Maria Lenhart, Skift
Ultra-wealthy travelers are growing in number, and many are willing to pay for expertise in fulfilling their champagne wishes and caviar dreams. However, serving these clients, especially the newly rich, can put advisors to the test.
2 weeks ago
Nikki Ekstein, Bloomberg
We've seen trip-planning tools come and go, but this Wanderlist one might thrive because its users get additional assistance from real travel experts who charge fees. Until artificial intelligence improves substantially, this hybrid digital and human approach is the most promising approach.
1 month ago
Maria Lenhart, Skift
The dissolution of the Mexico Tourism Board means that travel advisors and others involved in the selling and marketing of Mexico have lost a major resource. With safety perception issues still dogging Mexico, the timing couldn’t be worse — for the destination and advisors alike.
2 months ago
Maria Lenhart, Skift
Following up with clients after a trip is a critical part of the travel-planning process. However, getting clients to truly open up about their experiences takes finesse.
2 months ago
Maria Lenhart, Skift
A growing number of travel advisors are offering mystery vacations, created by keeping trip details a secret from clients until the departure date. It puts the surprise element back in travel, which is something often lost these days, but the challenges for advisors are many.
2 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Virtuoso is a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours kind of business. The luxury travel network has some good programs to help member agencies, and that increases engagement with Virtuoso. It also provides learnings on how to keep refining the company.
3 months ago
Laura Powell, Skift
Today's luxury agent has to be part travel advisor, part business person, and part life coach. Finding candidates with this trifecta of skills is no easy task. That's why a pair of top luxury agency consortia is tackling the recruitment conundrum through education.
4 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Justyna Smith built up a modest Instagram following, and she's used that, plus word of mouth, to run a four-woman luxury travel agency that's making money. Many businesses decide to market wherever the customers are; in Smith's case, the customers came to her and the business followed.
5 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
These travel advisors have a certain swagger about them these days. Their U.S. trade association, the newly named American Society of Travel Advisors, is now back among the living, and has the challenge of keeping things moving in the right direction.
6 months ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Luxury travel advisors can thrive with the help of tech, rather than fear it, according to Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, and Jack Ezon, founder of Embark. Their claim makes intuitive sense.
7 months ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
The travel agent still exists for a reason. Despite having the option, plenty of people don't want to do it on their own, and are happy to get someone else to make plans — even if it costs more.
7 months ago
Dan Peltier , Skift
Hurricane Irma is a monster storm the likes of which the Caribbean and United States haven't seen in a while. While tourism usually rebounds after major storms, we haven't seen an active Atlantic hurricane season like this for nearly a decade and many travel brands will need to think long-term to recover.
2 years ago