Universal Orlando's new senior vice
president of sales, Dan Cupertino, has put his new sales team in
place and intends to "rebuild" Universal's travel industry
relationships.
Cupertino's mandate
signals a change at Universal, which is moving its focus from
online sales to travel industry sales.
"We didn't have the
resources committed to calling on the agency community, at least
for the last few years," said Cupertino. "There was more focus on
consumer-direct, online sales. But now there is a reassessment of
the value of the travel agent community."
Cupertino joined
Universal in June. He most recently was a sales executive with the
Walt Disney Co.
"We're trying to
make the decision to visit Universal a decision that takes place
before [visitors] come to Orlando," said Dennis Quinn, Universal's
vice president of travel industry sales. "We're driving that sale
to the outer market."
And for that, the
company is tapping travel agents. Besides building up its sales
force in the field, Universal's new EarlyBird Exclusives deal,
announced last month at ASTA's TheTradeShow, is designed to give
agents an edge and motivation to sell Universal.
The pass is
commissionable to travel agents and is not being offered through
online direct channels, Cupertino said. The offer gives purchasers
an entire week of free access to both Universal Studios and Islands
of Adventure for $85.
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