ILLUSTRATION: IKON IMAGES


Luxury Travel Case study: T e more extensive your network of


trustworthy contacts, the better placed you’ll be to provide clients with what they need. “I travel a lot, but I really need to have


a global network that I can reach out to as well,” said luxury specialist Audrey Kennedy, co-owner of On the Map Travel in Los Angeles. “If a client wants the best hotel in Phuket or Barcelona, I need to be able to fi nd out quickly from a trusted source. Fortunately, some of your best sources can be other travel agents. You’d think we’d be competitors, but instead we share information constantly.” DMCs can be an especially valuable


resource for agents seeking the local connections required for complex and customized experiences, according to Hall. “At Ensemble, we have a global program


involving 100 hand-picked DMCs who are in the location and have their fi nger on the pulse of what’s current,” she said. “T e DMC has taken on a bigger role than in the past.” Hall also sees high-end tour operators


and cruise companies playing an increasingly large role in the trend towards customization, often forging partnerships with DMCs in order to give customers more localized and personal experiences.


T e more extensive your network of trustworthy contacts, the better placed you’ll be to provide clients with what they need


“Suppliers are off ering many more


choices, so the customer can decide what appeals to them,” she said. “T ere’s a lot more individuality and fl exibility now. T is can be complicated, especially for tour operators, but they know that even a group experience now has to feel like an FIT.”


National demographic How are demographics aff ecting the


luxury travel market these days? While baby boomers (ages 50-75) — many of whom are heading into retirement and have plenty of fi nancial resources and disposable


Travel Simplicity: In 2009, when Jason and Sandy Holland founded Travel Simplicity, an ASTA-member agency in Etters, Pa., they wanted to provide the kind of highly individualized travel experiences they had arranged for themselves while working in demanding corporate jobs. They soon found a receptive client base: busy professionals whose most treasured asset is time. “Many of our clients are time-starved and they really value the services of a travel professional,” said Jason Holland. “Even if they could create their own experiences like we do, they don’t want to spend the 80 to 100 hours required.” Each trip orchestrated by the home-based agency starts with a ‘discovery period’ that includes a lengthy consultation usually conducted on Skype or FaceTime. Clients also fi ll out an extensive questionnaire about their interests and preferences. A transparent discussion of the service fees is part of the consultation as well. “The kind of elaborate experiences we provide don’t lend themselves to commissions, so we’re almost entirely fee-based,” Holland said. “Most clients understand. Even when the fee is high, we get very little pushback.” The Hollands have arranged


everything from a driving trip through Europe for a family with a passion for soccer and exotic cars, to an elopement to Greece for a pair of professors who wanted to explore archaeological sites on off -the-beaten-track islands and exchange vows in a private villa in Santorini overlooking the sea. While growing the business didn’t happen overnight, Holland said clients seeking high-end customized travel tend to be loyal and spread the word among friends and family. “We’re active on social media


and we have an e-newsletter we send out twice a month,” he said. “But nothing beats one person telling another.”


ASTAnetwork | Summer 2017 | 49


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