Backed by funding from Ovation Travel Group, the luxury
travel company Skylark is aiming to successfully marry the traditional agency
model to the OTA model, creating a hybrid that combines high touch with high
tech.
"Technology should not replace humans; it should
enhance them," said Jack Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations (No. 20 on
Travel Weekly's 2017 Power List) and a shareholder in Skylark. "And I
think the greatest thing about this model is that it's enhancing the human
experience, or collaboration, with our clients. They're able to get our high
touch when they want it and how they want it. They can do it themselves, so it's
a DIY model: Do it yourself until you don't want to."
Skylark was founded three years ago and launched into a
private beta-testing mode a little less than two years ago, CEO Paul Tumpowsky
said.
The Virtuoso member is a fee-based agency (the $400 annual
fee is waived for the first year) that includes both online and offline
components. For example, customers can go online to search and browse deals for
air and hotels and see live pricing. They can complete a transaction fully
online, or they can chat with an experienced luxury agent in a variety of ways,
such as in text-based chats or on the phone.
Paul Tumpowsky
Skylark's agents have the advantage of a technology platform
that enables them to see what their client is browsing online, among other
things. They can also send customized "collections" of trips to
customers. Some more generic collections -- "Easy Caribbean" trips,
for example -- can be viewed on Skylark's website, and they can also create
dynamic links for clients using pricing information.
In addition to 24/7 access to Skylark's online inventory,
customers also have the advantage of any hotel and/or airline discounts Skylark
negotiated.
While Ovation did help found the company and remains an
investor (Certares is also an investor), the two operate separately, and
Skylark is its own company. Even so, Skylark's relationship with Ovation has
been key in some areas, such as airline contracts.
"We went to the airlines that Ovation has a great
relationship with, and they offered us nonpublished airfare around the world,"
Tumpowsky said, mostly international but some domestic, as well, resulting in "dramatic
savings" on top of discounted hotel rates, amenities from hotels in
Skylark's collection and Virtuoso hotel amenities. Client savings average $200
to $300 per trip.
"Our model is, effectively: Is there a way to combine
an online travel agency with great pricing on hotel and air, with an off-line
travel agency that can give you full service and support and peace of mind when
you need it," Tumpowsky said.
Ezon said Skylark is unique.
"There are a lot of products out there in the market,
but nothing that quite does what [Skylark] does in that it really integrates
with an experienced luxury adviser offline, and it's really only focused on
luxury," he said.
The membership fee was put in place to incentivize clients
to use Skylark whenever they book travel, especially considering the online
aspect, which can attract travelers to book with confidence outside of regular
business hours knowing an agent will still take control of the booking.
It's a common problem agents face, Ezon said. On Monday
morning, an agent's client might call with news that they booked a hotel the
night before on their own because they didn't want to bother their agent but
later asks them to arrange certain components of the trip, such as activities.
"We'd be like, 'What do you mean? We want you to bother
us,'" he said. "Now, we're able to capture that business, but also
instead of booking it online and not having support, [clients have] the full
support of the adviser. You get the best of both worlds, which I think is
really where the industry is going to be. I call it the hybrid model."
Jack Ezon
Ezon said Skylark's clients do seem to appreciate the
ability to work with an agent both online and offline: about 80% of
transactions are ending offline, he reported, even though they could have been
completed online.
The agency's ideal customer "is a 30- to 50-year-old
who has not worked with a travel agent before, wants to do things themselves
but always wants that service, support and advice," Tumpowsky said. "And
they want five-star hotels and five-star luxury experiences at four-star
prices."
Tumpowsky hopes to move the agency out of its beta-test
period in September, maybe earlier. Skylark remains in beta testing to ensure
the quality of service isn't affected by growing too quickly.
"We're very cognizant about the amount of time that it
takes to fulfill a trip even when it's booked online," he said. "Sometimes
it's literally four minutes of Q&A, and in other cases, we have clients
that are really planning very complicated itineraries with us."