SALES
STRATEGIES
• DON’T WASTE TIME, FOCUS YOUR SALES
“Smart travel sellers across the country have identified the fact
that Mexico allows you to sell a high-end product and make
a reasonable margin of profit. There’s no other country in the
world that offers that value, service and price combination,”
said Mark Ohan, owner of Ohan Travel in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ohan believes agents should recognize and work with the
dominance of all-inclusives in the Mexico market. “In Mexico,
it’s become difficult to find a non-all inclusive. But these include
true five-star properties and an agent must know the differences among them. The point is not to waste time selling a
$399 Cancun package; all strategies should be focused on the
higher end resorts.”
• UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES
“I find huge differences between an all-inclusive and a luxury all-inclusive. The true luxury ones make life so much easier. There is
no need for dinner reservations, and they have great guest service and touches that a luxury client likes,” said Dianna Paridon,
a travel consultant with Brentwood Travel in St. Louis.
“Many of our travelers are familiar with Mexico but not
always familiar with the brands,” said John Schmitt, vice president of sales and marketing for Superior & Frankenmuth Travel
in Frankenmuth, Michigan. “As a result we have to explain
to them the differences among the brands, especially the all-inclusives. We find a huge difference between resorts designed
to be all-inclusives and those that have been retrofitted to fit
that model.”
• MARKE T ROMANCE
“We actively market romance in Mexico—including honeymoons, anniversaries and other celebrations. We do trade
and bridal shows and I have my own Montrose Romance
Facebook page,” said Loris Fusco, romance specialist with
Montrose Travel in Montrose, Calif. “Honeymooners are
definitely looking for the highest level of luxury. They want honeymoon suites and butler services. One thing to think about
is having the wedding at a lower category property, then the
couple goes off to a super-luxury resort for their honeymoon.
That works better for some budgets.”
• PROMOTE SAVINGS AT ALL INCLUSIVES
“People at the top end of the market will stay at an all-inclusive,
especially when they’re traveling with their families,” said Martin
Rapp, senior vice president of leisure sales for Altour in New
York. “At a traditional resort you can buy four Cokes and four
hot dogs and spend real money, which is why all-inclusives are
appealing to families. Even at the level of our clientele, people
are looking for value.”
RELAXATION ROOM, FIES TA AMERICANA GRAND CORAL BEACH LEFT: SUITE, FIES TA MERICANA GRAND LOS CABOS
In just over a decade Mexico’s luxury resort product has established it- self as a major force in the international upscale market. The destination ow has a diverse array of luxury properties throughout the country, including both traditional hotels and all-inclusive resorts. Twelve prop- erties in Mexico have earned AAA’s 2012 Five Diamond rating, and an additional 128 hotels and resorts are ranked with AAA Four Diamonds, including 23 properties that made the list for the ;rst time this year. “The luxury product in Mexico has certainly come up an incredible degree in the last ;ve or ten years,” said Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder
of Indagare, a New York-based travel membership club. “It’s been transformed from a
place that had a few charming spots to one that frankly outdoes the Caribbean in terms
of the level of luxury they are offering.”
There is general agreement that Mexico’s move toward a contemporary luxury
product began in Cabo San Lucas in the late 1990’s with the opening of Les Ventanas al
Paraiso, a Rosewood Hotels & Resorts property.
“When Las Ventanas opened that was the game changer,” said Robert Boulogne,
COO of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. “If you look at what happened to Cabo over the
next ten years with the opening of luxury resorts like Esperanza, it became an unbe-
lievably hot real estate market. And that’s what drove those markets, the real estate
component.”
“Las Ventanas is a very special asset that has far over-penetrated the market in terms
of its performance. It has a unique quality that gets high-end travelers coming over and
over again. There are only a handful of properties worldwide that might be compa-
rable,” said Jeff Lugosi, vice president at lodging consultants PKF USA, based in Los
Angeles.
Diane McDavitt, president of Luxury Link, the auction and deal site for high-end
travel, worked for Rosewood when the Las Ventanas opened. “Until that time, the
region was known more for spring break and ;shing than for luxury getaways,” she
said. “But Los Cabos had proximity to the U.S. market, full of af;uent travelers hungry
for a getaway that didn’t require a ;ve- or seven-hour ;ight and could be enjoyed over
a long weekend.”
Noted PFK’s Lugosi, “Other brands continue to be interested in the destination,
including the Montage project in Cabo that is on hold. We have also heard talk of a
Ritz-Carlton there. In general, it’s safe to say that all the high-end international brands
are keeping an eye on destinations like Los Cabos for potential development.”
NEW MARKETS, NEW PROPERTIES
The upscale market continues to expand and evolve in Mexico as new geographic areas
establish a foothold in the category.
“There is a lot more to Mexico than 6,000 miles of coastline,” noted Lugosi. “There
is truly an underserved market and all the major brands—Starwood, Marriott and
Hilton—want more shelf space in the country at all price points, including the higher
ones.”
“Developers are looking beyond the coasts,” said Rosewood’s Boulogne. “Our San
Miguel de Allende property is more like a resort because that is not an industrial town
like Monterrey. It is for travelers who might like to go to someplace like Santa Fe [New
Mexico, in the U.S.]. It has art, wonderful food and is exceedingly historical.” ;
