heryl Floyd is the self-described
"Queen of Romance," but there's nothing particularly romantic about
her rise to the upper echelon of traveler counselors selling
honeymoon and romance vacations. Rather, Floyd's success has more
to do with strategizing and hard work.
"It's been a slow but steady climb upwards," said Floyd, who
practices her travel specialty at All Seasons Travel in Birmingham,
Ala., where she's been for six of her 13 years as an agent.
"I try to be as visible as possible, and All Seasons Travel has
afforded me many opportunities to 'see and be seen,' " which in
large part is the key to her success.
"It's all about putting myself out there and getting the name
recognition -- not only for me but for All Seasons Travel, as
well." For instance, Floyd is often interviewed on local television
stations on travel-related subjects. The stations then air snippets
from her interviews as filler during the nightly news.
Floyd also promotes her services through public appearances.
"I'm in the local wedding industry loop and will often be contacted
to participate in bridal marketing events," she said. She has done
presentations in various venues, including a bookstore, a tuxedo
shop, a wedding dress store and a local manor house where weddings
are held.
She also participates in select bridal shows -- stressing that
the operative word is select. "I try to avoid the mass-market,
cattle-call events where the participants are attending just for
the freebies or in the hopes of winning a prize," she said. Rather,
Floyd targets the more upscale bridal events, which bear more
fruit, she said.
Weddings involve many people besides the bride and groom -- a
fact that Floyd uses to her advantage. "Often I will have the
chance to talk to bridesmaids -- who may be future brides -- as
well as grandmothers, the mother of the flower girl and the
mother-in-law," she said.
She uses these opportunities to promote the fact that All
Seasons Travel sells all types of travel. "I always make it a point
to tell the bride's mother that she'll need a well-deserved
vacation to recoup from the stress of the wedding. A spa trip can
be a great stress reliever."
Getting the word out is one thing. Qualifying the client-and
attending to the details of the honeymoon trip -- is something else
entirely. "Planning a wedding can be stressful, so I like to
emphasize the fact that I can eliminate some of that stress by
taking care of all the travel details," Floyd said. "I've been
planning honeymoons for so
long that I've learned to anticipate some of [the clients']
questions and concerns before they're actually voiced."
Honeymoon couples are always looking for something a little out
of the ordinary, said Floyd. "Even if they go to an island where
their friends honeymooned, they'll try a different resort," she
said. "In many cases, they want to one-up their friends."
Part of the qualifying process is determining -- or rather,
helping the couple determine -- what they truly want in the
honeymoon. She asks couples if it matters how long it takes to get
to a destination -- would they be happier with a two-hour flight
rather than one that takes six hours? Do they want a full-service
resort? Or, do they want a vacation on a secluded stretch of beach
in a villa?
"Knowing the resorts and what my clients want helps me to make a
better match. I really try to steer them to adults-only resorts
rather than mass-market places that have tons of kids," said
Floyd.
Then there are the destination weddings, where couples get
married in another country. Floyd said these weddings have become
much more popular in the last seven or eight years. "The main
concern is the legalities involved," she said. "After all, you
would not want to return home and find that you are not legally
married."
For instance, in the Caribbean, couples must establish
residency, and the time that takes varies from island to island.
She takes charge of these details, insisting that clients let her
take responsibility for getting the pertinent documents to the
destination in question.
To some, the details of arranging honeymoon vacations might seem
tedious or nerve-wracking. But that's not how Floyd sees it. "I
have always enjoyed working with honeymooners because their
enthusiasm and excitement can be contagious," she said. "It's a
happy time in a couple's life, and I enjoy the fact that they allow
me to share in the planning."
The Perfect Itinerary
Excursions for a Med cruise
xtensive itineraries are
obviously built into cruise vacations. Nonetheless, one agency, the
Gordon Group of Davie, Fla., wouldn't even consider sending clients
on a cruise without offering them commentary on ship excursions --
in addition to a host of personalized sightseeing options gleaned
from firsthand experiences.
What follows are excerpts from a detailed narrative from Karen
Gordon, the agency's vice president of operations. This particular
set of suggestions can go hand-in-hand with segments of many
Mediterranean cruises.
A longer version was sent to a couple celebrating their second
anniversary on a cruise.
BARCELONA
Visit La Rambla, with its charming shops, galleries and outdoor
cafes. Dine at Siete Portes (93-319-30-33). "They have very typical
Spanish cuisine, with wonderful seafood and great paella," Gordon
said.
VILLEFRANCE/MONTE CARLO
Try an excursion to St. Paul de Vence. "This serene medieval
village has cobblestone streets and is the home of many small art
galleries," Gordon said. "This artist's colony is a real gem, with
small cafes and street vendors serving crepes."
Old Monaco dates to the 14th century, and the buildings are
beautifully preserved. The palace is on the west end, and clients
can choose a self-guided tour with headphones.
FLORENCE
The Ponte Vecchio Bridge is home to 1,000 jewelers and small
shops, including those selling high-quality, inexpensive leather
goods that can be custom made and sent directly home.
Gordon recommends the Ristorante Da Pennello, (055-29-48-48),
which her son Josh said "makes the best gnocchi he has ever
eaten."
FROM NAPLES
For clients uninterested in taking a structured tour from the
port of Naples, Gordon recommends a private car and driver.
Further, she does not recommend touring the city of Naples itself
but rather Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi.
In Positano, eat at Chez Black and Three Sisters, which feature
great wine, salads, pizzas and local fish.
VENICE
In Venice, take a private gondola ride through the canals.
Clients may also want to try Gordon's favorite restaurant,
Ristorante Da Raffaele (041-523-2317). "It has great fresh salad
and pasta and a wonderful, romantic view of one of Venice's smaller
canals," she said.
Hand in Hand
Saving a honeymoon
hat could have been a harrowing
beginning to a marriage was smoothed over in just a couple of
hours, thanks to a mixture of tenacity and teamwork on the part of
a travel agent and tour operator sales representative.
Margie Hand, a leisure travel consultant at All Seasons Travel's
Montgomery, Ala., office, had booked an upscale honeymoon trip for
a couple to St. Martin through Gogo Worldwide Vacation's Baton
Rouge, La., office.
"Well, to make a long story short," said Hand, "the bride didn't
have the proper documentation." She was a Colombian citizen who
needed a visa and didn't have one.
Hand knew obtaining a visa would take at least a day. "When the
groom called," said Hand, "we had three or four hours to get them
out the same day," which was the day after the wedding. "It was a
complete nightmare," she said.
Hand immediately called Tina Romano, her Gogo sales
representative. "She really went above and beyond the call of duty
to fix it," said Hand.
Romano was able to rebook the clients on a package to a hotel in
St. Thomas, which, as a U.S. territory, didn't require a visa from
the bride, who did have her green card.
The new property was the Renaissance Grand. It was an easy enough
decision for Hand -- she had, after all, spent her own honeymoon
there and could vouch for the property.
Romano "called down to St. Thomas to confirm the hotel and even
told [the manager] about the situation, asking the hotel to take
care of [the couple] when they got there," said Hand.
For the icing on the proverbial wedding cake, Romano managed to
get her American Airlines sales representative to waive exchange
penalties for the air tickets -- and the St. Martin hotel to waive
cancellation penalties. "I was just doing my job," said Romano.
"And I really love it."
"Hand in Hand" highlights successful examples of agents and
suppliers working together. Send suggestions to Agent Life editor
Claudette Covey at [email protected].
Pulse of the Planet
Europe hot spots
urope's the hot topic these
days on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree bulletin board (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com). Barcelona, Spain,
and Munich, Germany, seem to be the cities of choice as summer
eases into fall. For the Barcelona-bound, our Spanish savants tout
the districts of Gracia, a former artists' and students' enclave
packed with eye-catching shops and cafes, and the Barri Gotic,
whose treasures include the grand Gothic Cathedral and the Placa de
Sant Jaune, a spacious market square where the Catalan sardana is
danced weekly.
Other not-to-miss spots include the bustling Boqueria food
market on La Rambla, the awe-inspiring La Sagrada Familia Cathedral
and Parc Guell, complete with such imaginative touches as huge
ceramic benches and giant decorative lizards.
Those with a
passion for Picasso can head for the Museu Picasso, housed in three
strikingly beautiful stone mansions.
Munich's grand fall bash is the frothy Oktoberfest (which is
held in September). But there's more here than biergartens. Museums
abound, from the gilded glories of the monumental Residenzmuseum to
the cutting-edge creations on view at the DeutschesMuseum, the
largest science and technology museum in the world, to the Van
Goghs and Goyas at the Neue Pinakothek.
When you're ready for some browsing of the gustatory kind, head
for one of Europe's greatest foodmarkets, the Viktualienmarkt,
whose stalls groan with a festive array of fresh food.
Ireland is another hot ticket this month. Our Eire
correspondents are singing the praises of Cork, which offers a
surprisingly lively cultural scene epitomized by the Cork Opera
House, the Crawford Art Gallery, the Firkin Crane Centre and the
Cork jazz festival in October.
Paradise on a budget? A question about low-cost accommodations
for honeymooners in the Cook Islands garnered half a dozen
recommendations: Castaway Villas, Manuia Beach Hotel, Palm Grove,
Takitimu Villas, Rarotongan Sunset and Shangri-La Beach
Cottages.
The names alone make me ready for a second honeymoon!
Don George is global travel editor for Lonely Planet. He
writes the Traveler at Large column on Lonelyplanet.com, which
hosts the consumer bulletin board Thorn Tree. Renowned for their
breadth and depth, Lonely Planet's 650-plus guidebooks cover all
the countries of the world.
5 Things
To keep in mind when you're targeting honeymoon/romance
clients:
1. Market yourself through bridal events. "Make
your presence known to local suppliers to learn about upcoming
bridal events," said Cheryl Floyd, the honeymoon specialist at All
Seasons Travel in Birmingham, Ala. "You have to get out there where
people see you and know what you do," she added.
2. Network with other professionals who also
market to brides. "When you attend bridal shows, make it a point to
get to know who your local florists, photographers and jewelers are
and establish a relationship with them," said Floyd. Assess these
pros' work so you can recommend them to brides -- and the pros can
return the favor. "My business cards are in a local tuxedo shop and
jewelry store," Floyd noted. "I have a photographer's work in my
office, along with his business cards."
3. Establish a bridal registry that enables
couples to register their honeymoon trips with your agency. That
way, wedding guests can pay for at least part of the honeymoon as a
gift to the happy couple.
4. Be informed about trends and destinations so
you can anticipate the needs of your clients before they ask, said
Floyd. Agents must learn how to match their client's needs to a
destination "so when the client comes in you'll know right away
which destinations to rule out and which ones to consider," said
Floyd.
5. Discover the romance. Find those
destinations where the sunsets are unrivaled or the scenery invites
dreaming. "For example, there's nothing like the moonlight over San
Francisco Bay," Floyd said. "Or, when I book clients at the
Spindrift Inn in Monterey, Calif., I encourage them to pay the
extra money for a bayview room. There's nothing like hearing the
waves lap up against the shoreline at night."