Upgrades, FAMs, and Points: How Advisors Experience Luxury Travel for Less

The best way to sell luxury travel is to experience it, understand it, and then share your excitement with clients. But how can a travel advisor try out top-tier products when your own net worth is not nearly as high as that of your clients?

We asked travel advisors to share the many ways they have sailed in the best suites, dined at the most exclusive destinations, and managed to mingle with the rich and famous without breaking their own more modest budgets. Here’s what they suggest:

Travel Off Peak and Bid on the Upgrade

There are bargains to be had at every property and on every ship if you travel at the least popular times or on a repositioning cruise.

Those also are the best times to bid on an upgrade, when the high-end passengers and corporate groups who might otherwise be there are not sailing.

Kevin Novak, owner of a Dream Vacations franchise, said some of his best luxury experiences have come from booking “a good product at a reasonable rate and then strategically submitting upgrade bids when opportunities arise.”

And yours truly snagged the Owner’s Suite on a Royal Caribbean ship this month by bidding just $255 per person on top of a bargain-priced $2,200 junior suite on a last-minute June sailing to the Caribbean.

Pay the Advisor Rate and Make It Pay Off

“The more you promote luxury the more you will sell luxury,” Claire Maguire of Inside Girl Travel and Vacations, told TMR.

The three best investments she ever made to grow her personal sales to their current total of $3.5 million were advisor rates on an Antarctica sailing on Atlas Ocean Voyages, a Tahiti trip on Paul Gauguin, and an Emerald Sakara trip, she said.

Today Antarctica is her top-selling product, and she has sold 100 trips on Paul Gauguin and 38 on Emerald Sakara.

“Be strategic about which trips you take; make sure they are the ones that you want to promote,” she added. “From there, the luxury business will take on a life of its own!”

Reach Out and Touch Someone at Industry Events

When Travel Edge advisor Geneviève Boisjoli couldn’t snag an advisor rate online at the Ritz Carlton, she called a contact she met at a conference and got almost 50% off the rack rate. She’s also won a number of great trips at conferences and webinars she attended, including a Maldives stay and a Viking cruise.

Lainey Melnick, a Dream Vacations franchise owner, started her luxury niche by calling Crystal Cruises to ask for a discounted rate—and got two cabins at a FAM rate of $200 a night.

She added that “the positive attention from the posts and videos I made on that trip,” got her started on selling luxury products. Now that she has a history and a following, she’s headed on a fully comped trip to Sugar Beach resort in St. Lucia.

“Think about why a supplier would benefit from hosting you and present yourself that way for the best results,” she advised.

In the luxury category, meanwhile, Kayla Mahon-Blake, owner of Reserved Abroad, attends events like Private Luxury Events, Emotions, Journeys, ILTM, and Forbes Travel Guide Exclusive Engagement dinners, and signs up for any FAMs connected to them.

“It has been a game-changer for my business in both building relationships and experiencing luxury products,” she said.

Focus on FAMs

“You have to spend money in order to sell,” said Susan Kelly, who went to Australia in March and is headed to Japan in September. She likes Signature Educational Journeys, which are “significantly less expensive than an organized tour.” But sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet. Intent on finally seeing Tulip Time in Amsterdam this year, she paid full price—and already has sold two cabins to help offset the cost.

“That’s why I work,” she explained. “And it will make me a better agent. How can you sell luxury if you haven’t walked the walk?”

John Briolat, another Dream Vacations franchise owner, is always on the lookout for emails and offers from suppliers in his river cruise niche. He’s recently gotten a “60 day or less” rate with AmaWaterways in Bordeaux and an Amadeus FAM rate, as well as a low consumer solo rate on Uniworld.

Work With Your BDM

Building a business plan with a BDM is always a good way to start, said Phillip Archer, owner of Roaming Richly Travel.

“It may start with a FAM that will lead you to visibility and bookings, and that leads to travel opportunities.”

Last year he sailed on an expedition cruise that would have cost $76,900 per person for less than $4,000.

Build a Group

When Monika Leuenberger, owner of Avenues of the World Travel, began dreaming of sailing SeaDream Yachts, she put together a group so she could try it for free; she’s been back five times since then.

Robin Isquith, an advisor with Montecito Village Travel, leads a group twice a year; most recently she has been doing luxury barges and tacking on pre- and post-cruise stays at luxury properties. In November, she chartered an eight-cabin catamaran and took seven couples to the Galapagos at no cost to herself.

Be a Host

Once you have some sales with luxury cruise lines, apply to be a host through your consortium’s group space. Wendy Sigler, owner of Wander With Wendy Travel, did that on a Signature Celebrity cruise and a 14-day sailing on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2; she next will host Signature travelers on Oceania this month and on Silversea in November.

“It has been a great way to inexpensively try new lines and ships, and the duties involved aren’t too overwhelming,” she said.

Make Points Pay

You don’t need to wait for enough points for a full vacation, saidMarcie Muensterman. She uses the points she earns through travel affinity programs to add one luxury night onto her trips, or to stay one night at a luxury property in her hometown of Tampa.

Max Out Your Credit Card Rewards

Most hotel credit cards offer a free night that is worth more than its annual fee. Or if you travel a lot, consider the pricey cards that offer many benefits, and make use of them. If you put all your bills on the American Express Platinum card, and reach $75,000 a year in annual spending, for example, you get unlimited free access to airport lounges around the world (good for free drinks and meals on every flight, coming and going), $600 in hotel credits, $200 in airline credits, $400 in restaurant credits, and $120 in Uber credits—more than the cost of the card—among other benefits. Just be sure to pay it off every month to avoid additional fees and running up your debts!

If you make moving into more luxury travel your goal for the next year and plan strategically, you can make it happen without bankrupting your business.