SAN FRANCISCO -- In appreciation of travel agents, Brennan Tours is
offering an incentive program that will reward six agents with
weekend trips to Seattle and Vancouver in the second half of 2000.
"With all the commission cuts and everything that travel agents
have been through, we want to say thank you and tell them we
haven't forgotten who our friends are," said Robert Brennan,
company president, on a visit to San Francisco.
Through the end of June, each time an agent books two people on
a Brennan program, the agent is entered into a drawing that will
take place in the summer. The prizes will be air-inclusive "weekend
getaways" for two people to Seattle or Vancouver.
There is no limit to the number of times an agent's name is
entered into the drawing; if an agent books 20 people, for example,
his or her name will be entered 10 times.
Also new from Seattle-based Brennan is an updated Web site, with
plans for travel agent-only booking capability by the end of the
year.
"The Internet is the booking tool that agents will use in the
future," Brennan said, noting the high cost for suppliers to
participate in the CRS' tour booking systems.
Brennan also is showcasing an expanded roster of tours for 2000,
including a Scotland and England program offered in conjunction
with Brendan Tours of Van Nuys, Calif.
Last year, the two tour firms began an alliance, with Brennan
selling into Brendan's Ireland program and Brendan selling into
Brennan's U.S. and Canada program.
The partnership has been such a success that Brennan's offerings
are being expanded this year to include Brendan's Scotland and
Ireland tours. Brennan recently released a 2000 Ireland, Scotland
and England brochure with the programs.
"We are two companies with similar philosophies," he said. Not
only are the quality of the two firms' programs similar, but so are
their backgrounds and organizational structures. Both have remained
family-owned companies with a second generation in the executive
ranks.
Brennan's son, Sean, is chief financial officer at Brennan
Tours, while Jim Murphy, Brendan Tours founder and president, is
grooming his son, Gary, vice president, to take over at
Brendan.
In addition to the new offerings with Brendan, Brennan
introduced its own new program, Northern Heart of the Rockies:
Geysers to Glaciers.
A nine-night tour starting in Salt Lake City and ending in
Calgary, Alberta, it visits Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Claier,
Waterton and Banff national parks and includes a train ride on the
Montana Daylight railroad across western Montana.
Brennan scheduled 12 departures for the trip from June until
early September; land price is $2,009 per person, double.
Brennan, who recently finished a term as president of the
National Tour Association, said escorted motorcoach operators must
change and upgrade their products continually if they are to retain
their repeat clientele and continue to attract business from the
ranks of increasingly sophisticated and demanding travelers.
"It's like taking a classic car and refurbishing it," he said of
his tours. "You have to constantly change things and tweak the
itineraries to make sure they run smoothly" and cater to changing
customer travel desires.
For 2001, the company is looking at creating programs to
Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., New Orleans and Northern
California -- areas in which Brennan said he has seen great
consumer interest.
Scott Hartcorn, who joined Brennan in 1999 as vice president
after working with Global Leisure, noted that 2000 bookings are
running ahead of the company's best year, which was 1998.
"There's a general excitement out there, with the new
millennium. We feel that the next 10 years will be the most
exciting and most dynamic time for the travel industry," said
Hartcorn.
"People will look at escorted tours as escorted vacations and
become even more aware of the experience and the quality that they
bring."
Hartcorn also attributed the growth in bookings to a "strong
economy and more discretionary money" in the pockets of
consumers.