Flexible clients, flexible agents weather all storms
Continued from Page 36
out there for your money, if the clients
are flexible, which they are.”
Young, midrange clients
are willing to
spend more.
WELL-HEELED IS WELL-INSULATED
If having flexible clients is good,
having rich ones is even better.
Deepi Mehta, owner of Carlson
Wagonlit Travel/Travel Express in
Houston, said she felt somewhat
protected from worries about
price increases because her upscale clientele was unlikely to be
deterred by expense.
Another factor working in her agen-
cy’s favor, Mehta said, is its specializa-
tion in honeymoons and destination
weddings.
“If it’s a honeymoon, nobody can-
cels. [Terrorism] threat or no threat, if
the price goes up, whatever, they come
up with the money.”
Mehta decided to go after the hon-
eymoon and weddings business when
her corporate business bottomed out
in the aftermath of 9/11.
“Nobody canceled a honeymoon
[after 9/11]. … People are still going
to get married. If it gets a little more
expensive, they’ll make small changes,
[such as booking] a six-night honeymoon instead of seven. If it’s a destination wedding, maybe they were
planning to take 50 friends and only
30 can afford it, so the group gets
smaller. Or they might go from a five-star to a four-star hotel.”
can you smell
what Avanti’s cooking?
France
FINE-TUNING AT THE HIGH END
Susan Maurer, owner of Landmark
Travel in Orinda, Calif., said that some
of her high-end FIT customers were
making exactly those
kinds of adjustments.
“The cost is getting up
there,” said Maurer, who
is accustomed to book-
ing pricey trips for a de-
manding clientele.
“People who would
have done a five-star
hotel in Paris will do a
three-star hotel. It’s our
job to know those little
boutique hotels that give
really good service.”
But even those bou-
tique hotels can cause
sticker shock, and not
just for clients.
Recently, when Mau-
rer priced a Relais &
Chateaux auberge in
Scandinavia, she found
herself double-checking
her figures when the rate
for a room and break-
fast worked out to $800
nightly. “I’m going, ‘Have
I done this right?’ ”
Those kinds of prices
are what prompted Maur-
er to boost the high end of
her ballpark estimates for
prospective customers.
For stays at best-avail-
able hotels or paradors,
the services of top guides
Avanti has cooked up some great France packages
for your clients. This one in Provence features a stay
at the Moulin des Vignes Vieilles, an 18th-century
mill, and cooking classes in Salon de Provence.
In addition to our hand-picked boutique hotels,
we also offer stays in many other chateaux in France,
as well as other unique packages featuring bicycling,
wine-tasting and more.
and special or exclusive sightseeing
experiences, she now calculates that
the daily per-person price can be as
high as about $770 instead of about
$640, her top-end estimation earlier
this year.
While her clients don’t question
those prices if they have an exceptionally wonderful trip, Maurer said, the
high prices do add to the demands of
her job.
“The pressure to perform is incred-
ible, more than ever. I have to really
ride my vendors.”
Maurer, who has worked in travel
since 1959, suggested that the key
to success, especially when prices
are high, is to ensure that clients are
satisfied.
“What I’ve learned is if there is true
value in the product it will survive.”
Provence Cooking Program
5 days/4 nights from $1,359* ppdo
Includes 4 nights at a restored 18th-century mill inn,
2 cooking classes with 2 dinners, 1 dinner at the inn,
full-day guided tour of Provence, daily breakfast.
Harry’s Travel Tip
Some of France’s best wines are grown
and bottled close to where you’ll be staying.
Be sure to sample Tavel, France’s best rosé,
and Gigondas, a bold and tasty red, both
made within a few miles of your inn.
Harry Dalgaard, President, Avanti Destinations
TRAVEL AS A NECESSITY
One factor that may be allaying
some agents’ concern is the current
attitude toward vacation travel, which
many consumers apparently consider
a reward they are unwilling to forego.
“The average American works longer hours than the average European
and spends less time with the family,
so I believe [travel] is a necessity as
far as wellness. People incorporate it,
[saying] ‘We need this for our sanity,’ ”
Mitchell said.
She added, “We are now in a global
world, and people want to experience
that. … The opportunity [to travel in-ternationally] is available to everyone,
and more and more people want to
take advantage of that.”
AvantiDestinations.com
800-422-5053
*Available year-round except between Christmas and New Years.
SPEND, SPEND, SPEND
Another factor may be the willing-
ness of many consumers to go into
debt or use up their savings to pay for
