thomas. “It’s never a price issue. It’s a trust issue.”
8. Consider charging a consulting fee
“Charging a consulting fee establishes in people’s eyes that you have value,” said Romano.
9. Go the extra mile
Tichy recalled how going above and beyond the call of duty earned him a wealthy client’s business.
Tichy’s soon-to-be client had told him that a cruise he booked had been cancelled and he was unable to get a refund. “Most travel agents would have said there was nothing they could do. But even though he wasn’t our client, my wife and I said, ‘Why don’t we make an effort?’” said Tichy.
The agent and his wife, Kerrie Fitzgerald, who co-owns The Vacation Center, got the cruise line to reimburse the man about $12,000.
“Within a month and a half, the client had taken another Royal Caribbean cruise with us,” Tichy said. “We earned that business because we went the distance.”
10. Don’t be afraid to suggest alternatives
Like other clients, the affluent go to agents because of the expertise they offer. With that in mind, agents shouldn’t hesitate to offer advice.
“Recently, I had a woman call up who wanted to book a river cruise through Provence in winter,” recalled Romano. “I had to explain that that wasn’t the best season to cruise Provence.
The client instead booked a cruise to Europe’s Christmas Markets and is now talking about booking a Provence river cruise for this summer, Romano said.
Fitzgerald said she rarely says no to clients, and instead suggests alternatives.
“Suppose I had a client who wanted to go to Costa Rica in August. Well, that’s the rainy season. Do you want to go to the rainforest or the beach? If you want to go to the beach in August, I’d suggest another time,” she said.
11. Entertain clients creatively
For Romano, wining and dining clients is the key to establishing warm working relationships.
He invites his clients to lunch or dinner at his house in the mountains. Romano also plans special events for clients. “My family imports limited production wines from Italy, so we’ll have a barbecue with a wine-tasting.”
With a little creativity, agents can even turn business meetings into social events.
“I had a large group of 10 to 12 people going on a trip together and they wanted to know about shore excursions,” said Tichy.
“Rather than call each one up individually, we got them together at one of their homes and Roxanne, our agent, talked about all the excursions.”
12. Respect clients’ privacy
Security often involves physical security for wealthy clients.
“If I have a photo of clients from a trip or a client’s itinerary, I always ask clients if they mind if I share it,” said Thomas. “With my top clientele, there could be a security issue.”
Related story:
Eight Ways to Attract Affluent Clients