There are some guiding generalizations that help me understand this business of ours. One way to describe a generalization might be to say that it is an extension of the notion of nonspecific criteria. But a generalization can also be described as a "foundational element of logic and human reasoning."
All of which is to say that I'm not sure we always want to base business decisions on "big data." Sometimes, for those of us in daily contact with lots of actual travelers (rather than secret-identity bloggers who claim to be travelers), talking about the generalizations we hold to be true can be a logical and healthy exercise.
Here are a few of the industry generalizations that guide me in my business and, I suppose, in some of my writing:
• The majority of our clients are fearsome rather than fearless flyers.
I know for a certainty which part of a vacation nearly anywhere in the world is likely to go bad. It is the conveyance used to transport mostly fragile travelers who worry about turbulence, being able to sleep, crying babies, airline food, pricing, delays and weather-related stress.
We can't take responsibility for these things, but we can address the fears of the average flyer. One of the best ways is to assign a flight team to look after the client, someone who monitors their flight times and gates in real time, an expert on mileage awards, someone who knows how to present flight options by listing both the upside and downside of each choice. Someone who will make certain the client knows whom to call and what to do if things head south.
That means a coordinated team approach that makes clients feel that their "flying back" is always covered.
• Most clients don't understand how we're compensated.
The irony of what we do seems lost on the majority of our clients, who believe deep down that they are paying extra to use our services. The truth is that the better job we do on the client's behalf, the more money we save them, the less we make. Ours is a rather odd profession in that sense.
Every client needs to understand how our compensation model works. They need to understand explicitly that any direct booking made with any supplier includes a 10% to 15% surcharge for travel agent services. Since they receive few, if any, of the services a good consultant would provide, charging direct bookers a commission is, in my view, fraudulent.
When clients understand that our professional services come at no additional cost, the game changes, and we are playing on a field that is open and welcoming.
• Being human and different is better than being just another social media lemming.
Social media is popular because it enables the purchaser to feel some connection with the seller that goes beyond the transaction. But what if, instead of being a clicked friend, your travel planner is a real friend, a caring human who genuinely has your best interests at heart? Racking up followers and friends is like collecting baseball cards; a nice collection can have very little to do with baseball. Better, I think, for the travel consumer to be able to brag that she or he has found a human to talk to about planning the best moments in life.
• Airlines are operated on the principle that service issues are less important than price.
All airlines will, in moments of candor, admit that their research shows that price trumps all other considerations when the buyer is offered a choice of flying options. Price is more important than amenities.
The air seller needs to break through the pricing barrier to introduce health, comfort and stress factors as viable considerations that are perhaps more important than price.
• The consumer media have perpetuated the myth of the deal, and they seem unable to speak to quality.
Dozens of travel stories from around the U.S. come into my Google News feed and other feeds each day, and the vast majority of these reports are based on the assumption that the consumer's primary need is securing the best deal.
When I've appeared on talk-radio programs, the procedure is to give the show's producer/host a list of questions on a wide variety of topics you are willing to discuss. The last time I did a radio tour, I was on 18 stations. Every single host went immediately to questions about securing the "cheapest" or getting the "best deal." That line of questioning is the only one they know, and the only proper response was to ignore the question and say what I wanted to say.
So it is with clients, as well. We need to mock the "best deal" approach and change the conversation to: "How can I get the very best vacation experience for my money?"
The retail seller has to do this because, for the most part, suppliers won't. They are intent on cheapening themselves and their product by price- and deal-based advertising.
• No one seems to realize that we have an acute shortage of creative, beautifully crafted itineraries for the independent traveler.
We assume too much when we think a travel consultant or a client knows how to take a lovely property in the Scottish Highlands or Myanmar and turn it into a viable vacation option.
Great, hand-crafted itineraries are works of art. Hoteliers and local tour operators need to highlight their properties by providing retailers with seven-night itineraries that take best advantage of what they have to offer. Suggested itineraries, in all their detail, should be presented to sellers as gifts -- because that is, indeed, what they are.
• The hotel manager is not the most important person on the property.
Instead of collecting hotel manager friends, travel sellers would serve their clients better by getting to know the reservation manager and chief concierge at properties they sell. The concierge can be an extension of your office, someone the guest can depend on. It is interesting that travel magazines rarely include concierge contact details.
• A major challenge is convincing consumers that online prices are higher for an often-flawed product.
We need to engage in a major PR offensive to inform consumers that Internet pricing is often higher. Most suppliers do not want their products sold by online discounters, whose sales result in wasting time answering client questions that the website failed to address. So, online sellers often get lower commissions, which mean slimmer margins.
In the case of hotels, it is no secret that guests who book online get some of the worst rooms. The hotel has no relationship with such guests and realizes it will likely never see them again. Upgrades and preferred locations are given to guests who pay more and are known to management.
Finally, many airline tickets sold by online discount sites are not transferable to other carriers if a flight is canceled.
• Social media needs to be seen for what it is.
A generally tiresome and irritating attempt by the terminally boring to come across as people or things of interest, social media is something we need to view with a critical eye, given the paucity of success stories surrounding the practice.
Do truly affluent, engaged, potential world travelers really have enough time on their hands to participate in rhetorical twaddle? Perhaps a handwritten note or a phone call might be the most professional way to deal with a potential new client. Plus, have you noticed how much larger people's thumbs seem to be getting?
Contributing Editor Richard Bruce Turen owns Churchill & Turen Ltd., a luxury vacation firm based in Naples, Fla. He is also managing director of the Churchill Group, a sales training and marketing consultancy. Contact him at rturen@travelweekly.com.