BRUNCH CLUB
‘IT’S CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CLIENT EXPECTS’
The “quality of the brief” is paramount for ensuring a family’s holiday goes smoothly. Lee Marshall, partnership
director at ITC Luxury Travel, said his company stopped selling a hotel in the Caribbean after spending hours on the phone on Christmas Day “trying to resolve an issue”. “The quality of the brief is so important and for us to properly understand what the customer expects is critical,” he said. “On the rare occasions the customer doesn’t have a great experience with us, it’s probably because we haven’t matched the right product with them. “It’s worse with families because their time is really precious. “It’s our responsibility to deliver
Lee Marshall
an experience that is befitting of the relationship the travel agent has with their clients.” Matthews added: “It’s not
always about being the cheapest. “Probably the biggest chunk of our business is luxury family bookings and we get the full range - from clients that want to spend every minute with their children to those who have either got nannies
or the kids’ club booked all day. “You can’t allow any of those things not to be organised, or at least have informed the client.” Cresswell added: “Now granny and grandad, aunty and uncle are entering the picture as well and the multigenerational aspect raises the complexity. We offer babysitting services now so grandparents don’t have to be saddled.” Sophia Buttigieg, Thanos Hotels & Resorts sales manager for the UK and Europe, added: “Mixing all the different guests can be a challenge, but it’s one we meet. It’s about listening and actually delivering on needs. We try to liaise with our partners to get as much information as possible so we’re as ready as possible beforehand.”
‘HOTELS’ FAILURE WITH INTERCONNECTING ROOMS IS SUCH A SAD SITUATION’
guarantee this type of room. Amanda Matthews said:
Sophia Buttigieg
Agents and operators said it’s “sad” some hotels fail to guarantee interconnecting rooms for families. Sophia Buttigieg said Thanos
Hotels & Resorts is “one of the few” suppliers which does
“Interconnecting rooms is one of the biggest challenges we have as an agent, but also one of our key strengths because you can’t do it online. A lot of experts would know off the top of their heads where those hotels are. “But there are other properties, particularly big ones in Dubai, where 95% of all of their rooms interconnect but they will not guarantee them. I think that’s such a sad situation because you’ve then
got clients who are a bit uneasy.” ITC Luxury’s Lee Marshall added: “We don’t want to get a call at 3am from an irate customer in Dubai who has turned up at check-in and the room is not interconnecting. “For a family, that is a disaster,
and there is an expectation that the tour operator will resolve it, and quickly. “That’s when the strength of
your relationship with the people on the ground becomes very important.”
36 — aspire june 2016
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