Reporter’s Notebook: The New York Times Travel Show, Part 2

January 12, 2016

For part one of TMR’s reporter’s notebook from The New York Times Travel Show, click here.

In the most popular and lively session of the show, Trafalgar president Paul Wiseman explained the DISCover program, which he credits with saving him from getting fired by Avis early in his career.

Teetering on the brink of losing his job, Wiseman said he was shipped off by Avis to get his act together at a DISCover boot camp—and his life was never quite the same.

The system is relatively simple: You divide your clients into four buckets: Eagles, Owls, Peacocks, and Doves. And you modify your communication style to align with their preferred way of doing business.

Eagles are dominant and decisive, comfortable with conflict; peacocks are influencers, inclined to ask nicely for what they need and enamored of compliments. Owls like to communicate in writing, doves love security and building personal relationships.

Because we are what we are and the customer is always right, it’s up to you to assess the client sitting before you and match your style, your expectations, and your behavior to his.

Be direct and brief with the eagles, but give owls high-quality, well-written information. Put all the details in writing for the fun-loving peacocks, and “remind them every 60 days that you are their travel agency” lest they go out and make friends with someone else.

Doves will listen and not talk, and worry about every detail; remember their kids’ names and sell them travel insurance. “If you can’t sell travel insurance to a dove then you can’t sell,” Wiseman said.

Inside the agency, use your eagles as closers and prospectors—they are comfortable with rejection and live for the one sale out of 100—and your positive and verbal peacocks as openers.

This “most amazing transformational thing in my life” takes a lot of effort to perfect, Wiseman acknowledged. But his successful in negotiating with clients and suppliers since mastering it proves it’s worth the effort.

In the end, Wiseman said, “our success lies in how we interact with other human beings.”

–Cheryl Rosen

CRUISE Highlights for 2016-17
TMR asked some exhibitors at the CLIA reception what they are excited about in 2016 and 2017. Some answers:

Diane Moore, Paul Gauguin Cruises: Our new Bali-Fiji itinerary coming for 2017, and our five-star scuba program off the back of our ships. Also, members of the Wildlife Conservatory Society will be positioned onboard throughout the year to provide lectures on marine biology and programs for children 9-17.

Azamara, Kelly McKenna: Our new World Journey cruise, 102 days and more overnights, and Azamara World Academy, which debuted last year.

Katherine Bonner: In 2017 we’ll be doubling our family river cruise capacity. We’re going from 10 to 20 itineraries—our cruise on the Rhine sold out even before the brochure came out. We’re also adding a 5-night cruise with a two-night stay in a hotel in Paris.

Susan Schultz, sales director, American Cruise Lines: We have two brand new vessels coming out, one in May and one next year. Our Pearl Seas cruise to Cuba sold out as soon as we announced it, and we’re absolutely thinking about another ship and more itineraries to Cuba. We also have a new on-demand training program in six modules; the fifth module came out this week.

Ken Muscat, EVP Sales, MSC Cruises: We’re focusing on brand awareness. We have 30- and 60-second TV spots and took over the Brooklyn subway with digital ads in Times Square. We’ll be launching a new brand campaign for consumers in the middle of the year and a new travel-agent booking engine, MSC Book. And we’re launching our first-ever Travel Agent University in Q1, offering travel agents points they can turn in for cash, and when it comes time for ship tours and launches, we’ll prioritize agents who have taken the program. We’re also running a great commission program right now, 18% for group business and two-for-one commissions. We’ll announce a lot more at Cruise 360.

Mike DaCosta, CroisiEurope: We’re based in France, and relatively new to the U.S. market, but with 47 ships we’re bigger than most U.S. lines. We’re excited about the Loire Princess, our first paddlewheel, and our new itinerary, eight nights out of Berlin. Because we are family owned, our price point is much lower that similar cruises, roughly $2,000 per person per week.

Emily Borgeest, Uniworld: We just launched the Ganges itinerary to India, departing this Sunday, and we have two themed cruises, where you can have tea with the princess or focus on food.

Brad Ball, communications director, Silversea: We’re trying to be more all-inclusive, with air and hotel components. We may be a little more expensive upfront, but there’s no sticker shock and it’s easy for you to sell.

Rudi Schreiner, president, AmaWaterways: We’re adding two or three new builds every year, and two or three bike tours, so guests have 4 or 5 choices in every city. We also offer walking tours at different paces. But the big news is our partnership with Adventures by Disney. We took five charters and sold out in three days, so we added two more. We’ll do many more in 2017. We’re also doing more wine-themed cruises; we started with one cruise six years ago and now we have six.

–Cheryl Rosen

Kudos to Travel Agents
Paul Gauguin: More than 90% of our business comes from travel agents. Most consumers are not sure where Tahiti is.

Tauck’s Tom Armstrong: The same clientele that appreciates us appreciates the services of a travel professional.

Susan Schultz, American Cruise Lines: If we didn’t have travel agents, we wouldn’t have sales.

–Cheryl Rosen

ASTA President Encourages Membership
Coming off a “fantastic year in 2015,” ASTA’s key goal for 2016 is to make agents visible to a new generation of millennials, said president Zane Kerby.

“[They are] a generation of cell phones, not land lines, and they come from a place where there was not a travel agency on every corner,” he said. “As the industry landscape has shifted and as many agents have gone home…they don’t see you. You’re not in their consciousness.”

To that end, ASTA has taken out ads in the New York Times and funded market research showing how important agents are. It has given agents a voice in Congress, and helped agents educate themselves about important issues.

ASTA’s new regulatory compliance course provides a 90-minute overview of the rules that govern travel agencies; more than 700 travel agents have taken the course.

— Daniel McCarthy

TMR has so much more to tell you about the show! Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 3.