VACATON.COM added Marriott International to
its roster of preferred suppliers, marking the first time the
country's largest agency consortium has had a preferred-supplier
pact with a hotel chain. Stephen McGillivray, Vacation.com's vice
president of marketing, said that Vacation.com already has a
partnership with SuperClubs and it promotes other inclusive brands
through its preferred tour operators. Marriott represents a new
direction for the group because it is a worldwide company with
nearly 2,800 properties. Prior to this, he said, Vacation.com has
had more modest marketing alliances with some hotel chains but
never a "full preferred-supplier relationship."
NICHE
MARKET: Kate Delosso, an at-home retailer affiliated with
host agency Travel Counselors, found a niche that is both
personally and financially rewarding. She specializes in
"motherland tours" for foreign-born adoptees and their families.
"Three of my children were adopted from Asia and since 1996 I have
been offering tours for adoptees and their families to Korea. A few
years ago, I started offering the same type of tours to China,"
said Delosso. The trips are geared to adoptees who are eight years
old and older who want to explore their cultural heritage in the
country of their birth. Delosso said she has two motherland tour
groups booked for 2007, one to Korea and one to China. Delosso, who
runs her business from her home outside Philadelphia, said she also
specializes in booking non-profit groups.
Have you
developed an unusual niche for your business? The Home-Based Agent
E-letter would love to hear about it. E-mail the editor at [email protected].
DATEBOOK: The New York chapter of OSSN will
meet March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains.
Topics of discussion will be "Homeric Tours -- How To Sell Greece"
and "The IRS and Your Home-based Business. Cost is $5 for members,
$7 for non-members. Reserve a space by calling chapter director
Karen DeQuasie at (914) 231-5294, or e-mailing [email protected].
FAM OF THE
WEEK
France
Trip:
A river cruise through the Burgundy region of France.
Departure: April 21 from Paris, cruise
only.
Length: Six nights aboard the
Libellule.
Sponsor: Abercrombie & Kent, Oak Brook,
Ill.
Cost:
$998 per person, double. Includes the cruise and all meals onboard,
motorcoach transfers, sightseeing and entrance fees.
Noteworthy: Companions are eligible.
Upper-deck accommodations are $200 additional; the single
supplement is $300. Roundtrip Paris-Lyon/Dijon-Paris rail transfers
are not included and are $250 additional. Agents must fax to Grace
Porter a copy of the agency 2007 IATA list, their business card
and a letter from the agency owner or manager authorizing
participation.
Contact: fax: (630) 954-3324.
Home-Based
Agent Editor: Donna Tunney
Phone:
(508) 221-3674
[email protected]
For promotional
opportunities in the E-letters, contact [email protected].