Opinion & Comment
Abandoned dogs and doomed horses led this philanthropist to start an eco-resort
own rescue mission to save animals left behind by distraught owners; volunteers swarmed in and I chartered several large planes to go fetch the beloved pets – 800 cats and dogs were rescued. The little guys perched on the seats, and the bigger animals were kept in the hold. The trauma they had all suffered was palpable. In silence, these animals were flown to safety, and later rehomed or reunited with their families. Katrina changed everything in me, and I was
Madeleine Pickens, founder, Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Resort
Gazing out towards the wild mustangs grazing against the dusk-drenched mountains, I can’t help but reflect upon the long and turbulent journey I’ve had to get to this very moment. Animals have always been a huge part of my
life. I’ve always owned dogs; labradors when I was a child, and now I’m rarely seen without my entourage of rescue pups by my ankles. When Hurricane Katrina swept through New
Orleans in 2005, my world changed forever. Watching TV, with tears rolling down my cheeks, I saw a man forced to leave his dog behind. While he was airlifted to safety, the dog was left on a roof in the hope that he might be rescued later. The look on its face was soul destroying. I decided I had to do something. So I started my
Meerkats, dinosaurs, fridges – a 30-year anniversary is making this man philosophical
Ted Wake, joint managing director, Kirker Holidays
So, what is the secret of eternal life? Still seems no one knows. But what I know is that cryogenics has never appealed to me – it looks chilly, and far too cramped. I also have a fear of waking up in a less comfortable era, where (if the defrosting process isn’t handled carefully) vital bits might break off, or not function correctly – and we wouldn’t want that, would we? As we approach Kirker’s 30th anniversary,
thinking about the next 30 years seems inevitable. We may not have the key to eternal life, but what we can do is make certain we are focused on how to maintain and grow our business. However carefully planned your business strategy is though, it is unwise to try to plan too far ahead. The trick is to make sure everyone within your organisation understands that perpetual evolution is the key – if you stand still for a moment, your competitors will get you. The dinosaurs thought they had the answer to everything when they developed longer necks, sharper teeth, and faster legs, but they didn’t look quite so clever when global freezing came at them from left-field in the form of an ice age. Basically, what is clear from 30 years’
experience at Kirker is that sophisticated, discerning travellers are now more sophisticated and discerning than they were in 1986. Everything we do is focused on anticipating clients’ needs – and aiming to exceed their expectations, every time. Easily said, but trickier to do. In 1986, the first Kirker holiday included just
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TTGLUXURY.COM WINTER 2015 BUSINESS OF TRAVEL
soon on a new journey to rescue wild mustang horses, which were experiencing a different kind of suffering. Upon learning their numbers have dwindled from two million to 30,000 in less than 100 years, my heart was broken. I came to America from Britain to experience the romantic premise of cowboys, Indians and the Wild West.
And yet in the US, these elegant symbols of the American dream are treated like vermin. Wild mustangs sometimes encroach on agricultural land, so they are considered pests. They’ve no rights and they are regularly rounded up and sent to holding facilities where ranchers are paid thousands of dollars to house them in stifling conditions, with many going to slaughter. After a long fight against the US government
to close down the last horse slaughterhouse, my response was to buy two Nevada ranches almost side by side so I could create a rescue sanctuary for these great symbols of America. With my foundation Saving America’s Mustangs
as the backbone to this project, I wanted to create a destination where like-minded animal lovers could visit and so Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Resort was born. It is both a sanctuary for wild horses (675 at present) rescued from the killer buyers and saved from slaughter, and a luxury eco-resort with sumptuous Native American tipis and pioneer cottages. We’ve come so far and yet there’s so much
more to do to save these wild horses from extinction. When I look at the mustangs galloping freely across the range, it makes me shudder to think what could have been. Mustang Monument is a not-for-profit eco-resort so all funds from guests are ploughed back into the foundation. Every guest that visits has played a part in preserving these animals and they should all feel proud in the knowledge that their choice to visit us is a donation that is nothing short of life-saving.
mustangmonument.com
three elements: two flights, and a hotel room. Today, the average number of components is 13 – transfers, rail tickets, opera tickets, museum entrance tickets, restaurant bookings, private guided tours, cooking lessons, and so on. Each arrangement is tailor-made and achieved between the client, agent and ourselves. In the internet age of price transparency, multi-channel distribution and Airbnb, how can we succeed in persuading clients they still need expert travel agents and specialist tour operators? To take a phrase from a high-profile meerkat, the answer is “simples”. Find out what your clients’ needs are, collaborate with your favourite specialist tour operator, then tailor-make a perfect package. It is crucial to make your proposition as
complex as possible – this is not easy for clients to replicate online, and so consumers who have specific needs will prefer to deal with an expert human, rather than run the risk of DIYing. So dear agents, I may not be able to share with
you any secrets of eternal life, but I would like to find those among you who share my passion for discerning travellers. That will never change.
kirkerholidays.com
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