he world is a book and people
who do not travel it read only a page." -- St. Augustine.
If the world is indeed a book, the well-traveled Patricia
Blanche has read the equivalent of "War and Peace" 12 times
over.
Blanche, owner of LCF Custom Travel & Tours in La Canada,
Calif., virtually has blanketed the globe in her lifetime. The
quote from St. Augustine, which can be found on her Web site, is the
credo she lives by.
"Travel opens your entire world -- your horizons become
unlimited," said Blanche. Her extensive experience also is pivotal
to the agency's success. LCF Custom Travel & Tours caters to an
upscale, seasoned clientele by providing detailed, complex
itineraries that could only be mapped out by agents who were there
first.
"You have to have seen the world and traveled it," Blanche said
with conviction.
Ninety percent of the agency's business is leisure and the
majority of clients are repeaters who heard about her shop through
word of mouth, she said.
The agency, whose annual volume is approximately $2 million, is
an affiliate of Montrose Travel in Montrose, Calif., and has been
for nearly seven years. "Montrose Travel is a $110 million company
and our affiliation with them has given us $110 million in buying
power," she said.
Which is not to say, however, that Blanche would want her
individual agency to boost its volume significantly. If it did, her
whole business model -- impeccable customer service based on a deep
and abiding knowledge of destinations -- would be irrelevant.
Blanche is as discerning about the agents she hires. She said
she looks "for the qualities that I know my clients expect -- an
agent who has traveled extensively, has expertise in a particular
destination or market sector and has the skills and sense of style
that meet my client's expectations."
It's vitally important that her clients be completely confident
in the level of service they are receiving, Blanche said. "We send
people to fantastic destinations and resorts all across the globe,
and I have always believed that this agency should be an extension
of their trip," she added. "You don't begin to plan the trip of a
lifetime with a nameless, faceless ticketing agent or on the
Internet."
The agency's employee pool fluctuates seasonally. "We have
between two to four employees during the year, and we are
constantly seeking professional agents who have expertise on
particular regions," she said.
Blanche herself specializes in designing detailed, multi-country
independent tours of western Europe and south Asia. "When people
travel with us, they have everything from dinner reservations and
tee times for golf to tickets to any cultural event they want,"
said Blanche. "They go with my home phone number."
Over the years, she has carefully developed contacts throughout
the world -- guides, transfer and hotel staff and ground operators
who work closely with her to ensure that clients receive
first-class service while traveling. Sometimes these contacts are
personal friends Blanche met at a destination and who work on
retainer to help fulfill special client requests.
If, for example, she can't get a reservation in a particular
restaurant, she'll have her contact in the destination make the
reservation in person. "There are certain people who will pay any
amount of money for a particular venue -- and that venue doesn't
always take reservations over the phone," she said.
The physical set-up of her agency also reflects Blanche's
impeccable attention to detail and personalized service. "People
say our office is like walking into a home," she said.
Refreshments, beautiful plants and indirect lighting all make the
agency feel like a living room instead of an office. There's also a
map room, where clients can locate prospective locations on maps
covering the walls.
Although the agency's bread and butter comes from the upscale
trips it designs for its wealthy clientele, another aspect of
Blanche's business, student groups, is what makes her feel most
fulfilled. "I love this country and its ideals, and being able to
take young adults around the world."
It was on such a trip in 1990, just as the former USSR was
crumbling, that Blanche was brought to the attention of President
Bush. She arranged a cultural exchange program that took 100 kids
to Sweden, Finland and the USSR for baseball games with
international teams. All trip participants received letters of
commendation from President Bush for their role as citizen
ambassadors.
In the end, the thrill of the travel business for Blanche is the
exchange of cultural ideas with other countries. "You have to love
travel and love people. You need to know how to give -- so that
people know that we're from a kind, giving country."
The Perfect Itinerary
Five unusual days in Scandinavia
iv Wadlin, a certified
Scandinavian specialist at New York-based Tzell Travel, and a
native of Sweden, has designed a five-day itinerary to Arctic
Scandinavia. This vacation, she said, is ideal for anyone "who
loves the unusual."
Day One Clients board the Swedish Inland
Railway Train in Ostersund, a Swedish town on the border of Norway,
where, legend has it, the Scandinavian version of the Loch Ness
monster lives.
They will spend the day traveling through Swedish Lapland, and
may catch a glimpse of elk or bears. Disembarkation is in
Gallivare, Sweden, a lakeside village in the Lapland interior near
Norway.
Here,
clients pick up a rental car for the one-hour drive to Jukkasjarvi,
where they check into the Ice Hotel -- built, as its name says, out
of ice. With bearskin rugs on their beds and Absolut vodka in the
bar, clients should have no trouble staying warm. When the ice
melts after the winter, hotel guests stay in chalet-type
accommodations.
Day Two
A four- to five-hour drive from Jukkasjarvi to Norway's Tromso
travels along the Sweden-Finland border. Wadlin recommends a stop
at the spot known as Treriksroset, where the three countries --
Norway, Sweden and Finland -- share a common border. Clients
continue to Tromso. Known as the gateway to the North Pole, the
town features more pubs per capita than any other spot in the
country.
Lodging: Wadlin recommends the Radisson, the Rica Ishavshotell
or the Clarion Hotell Brygge.
Day Three
From Tromso, clients fly to Spitsbergen, the largest of the
Svalbard Islands. "You are now as close to the North Pole as you
will probably be in your life," said Wadlin. She highly recommends
visiting the Svalbard Museum, which features exhibits on local
geology and history.
Lodging: Wadlin recommends the Radisson Spitsbergen, the
Spitsbergen Hotel and the Spitsbergen Guest House.
Day Four
Clients depart for a seven-hour boat trip to Tempel Fjord and
Von Post Glaciers."You will see the awesome Tempel Mount, which
resembles a Gothic cathedral," said Wadlin.
Day Five
Clients take a daylong Zodiac safari excursion from Isfjorden,
Spitsbergen's largest fjord, to the Bird Cliffs, where thousands of
sea birds are nesting. In the afternoon, participants will be
treated to an Arctic barbecue, which includes such regional
specialties as reindeer meat.
Hand in Hand
Getting destination help
hen demanding, discerning
clients called to inquire about a trip to the Galapagos with a stay
at the deluxe Royal Palm Hotel in Santa Cruz, Ecuador, Jolie
Goldring knew she needed help. Although Goldring, a travel
consultant at New York-based World Travel Specialists Group, is a
pro at dealing with high-end clients, she had little direct
knowledge about the Galapagos.
She knew enough to contact Marcelo Vazquez, managing director of
Far Hills, N.J.-based Waterstone Marketing, the firm that
represented the Royal Palm Hotel. Vazquez put Goldring in touch
with Judy Martin, president of Latin America Reservations Center
(LARC) in Dundee, Fla., which reps ground operators and hotels
throughout South America.
Booking the Galapagos can be tricky for the uninitiated, said
Martin. For instance, she is insistent that agents send clients to
Quito, Ecuador, the jumping-off point for Galapagos trips, for two
nights rather than one. "Flights can be canceled," said Martin. "If
they don't make it on the first day, they'll make it on the
second."
Goldring's clients -- a couple and their 16-year-old son -- were
enthusiastic about the Galapagos vacation, yet skittish about the
prospect of anything going wrong.
The clients ended up booking a weeklong vacation that included
two nights in Quito prior to a stay at the Royal Palm Hotel, as
well as time spent in the Otavialo region of Ecuador. "I was able
to offer three different destinations because she [Martin]
explained the values of each destination and what the clients could
do," said Goldring.
Because the clients were cautious, Martin had her ground
contacts monitor the itinerary's progress closely. "I got a report
every day from the hotels and the people carrying them around," she
said.
The trio came back with rave reviews, Goldring said, adding that
she has booked two more sets of clients on South America trips --
with Martin's help, of course.
"Hand in Hand" highlights successful examples of agents and
suppliers working together. Send suggestions to Agent Life editor
Claudette Covey at [email protected].
Turen's Tips
Adventures in the belly of the rebating beast
ot long ago, by some miracle of
creative accounting, I found myself aboard a very nice ship with a
bevy of the cruise line's top producers. We were hosted by the
line's executives -- from the president on down, making me wonder
who was minding the store back home.
I was
intrigued by a rather charming couple that I had never met at any
industry function before. We decided to have dinner together. I was
quite honored, since this was obviously one of the line's top
producers, judging by the degree of genuflecting the line's
executives were doing.
After the usual small talk, the couple started asking me about
my business, how we attract new clients, etc. Then I asked them
about their business model.
"Oh, we're rebaters," replied the Mrs. "I really don't know a
thing about the travel industry, but I have a Web site, we rebate
the top lines exclusively and we sell millions of dollars worth of
cruises." She added, "It helps that my husband is a computer
genius. We get very good search engine placement, and that's 50% of
the story."
She wasn't exaggerating. When I got home and looked over their
site, I found that they knew the big trick in comparing prices,
showing costs per person and savings per cabin. I did a little
figuring of my own and figured out that they were rebating 5% on
virtually all high-end cruise line promotional rates.
During dinner, this woman said that all she provided to her
clients was documentation rather than "counseling." She explained
that most of her clients knew exactly what they wanted, many having
checked first with other agents.
None of this is shocking or even surprising except for the fact
that, as an acknowledged "rebater," this agency was being wined and
dined in the same manner as agents who actually meet and speak with
clients and spend hours counseling them so cruise lines don't have
to -- agents who create marketshare instead of stealing it. There
is a distinction.
The new level playing field created by Carnival is a welcome
first step. But one wonders when our industry will become
sophisticated enough to look beyond the bottom line and
differentiate between those who create sales and those who
prostitute them.
That is really at the heart of the matter of what is wrong with
the leisure industry's increasing dependence on Internet sales.
Agents would do well to constantly reinforce the difference between
sales consultants who create new clients and those who merely
price-steal those already committed.
Industry consultant Richard Turen owns the vacation planning
firm Churchill and Turen, Ltd., based in Naperville, Ill. A 23-year
industry veteran, he has been named to Conde Nast Traveler's "Best
Agents" list since it began in 2000. Contact him at [email protected].
5 Things
To do when turning a storefront agency into a home-based
shop:
1. Do your homework in advance. "Read anything
you can about operating a business from home so that you are
prepared and ready to take on this new direction," according to
Joanie Ogg, president of the National Association of Commissioned
Travel Agents, an association for home-based and independent
agents.
2. Study up on the legal issues of owning a
home-based business. Ogg said certain cities and counties across
the U.S. might have zoning restrictions and/or permit requirements
for home-based businesses. "Be sure to check with the local and
city authorities to be certain you are in compliance," Ogg said.
Some states also have travel seller registration programs that may
require an agent's compliance. Ogg said agents who plan to have
clients regularly come to their home should check with their
homeowner's insurance providers to arrange for coverage in case
clients harm themselves during a visit.
3. Invest in your home office. "A new desk,
comfortable chair, state-of-the-art computer, printer, scanner, fax
and good phone system can have a tremendously positive impact on
your self-esteem and drive to succeed in this new venture," Ogg
said. If possible, dedicate a spare bedroom or other location that
can be isolated from daily home life.
4. Have a plan on how you will separate family
and your work-at-home life. "Have a family talk and discuss the
plan with them," said Ogg. "Include them in the decision and make
them feel a part of the success of your business. There are bound
to be some times when you are just too busy to attend to their
needs because you are on the phone selling travel."
5. Enlist the support of everyone you know.
"Tell all your suppliers and be proud of your smart business
decision," said Ogg. "Tell your clients with enthusiasm, so they
will also feel your passion for this change and support you in your
endeavors."