Virtuoso, the upscale agency marketing group, is changing its membership pricing structure to what CEO Matthew Upchurch is calling an "all-inclusive" model.
Instead of picking and choosing the group’s services a la carte, the 2011 membership agreement will include all the services the association believes drive higher agency growth.
"It’s about having membership standards," Upchurch said. “We’re respectful of [individual agencies'] different market situations, but these are the core standards that make us strong."
He said that the group did an analysis to find which specific services are most effective, and those are the ones included.
The organization’s president, Kristi Jones, added that the majority of members are currently "investing at the level" of the new membership agreement, and that there will still be additional ad hoc pricing for services that go beyond what is included in the bundled offering.
Upchurch said that the change in the agreement puts it in alignment with the agreement signed by international members.
He declined to go into specific costs to join Virtuoso, but Jones said that members’ fees are variable and linked to production for preferred suppliers.
"We can prove the return on investment," she said. "Our analysis shows a minimum of $9 return to our members for every $1 invested."
Upchurch said that the all-inclusive approach is also consistent with a luxury positioning.
"If you’re staying at a luxury property, nothing ticks you off more than having to pay $7 extra for the bottle of Fiji water in your room. Conversely, you wouldn’t go up to the front desk and say I may not use the $3 million pool you built, so I don’t want to have to pay for it."
