Sunday, 20 of May of 2012
Travel, the Internet, Twitter and More…
This morning the real work of Travel Mart begins: the meetings. Judi and I will sit at a table and meet with suppliers for four minute meetings. We exchange cards and learn about their hotel, cruise line, tour company or other travel product. After four minutes the next supplier sits with us and on and on it goes. We will meet with 100 different suppliers each day for the next four days. There are also gala events in the evenings so it is a very busy week.
Last night was the cocktail reception and training expo for “VAST” which is an acronym for Virtuoso Active and Specialty Travel. This is a select group of travel vendors who have products that are for the more adventurous types who still want the quality of Virtuoso type travel experiences, and for suppliers with niche specialties. It was a whirlwind where the members (Virtuoso travel agents) were divided into groups of about 10 and assigned a vendor to start with. They had six minutes to introduce their product at which time we rotated to the next booth. Many of these booths were wildly creative! There were many visual aids and props used to make points for us to remember. Some used games or activities and one Swain tours even used a game show format! Well done ladies! Cruise West was highlighting their 350 day world cruise this year so they presented it as a news cast. They were very entertaining! Even at 10:54 they put on a heck of a show. Micato safaris highlighted their give back to Africa theme by donating a book for each guest who joins one of their marvelous safaris. The reps for Volcanoes Safaris were dressed in gorilla costumes as they are known for getting a select few guests face to face with that amazing species. You should see their photos! Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in beautiful British Columbia gave us a craft project that. Apparently I am not meant to be a weaver of willow bark headbands.
I did not get photos of all the booths during this face paced tour but at the end of this post will be a slide show of what I got. What follows is a bullet list with a brief summary of the providers of VAST experiences.
All of this was thrown at me in one night. That was the first night of Travel Mart. combined with the afternoon trainings it was an exhilarating and exhausting day. I got to my room after 11:00 and made it to bed around midnight. Such is the hard work I do so I can learn about all these great Virtuoso travel options for my people. During all that I remembered to snap a few photos! Click on the first image below to open a slide show in a pop up window. Mouse over the pop up and click on the arrow to the left to advance the sldes…
Panel: Malaka Hilton Admiral Travel Gallery, David Lowy Renshaw Travel, Shane Paquette En Route Travel, Randy Yaroch Travel Society
Gen X= people born 1964 and 1984
Gen Y= people born 1980s to early 1990s
Moderator Joshua Bush: 65% of all travel agents over 45. Number of full time agents has dropped by 50% in ten years or so. Same time a big increase in travel spending. Gen X and Y grew up with internet and are self reliant do it yourselfers. Research there own purchases and like to control the process. Children of parents who use travel agents more likely to do so themselves for big ticket trips. Will trust honeymoon to Mom’s travel agent.
Panel-direct mail can work. social networking: twitter and facebook. Panel-search facebook for trip discussions homeymoons. Linked In network with other professionals. 20-30 ages are self starters and self sufficient not so trusting of people they are not connected with. Panel- These people are doing their own research come in knowing the destination and hotel etc. Advisors should emphasize our contacts VIP treatment. Randy- need new hooks for new generation. uses a rental car co in L.A. that meets clients with name on card and a town car instead of a shuttle at competitive rates. X-Y generations love it. Panel- facebook don’t do only for business it is also important to be social. Make it personal we are going to see Placido Domingo back stage. We are driving alfa romeos in Italy etc. Drop names and places to stimulate interest. David- important to have a blog. Questioner asked how can I get all these facebook friends without getting bombarded by all these “I’m walking my dog now” updates. <Me I am cool with the mundane updates and following my kid’s friends is a source of potential bookings. They got me on facebook in the first place> Questioner is facebook going to be passe by the time we older folks get up to speed? How can we know what the next trend the youngsters will be on to? Panel- Checking into Villa D’Este and a couple heard her group was getting breakfast free and asked why they weren’t. Desk told them they booked with Virtuoso advisor and gave them her card. She posted on facebook and someone responded I didn’t know that. Shane- not the end all or be all to use facebook or twitter but part of the pie, and one that appeals to gen X-Y. Questioner says Virtuoso should have more cool 4 star or 3 star properties and offer amenities to lure the gen X-Y more W hotels etc. Panel- says try to get extras via on sites. Comment from Gen X advisor that many want boutique not Ritz or other name brands. Have to be creative and emphasize time savings (especially for those with kids). Panel- work both ways with generations, go for kid’s parents and parents’ kids. Comment from advisor: ask for perks for clients at non-Virtuoso properties. Try to build relationships at people outside the network. Joshua- be careful to keep relationships within the Virtuoso network via on sites and tour operators. Panel- the relationships we build at Travel Mart meetings are the core of what sets us apart and creates customer satisfaction. Comment from advisor: How do we reach the gen X-Y and let them know our advantages and establish credibility? Another advisor- give them value they are price sensitive but do want some expertise. Joshua- It might take two or three trips to win them over as long term clients. Panel- get up front planning fee and many X-Y s will pay no problem then work with you to plan not do it themselves on the Internet. Emphasis on the experience of travel. Sea Dream yacht club for gen X-Y. Use on sites and hotel connections to build memorable trips. Offer access to celebrity or experiences clients can’t get elsewhere.
Thanks to Virtuoso I will be live blogging on Twitter and likely posting this blog right after the training. What follows are my notes:
“United breaks guitars” video played and a discussion thereof. Social Media is a reality. Deal with it or pay. David Kolner speaking. Manger of Tech Group for Virtuoso. Popular Technologist.
Stay Small owner Elite Traveler International and elitetravelgal blog @elitetravelgal on Twitter as if you didn’t know already.
Michelle Duffy Wandermom blogger member of Virtuoso technology team as program manager author of “traveling with kids” @wandermom
David: What am I going to do on monday morning with all this?
How do you manage to fit all this techno babble into your everyday work life?
Why get started? Branding. Compare who we are to who we want to be. Tech is another fundamental shift. Like email changed our work lives. Consumers are changing from experience consumers to shares of experiences now with many via blogs, twitter and facebook.
Remember postcards? Compare that to a blog with details and pictures from a trip.
I’m too busy! The most common reason not to start with all the social media and tech.
It’s not for me! Many don’t see themselves as the “type” to be online.
It’s overwhelming! That is partly true it can be a time suck.
It’s Scary and unsafe! Scary yes, and one should be careful not to put oneself at risk.
Its all moving too fast! It is moving too fast but if your not on the bus you will have to get on a moving bus when you change your mind.
From write ups weeks after @EliteTravelGal has shifted to live blogging of trips etc. building brand personalizing #tmtechno
Michelle mentioned online community of support on Twitter when her book came out from other travel writers and tweeps.
Discussing how Stacy live blogs on her blackberry with uber twitter and twitpics. Easy to find all these resources on Twitter or Google.
How the heck does a busy travel advisor find the time for all this blogging and tweeting ect? Michelle tries to focus and find ballance. Set aside that time for online brand building.
Getting back to Virtuoso basic value statements: Trust, relationships, etc.
Online is not one way it is communicating like a phone call, but not one to one one to many.
Travel mart is about conversations. This is another type. Half of conversations is listening.
Online conversations are not a cake walk. It is your company brand! You are your online company brand.
Dave Kolner googled all of the people signed up for the training. 76% on line. 14% compete with famous name. 90% are indexed . 8% have extended presence.
What is your online brand? How do you blend online and offline conversations together? Stacy: branded as elite travel gal on blog then twitter to make it easy to follow her. good keywords and easier to find and remember than a name. facebook as her name but linking to her blog her company web site and her twitter id. Michelle: has personal life and her techie life. sees it as a business she is building as a family travel writer. Choose carefully how you brand yourself. Use keywords or company name for best effect. Don’t do what I did and make one up on the fly (even though I could have done worse than tomtravel2).
Ideas for beginners: Stacy educate yourself read “whuffie factor” search on Twitter for social media. Mikiah tools like xobni tweetdeck (or seesmic my fav) Michelle: wanderlisting search top travel on twitter google to see conversations
Stacy: wefollow allows you on directory and can search for others.
Advanced": Stacy: follow breaking news on cnn or anncurry faster than TV. Online contests get brand out. Find authors clients by looking them up and following them. Michelle monitor your return on social media set KPIs how is it helping your business. Website use analytics to see source of inbound traffic. Twitter? Google?
I have arrived in Las Vegas for 5 days of travel business fun and madness. I checked into Bellagio and picked up my registration materials for Travel Mart. Today should be more fun than madness. At 3:00 I attend a training “One to One and Beyond: Harnessing the Power of Social Media.” When I saw the offerings for Travel Mart this little meeting was the first thing that jumped off the screen at me. At the time I was mostly curious what this would be about. I was early in my intensive effort to learn Twitter and how to make it work for me. I was really beginning to see progress by that time. Virtuoso on the other hand was hardly visible on Twitter. I signed up mainly to see what they would come up with in a few months starting from scratch.
It has been fascinating watching toes being dipped into the Twitter stream by travel agents, travel vendors and now by my travel consortium. I began to notice several individuals from Virtuoso trying to get up to speed. The individuals running the training I am about to attend ended up contacting me for inside baseball on Twitter. I hear I am going to be mentioned during the training which is cool. I still am very curious where they are going with the thing. I am also curious to see who will be attending. Last year I did not attend the early sessions at Travel Mart. I started the first day of meetings (where agents and vendors sit and meet one to one). I was quite surprised to see how many people are here a day early on a Saturday.
So in a few minutes my first taste of Travel Mart 2009 will tease my taste buds. I am looking forward to all of it, every hectic interesting slice of this mixed berry pie. The two things I am looking forward to the most are this class today and the Tweetup on Tuesday afternoon. The classes tomorrow look interesting as well, and I hope to blog about them as well a bit. “Getting up to techno speed: flexing your online muscles” is another one I probably could have taught. The other is a big part of what I am building my business on “Tapping the X-Y potential-the next generation opportunites.” I recently blogged about how only 7% of 20-30 year olds use travel agents. My angle was that they are missing out on the VIP treatment at hotels they are willing to pay up for at fancy nightclubs. Virtuoso VIP treatment usually costs them nothing yet they all book on the internet.
I see people streaming by on the way to the training, and it looks to be time to head that way.Here comes the summary take-aways and my comments:
Comments: Virtuoso should have had wireless access set up for those of us who don’t tweet from a mobile device. Or am I the only dinosaur left who doesn’t? I hated seeing the #tmsm scroll and not being able to tweet! Here I sat writing a blog in Live Writer that I had to schlep the laptop back to the room to post! Oh well, it is a minor complaint. So I have to pay Bellagio for a day! They say there will at least be a tech center room starting tomorrow I can go wireless in. Over all they did a good job getting themselves up to speed. It was cool being called out, but caught me off guard when they wanted me to answer questions. Good thing I was a Speech major way back when. Always ready to improvise.
More to come after VAST!
I do not pretend to be young or on top of all the latest in youth culture, but I am building my luxury travel business mostly with people in their 20’s and 30’s. How is an offline travel agent making repeat clients our of the online generation? Connections, baby! If the headline fits you probably know how to get inside the velvet ropes at the trendy clubs in your city. You think nothing of tipping a doorman or working your connections to bypass the line outside. You may even pay up to get a table in the VIP. What you probably don’t know is that booking your hotel stay on the internet puts you on the wrong side of the velvet ropes, and far from the VIP room you want and deserve.
I am a father who had a very open household as my kids grew up. We had one of those houses where kids didn’t mind hanging out. As our kids became successful young adults their friends have kept in touch. One young couple we know booked their honeymoon on the internet at very nice hotels in Hawaii. I had just started my adventure as a travel agent. After we looked at the photos I pointed out to them that they were in two Virtuoso properties. If they had booked with me they would have had a room upgrade if available, free daily breakfast, resort credits, and VIP status all for the same price they paid on the internet. They let me compare their next trip to what they could do themselves on the web and have been regular clients since. When they start planning a trip now the first question is usually “Is that a Virtuoso hotel?”
This has led to a number of referrals to their friends who are also becoming regular customers. You are probably already hooked on the idea of getting VIP treatment. What most of you don’t know is the cool way to book your travel is not on the internet. A recent article claimed that only 7% of this age cohort uses traditional travel agents! You are the web generation indeed. Are you sure you want that online room? What I offer that the web can’t is connections. I am off to Las Vegas this weekend to build on the great connections I have already made. At Virtuoso Travel Mart we have the opportunity to meet with the sales managers and general managers at the chic hotels you crave. These are the people who decide who gets the VIP treatment and who doesn’t. Who would you give the best room to, an anonymous booking or the client of someone you know? I don’t need to know the doorman, I know the doorman’s boss.
As luxury travel agents we take every opportunity to create and nurture relationships with the people at the places you want to stay. If you don’t schmooze you lose. What the internet travel sites will never be able to do is replace the person to person relationships that we have. Many of the people I have met in the industry want you to book your trip with us, not on the web. It makes it easier for them to make sure your stay is exactly what you were looking for. This creates a satisfaction that leads to repeat business. We have a very high rate of repeat business among our clients. We also mostly generate our new business off of referrals from our happy clients. The internet travel sites struggle with customer loyalty. Under 20% of internet booking customers express satisfaction with the experience. Repeat business is just as low. I know once I get you inside the velvet ropes and into the VIP you will come back for more. Not to mention the free breakfast and resort credit.
The travel tweets are here for your enjoyment for July 9, 2009: