NEW YORK --
Creative Leisure International, a villa and resort specialist based
in Petaluma, Calif., rolled out a Web-based brochure builder for
agents.
Frank Samson,
Creative Leisures president and CEO, said he believes the product
is an industry first. The tool, called CreativeMatch, enables
agents to search one database for art, product descriptions,
destination information and pricing details, then load that data
into a brochure template.
Created by
Roundtrip Systems in San Mateo, Calif., the brochure builder is a
response to agent requests for an easy way to collect information
that usually originates from disparate sources and customize its
presentation for clients, Samson said.
This approach, he
added, would end the days of having to send several links to
customers after tedious searches of multiple databases.
Fifteen agencies
began testing CreativeMatch in November, Samson said. It now is
available to any retailer who registers at www.creativeleisure.com for access to the agent-only
section.
Participants are
required to list an ARC or IATA number, but Samson said Creative
Leisure works with some home-based agents who have neither, and in
those cases Creative Leisure assigns an ID number.
Samson said
CreativeMatch will eventually be tied to Creative Leisures
reservations system and will enable agents to look at booking,
billing and payment records.
The Web site
database encompasses Creative Leisures portfolio of resorts as well
as the 1,000-plus villas from its Villas of Distinction
business.
The company will
print brochures for 2006, although fewer than in the past. Samson
said he is uncertain if any will be printed for 2007.
Next on the
horizon is a Web-based booking engine for agents. Samson said he
had been working on it but put the project aside because his
customers said brochure building was more important. He hopes to
launch the booking engine sometime this year.
Separately,
Creative Leisure rolled out a California Wine Country program in
response to agent requests. It partnered with Napa, Calif.-based
destination management firm Viviani Inc. to create prototypes for
four wine country programs (dubbed Entree, Vintage, Prestige and
Connoisseur) designed for varying levels of sophistication about
wines and for varying budgets.
The packages pair
a luxury resort or villa with a Hertz rental car (and driver) for
travel to and from wine tastings. For the Connoisseur customer,
transport to wineries is by helicopter.
Tours include
opportunities to meet or even dine with local winemakers. Linda
Viviani, operator of Viviani Inc. and a vintner herself, is one of
the hostesses.
The wine country
program is one manifestation of an expanding product line for
Creative Leisure, which has also broadened its geographic reach in
the last two years. Whereas most Creative Leisure agents were west
of the Mississippi or in the Chicago area, they are now about
evenly split between the Western and Eastern U.S. Samson said. More
than 6,000 agencies sell the companys products, up from 4,000-plus
in 2003, Samson said.
These changes
reflect an expansion of product more relevant in the East, such as
more Caribbean options.
Creative Leisure
extended the Villas of Distinction product to the European
continent with listings in France, Italy and Portugal, and expanded
its Tahiti options.
Creative Leisure
has also expanded its list of consortia partners. The Ensemble
Villa & Vacation Homes program uses Villas of Distinction.
Creative Leisure is a supplier to American Express Centurion and
Platinum card travel programs.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Nadine Godwin
at [email protected].