To Build Lasting Client Loyalty, Practice these Luxury Hospitality Principles

Client loyalty is priceless. And often, loyalty is born out of trust, and a sense that you and they are really in it together – that you, the service provider, care about the client’s interests. Of course, clients need time and the benefit of meaningful interactions, to come to this belief. At Explora Journeys, we are deeply committed to nurturing ongoing relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

Having an outstanding product is, of course, an entry into a client’s heart and mind, and if they can feel surprised at times by unexpected elements of that product, the intrigue and delight can be a heady force nudging them even closer to a sense of loyalty. 

Luxury hospitality is known for both of those aspects – exceptional quality and design as well as the surprise-and-delight factor. The category is also known for several core principles that, if applied thoughtfully, can help you increase client loyalty and continue to build your own business.

One of these is service that goes above and beyond, and how that makes a guest feel. When luxury hospitality providers empower their staff at every level to interact with guests from a concierge mindset – in other words, an other-centric, problem-solving mindset – guests know it, and they desire more. 

At Explora Journeys, we have applied this principle both in our travel-advisor-centric policies, including many industry first such as By Appointment / +, which invites you and your client to join our expert ambassadors on a call at a time of your choosing, so we can help you close the sale; or the absence of non-commissionable fares from our structure. We even launched our brand solely with travel advisors for the first six months, because we believe that you have the power to propel our industry forward.

Think about how you can make your clients’ lives easy. Anticipate their needs before they even realize what they are. And, meet them where they are, literally and figuratively: connect virtually or in-person, whichever is easiest and most comfortable for them. When it comes to their next travel experience, be ready to take however much or little they have in mind about what they want and develop it, or pick up on a word or a phrase in a conversation with them and suggest something entirely new. 

That level of service ties directly to another principle of luxury hospitality that can only enhance clients’ emotional connection to you and your business: listen emphatically, to know your clients well.  

Powerful, perceptive listening – again, with that concierge mindset – not only clues you in to your clients’ likes and preferences both in how they like to imagine and plan travel and how they like the actual experience to unfold, but it also lets you peek into their true hearts’ desires. Their passion points, like architecture, adventure, wild nature, history or food and beverage. Their dream trips. Their life goals. 

At Explora Journeys, we fervently practice the art of listening. It’s what led to our travel advisor commitment. It’s how we know the ways you like to learn, thus informing the topics and format of content on the Explora Travel Advisor Centre, your personalised online learning and booking portal. It’s also why so many of the experiences on our ships are deeply guest-centric, like a welcoming Solo Traveller programme with fares for solos start at 115% on select journeys – significantly lower than the 200% solo fare found throughout the industry. Or the high ratio of hosts to guests onboard, smaller and more intimate lounges with delightful bespoke entertainment and enrichment experiences unlike what you’ll find on traditional cruises, and the placement of each guest’s favourite beverages in the minibar in their Home at Sea. 

By listening, not only can you personalise your interactions with your clients, but you can recommend experiences that resonate, making them feel seen and heard – and appreciated. And perhaps most importantly of all, you can feel confident, as a result of listening carefully, that you are always matching a client to the absolute right experience. This is really the ultimate in showing that you have mastered the art of listening. Of really knowing your client, who they are and what they do and don’t want.

Finally, true luxury hospitality always seems to feel joyful and meaningful for the client. We suspect that’s because, in part, it is also genuinely joyful and meaningful for the provider. At least, that’s how we see it. Our travel advisor commitment actively includes an emphasis on fostering mutually joyful interactions. We are beyond thrilled at what you do, and we love what we do, and there is a lot of happiness to be found in our common bonds. 

Your clients will feel your joy, too. Imagine not only the power of delivering experiences that create happy memories for your clients – for always – but also the power of knowing that your hard work, your service to the client, your active listening and your creativity, are the reason for their happiness. What an accomplishment! Holding space for yourself to recognise that, can spread throughout all your interactions with that client and with others. 

Luxury hospitality reflects the knowledge that each person is on an individual path toward finding happiness through travel – even business travel. Practicing the luxury category’s principles of service, listening, and operating joyfully are not only good for any business, they’re also personally satisfying.

When we talk about the Ocean State of Mind we aim for guests to find when travelling with us, we are referring to a pervasive, ecstatic realisation that the world and one’s experience of it, is limitless. 

Work toward helping your clients feel that, and they will come back, again and again.

From The Sponsor

Explora Journeys is set apart through five central elements: space, choice, design, destination experiences – and an unwavering commitment to the travel advisor community. In fact, travel advisors can begin enjoying our industry-first rolling commission programme today. 

To join us, register in the Explora Travel Advisor Centre. There, you’ll find our industry-leading policies for advisors and exclusive benefits for your clients, including a “Flexible Journeys” programme that promotes peace of mind when booking travel. You can access robust learning modules in our bespoke Knowledge Suite, to help you tell the Explora Journeys story and generate your own go-to-market strategy. You will gain access to a dazzling library of digital and print assets to help you market Explora Journeys; a booking portal that makes it easy to match clients to their perfect transformative holidays; the latest Explora Journeys news; and a personalized reporting dashboard – all designed to bring you and your clients closer to an Ocean State of Mind.

We invite you to enjoy a seamless booking experience, whether online, with your By Appointment + Service, or by calling an Ambassador at 1.833.697.8348. 

We delight in welcoming you into the Explora Journeys travel advisor community.