Search Travel Market Report

Seabourn
mainlogo
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • People & Events
  • Training
  • Who We Are
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • David Cogswell
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Richard D'Ambrosio
    • Steve Gillick
    • Mary Gostelow
    • Maria Lisella
    • Jessica Montevago
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Daine Taylor
    • Barbara Peterson
Trafalgar

Luxury Travel Agents Grab the Media Spotlight

by Richard D’Ambrosio / July 30, 2019
Luxury Travel Agents Grab the Media Spotlight

Robb Report joins Bloomberg in advising high-end travelers to tap the expertise and connections of luxury-focused travel advisors. Photo: Shutterstock


On back-to-back days, two major publications told hundreds of thousands of readers that consumers are best leaving their luxury vacation plans to seasoned travel agents.

In a July 23 article entitled “Travel Agents Are Back: Here Are 4 Expert Companies Ready to Craft Your Dream Trip,” Jackie Caradonio wrote: “Internet booking sites are the worst. Which means travel agents are back in a big way, to such a degree that the cre`me de la cre`me among them are so selective that they’ll work with only a small group of card-carrying members.”

The article provided details about the business models and services of four membership-only travel companies: Fischer Travel, Essentialist, Marchay, and Inspirato Pass.

Fischer Travel President Stacy Fischer Rosenthal charges 175 members a $100,000 initiation fee, plus an annual $25,000 renewal fee, plus trip-planning service fees. “And that’s only if you’re accepted,” Caradonio writes. The sky-high rates get travelers experiences like tennis lessons with John McEnroe and Christmas dinner cooked by a Michelin-starred chef.

At the Essentialist, co-founded by a former editor of Travel + Leisure magazine, a flat fee of $1,400 per household per year includes unlimited travel-planning services by a designated “travel designer” who gets to know everything about their clients, including “what you like to eat to what you like to drive.”

Inspirato Pass is a $2,500 a month subscription app where members receive booking rights to exclusive trips, events and accommodations — all at no added cost. The article said: “The Claim to Fame: There’s the usual hotel suites and over-the-top villas, but what gets really interesting is Inspirato Pass’s access to marquee events and experiences, from US Open seats to a European river cruise.”

Bloomberg talks to expert advisors
Meanwhile, on July 24, Bloomberg’s Claire Ballentine wrote about “Essential Tips for Taking Your First (or Any) Luxury Vacation,” with a subhead entitled “Luxury travel experts on the best ways to step your trips up a notch.”

And who were those luxury travel experts? Twelve travel advisors, including familiar faces like Jack Ezon, founder of Embark Beyond; David Kolner, senior vice president at Virtuoso Ltd.; and 50-year travel veteran Kathy Sudeikis.

Ballentine covered popular luxury travel trends, like private guides and drivers, boutique hotels, and vacation styles like safaris.

Anna Hawley, a custom travel consultant at TCS World Travel, talked about how she likes to book clients a Marrakesh shopping expert. In Rome, she’s coordinating a Da Vinci Code-inspired scavenger hunt for kids.

“The private guide aspect is obviously an added expense, but it’s something that takes the level up,” she told Ballentine. “You really get in depth and get to know the culture, and you see some off-the-beaten-path areas.”

Lindsey Epperly, founder and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Epperly Travel, advises Bloomberg readers and her clients to seek out accommodations truly prepared to offer highly customized, personal service.

“What people should look for is a major difference in terms of service,” she is quoted as saying. “Luxury is about anticipating needs. It’s walking to the hotel bathroom realizing you forgot your toothpaste, and it’s already there.”

The article also quoted several advisors about the trend of luxury clients planning their vacations like they plan their personal investments.

“People plan their retirement all the time, but on travel, people literally just make it up every trip, every single time,” Kolner told Bloomberg, “a surefire way” to disappointment and wasted money, he told Bloomberg.

Ballentine also wrote about how luxury advisors focus mostly on their clients’ intentions for their trip. “Almost every travel adviser we spoke with stressed the importance of taking time before the trip to consider your goals for the vacation,” she wrote.

Said Todd Bliwise, founder of travel company An Avenue Apart: “When we work with clients, you don’t lead with where they want to go, you lead with why they want to go there and what they want to get out of it.”

  3
  1

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. Eva Jenner, Charlie Dunwoody Leaving Holland America Line
  2. The 15 Most Anticipated Hotel Openings in 2020
  3. Three Online Booking Horror Stories That Show Why You Should Always Use a Travel Agent
  4. What is the Process Like for Getting a REAL ID?
  5. Black Friday and Cyber Monday Hotel Deals
  6. 5 Things Travel Advisors Should Know About Norwegian Encore

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. State Department Issues Travel Advisory to Hong Kong as Unrest Continues
  2. New Zealand Introduces New Travel Requirements
Tip of the Day
Brought To You By

“We want to show agents, we didn’t start out as a CEO and COO on stage. You put in the hard work and the effort, you make it happen.” 

Michelle Fee

Cruise Planners

 Share...
Daily Top List
Brought To You By

Top things to do in London

1. Westminster Abbey
2. Natural History Museum
3. St Paul's Cathedral

4. Tate Modern
5. British Museum
6. Shakespeare's Globe

7. London Eye

Source: Lonely Planet

 Share...
Previous Daily Top List
TMR THIS WEEK
Sponsored by Travel Planners International
http://services.travelsavers.com/AMGService.svc/REST/GetImage?ImageID=91ddcdf0-1b15-ea11-9b23-782bcb667b27)

The Business of One: How to Stay Connected and Confident as a Home-Based Travel Agent

Here are some helpful tips on how to best to leverage your time and resources to make the most of your home business.

Read More...
TMR Recommendations
United People
Self-service tools at your fingertips like never before. Take control with United Jetstream.
hbar
Riviera
Explore Europe's iconic waterways with the UK's leading river cruise line, earn lifetime commissions
hbar
South Africa Tourism
With activity-rich experiences that demonstrate excellent value for money, now's the perfect time to #MeetSouthAfrica
hbar
Top Stories
Expedia’s CEO and CFO Resign Amid Strategy Disagreement
Expedia’s CEO and CFO Resign Amid Strategy Disagreement

While the company searches for long-term replacements, Barry Diller and Peter Kern will oversee the company's executive leadership team and manage day-to-day operations.

 Read...
Travel Market Place Returns to Vancouver!
Travel Market Place Returns to Vancouver!

Travel Market Place West returns to Vancouver March 9-10, 2020! This one of a kind training event provides business building content to help Travel Advisors thrive!

 Read...
Headquarter Happenings: Cruise Planners Finds Success in Technology and Marketing Innovation
Headquarter Happenings: Cruise Planners Finds Success in Technology and Marketing Innovation

The largest home-based travel franchise company is working to make agents “larger than life” so they can effectively compete as entrepreneurs in the retail industry.

 Read...
What Do You Do When Your Client Isn’t Sure What They Want to Do?
What Do You Do When Your Client Isn’t Sure What They Want to Do?

When a loyal client asked travel agent Skip Neal to book a honeymoon just six months away, this advisor summoned all of his skills to curate a 15-day trip of a lifetime.

 Read...
What Are You Thankful For?
What Are You Thankful For?

As the busy holiday season kicks off, we want to say how much we appreciate each and every one of our readers, and everyone else who helps to support the travel trade.

 Read...
Carnival Cruise Line Names ‘Wheel of Fortune’s’ Vanna White as Godmother for Panorama
Carnival Cruise Line Names ‘Wheel of Fortune’s’ Vanna White as Godmother for Panorama

The new ship will feature the first Sky Zone trampoline park at sea and a first-in-the-fleet cooking studio that offers guests hands-on classes and tastings.

 Read...
News Briefs
  • United Airlines CEO to Step Down Next Year
  • At Celebrity Cruises, All-Female Sailing to Make History
  • SeaDream Yacht Club Appoints Kris Endreson Vice President of Sales, America
  • Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold USA Appoint New Director of Field Sales East
  • Hagen Sommer Named Director of Sales for Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun
  • The Leading Hotels of the World Names Shannon Knapp President & CEO
TMR Outlooks
River Cruise Outlook 2019
Niche Outlook
Mexico Outlook
View All
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise Travel Trade Readership Report
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
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
243 South Street, OysterBay, NY, 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|People|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2019 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