总部事件:“一年的梦想”dustry Buoys Dream Vacations, CruiseOne, and Cruises Inc.
经过谢丽尔·罗森(Cheryl Rosen)/
What’s not to like about a year with no headwinds for the travel industry?
在一年一度的梦想假期/ CruiseOne邮轮c. conference onboard Norwegian Bliss earlier this month, Brad Tolkin — who is the founder, co-CEO and chairman of World Travel Holdings (WTH), the parent company of the three brands — ticked off the elements that added up to one great year for the travel industry as whole, and for all three of the World Travel Holdings home-based divisions, in particular.
The lowest unemployment rate since 1969, GNP growth of 3.5 percent, high wages spurred by the tightest labor market that Alan Greenspan has seen in his lifetime, and a soaring stock market, have given travelers the cash to travel, said Tolkin.
As a result, the cruise lines are adding “the craziest capacity in the history of cruising.” Virgin and Ritz Carlton soon will bring new customer bases to first-time cruising; Alaska has added luxury products to its popular offerings; and the Instagram effect has everyone eager to post photos of outlandish experiences in distant places.
If that is not reason enough to celebrate — and indeed, the sea of blue-shirted travel professionals in the Bliss theater did seem pretty celebratory — the travel industry “is probably only in the sixth or seventh inning” of this travel growth spurt, Tolkin said. And perhaps the best news is that, in a recent AAA survey, three out of four Baby Boomers and Millennials said they consider using a travel agency for their vacations.
In short, Tolkin said, if your travel agency did not grow 10 percent in 2018, you are falling behind the industry norm — and WTH’s franchisees and hosted agencies (let’s refer to them as Dream Vacations, for simplicity’s sake) certainly are not doing that.
此外,他告诉旅行社:“这是我的年度请求:请为您的服务收取费用。”
Veering off course
但是,当然,旅行永远无法完全预测 - 1000名与会者的一项意外学习经历是由威拉飓风提供的,飓风威拉(Willa Willa)突然前往挪威幸福之前前往科苏梅尔(Cozumel)。对于船上的许多新旅行社(实际上,这三家公司都有许多新移民,被特许经营的安排和前军事计划所吸引 - 这也许是所有人的最佳突破性课程,可以亲身体验邮轮业和旅行方式。专业人士在紧急情况下一起工作,以及客户的反应。
In the end, most were unconcerned by the change of itinerary from the Mexican Riviera to San Francisco and San Diego. The biggest challenge, said General Manager of Network Engagement and Performance Drew Daly, was finding new venues for every event, as sea days became days in port and vice versa, and outdoor events scheduled with Mexican heat in mind had to move indoors in the San Francisco chill.
他说:“我们计划了这次会议一年,我们在两个小时内将一切都削减了。”
New for 2019
同时,在主要阶段,2019年的大公告旨在帮助会员机构 - 无论是梦想假期和Cruiseone的加盟商,还是Cruises Inc.家族的托管机构 - 建立客户群,并以常规的方式向他们推销他们的客户群基础,对自己进行新的和有利可图的利基和产品,并提供出色的客户服务。
在此过程中,是新技术,可以帮助销售土地假期和团体,以及旨在在新消费者面前获取梦想假期的新营销合作伙伴关系。
A new module for the all-in-one booking platform is rolling out, making it possible to book land as well as sea vacations in the system. The goal is to allow agents and customers to “do everything from quoting to booking” on any device, and to link all the pieces of the reservation to an itinerary builder, something member agents have long been asking for.
There is also a new mobile app, Travefy, that lets agents communicate with clients and share documents, and track customers’ flights in real time.
在市场营销领域,与“ Rachael Ray Show”的合作关系使Dream Vacations和Cruiseone品牌在10月将其揭露了国家电视观众。其他wine.com,除了适当的衣服之外,还有施华洛世奇的珠宝(以及尚未宣布的)提供了交叉拍卖和互惠营销的机会。当然,目的是吸引新的,尤其是新的探员客户。
“The new-to-cruise market is such a great opportunity,” said the brand’s Senior Vice President Debbie Fiorino. And with all the new inventory coming on line in the next few years, “we are trying to get in front of new groups of people who have an affinity for cruising, but have not yet tried it.”
Direct mail is on the rise
But the partnerships are just a small piece of what WTH has to offer, Fiorino noted. The biggest part of corporate marketing dollars — a “seven-digit” investment — goes to the direct mail program, with usage up 40 percent in 2018 over 2017. “Direct marketing is making a comeback, and has a high response rate,” she said.
For consumers, a new promotional engine on the direct-to-consumer website, which went live in July, allows consumers to see all the existing promotions when they search online — a change that has tripled the online booking rate, Fiorino said. “So, an agent in the web-lead program can wake up in the morning and have a fully-baked trip waiting for them,” including one that came through this year with a $10,000 price tag.
“We are making major investments to take our agents into the future and assist them in driving revenue,” Fiorino said.
New members and more training
在这三个品牌的增长中也发挥了作用,这是新的旅行社的涌入,其中许多从两个非常成功的外展计划到美国军队。第一个是第七年,是Vetrepreneur行动,该计划的计划使申请人为他们希望拥有的旅行业务提交视频和商业计划;获奖者(今年有七个)将免除特许经营费的第一年。
The second, the Veteran Enlistment Program, offers 20 percent off the initial fee for a Cruise One or Dream Vacations franchise fee (about $9,800) plus other incentives, for a total value of about $5,000. That program now is being expanded beyond the veterans themselves to include their spouses, as well as Gold Star Families, which are families of soldiers who have lost their lives.
To meet the needs of the newcomers and existing franchisees, in 2019, the division will expand its training program to include five regional trainings in: Ft. Lauderdale, Galveston, Boston, Phoenix; and Columbus, Ohio. There also will be a Land Summit, a Group Summit, a River Summit, and a Luxury Summit in New York, plus the first-ever Online Summit.
On the agent recognition front, achievement levels henceforth will be adjusted in real time rather than annually, so travel professionals will get certificates, invitations and other perks that are based on their sales, in a more timely manner.
菲奥里诺预测,随着2019年销售在陆地和海上的销售继续增长,这将变得越来越重要,并且客户旅行更远,花费更多。她在2019年的书籍中看到了更多的高档旅行,更多的欧洲和更多的阿拉斯加,并预测旅行将继续增加两位数。