The couple, in their early 30s, had not had a vacation in 10 years because their twins made it impossible to get away for any length of time. But now a trusted friend was baby-sitting, and they were off on a long-delayed Caribbean cruise.
The agent knew this was an important trip. The memories had to last. So after the couple left the office, she went to work "pimping" the cruise.
A careful review of the itinerary and several phone calls later, the agent realized she could have them whisked away while the ship was tied up in Tortola. They would be eating lobster on a blanket on their own private stretch of sand on a deserted island. It would only be a few hours, but "pimping" this port would produce the kinds of memories that last forever.
I realize it might seem somewhat crude to use the word "pimp" as a verb meaning to take extraordinary measures to enhance a product. It traces its origins to urban pimps of the 1970s who were fond of an outrageously ostentatious aesthetic in clothing, jewelry and customized cars (widely known as "pimp wagons").
Fortunately, by the 1980s, the pimp aesthetic had faded into oblivion, but by then "pimp" had morphed into a verb, describing any extraordinary customization of a car or home or other possession.
That use of the word grew substantially with the highly successful MTV reality show "Pimp My Ride." In case you missed this cultural icon, its premise was rather simple:
Each week, some down-on-its-luck wreck of a car was selected to be pimped by the crew at West Coast Customs. Hosted by the rap star Xzibit, episodes started out with a broken-down pile of junk that would be transformed or "pimped" by the crew to make it significantly more exciting and memorable than it was when it came into the shop.
The staff was adept at taking something simple, like a car seat, and transforming it into something designed to match the personality of the car's owner. Yes, most of the work was way over the top, but a dreary, boring old automobile would suddenly emerge from the garage sporting several plasma-screen TVs, a fish tank, an interior waterfall, a popcorn popper or a mini-basketball court in the trunk.
As applied to travel, to "pimp" something means that you take an ugly duckling of a vacation, something simplistic and vanilla-box mainstream, and you add personal touches that will astound and amaze the client.
For example, an agent I know had a client who was going to Vietnam on vacation. Her brother had been killed in the Battle of Danang in 1965.
Now, more than four decades later, four family members were going to try to find some peace, and even pleasure, in a country that had only recently landed on their small bucket list of destinations.
The agent decided to pimp this vacation by arranging a side trip to the area where the brother had died in battle. By hiring a local historian, a former member of the Viet Cong, she located a commander in a nearby village who had fought in the battle, and he described for the family how bravely the Americans had fought. There were tears and embraces. A visit had turned into a life-changing experience.
Or consider the case of the couple who contacted a travel consultant for a 50th wedding anniversary trip to France. To save some money, they decided to do a two-week escorted tour. But the consultant wanted to make it really special for them. She wanted to pimp this trip so that it became extraordinary.
She contacted her sales manager at the tour company and arranged for the entire tour group to be part of the anniversary celebration. The agent was put in touch with the assigned tour escort, and together they planned several unique ways to recognize the couple's celebration during the itinerary.
It is unlikely that any one of you would ever tell a stranger that you pimp vacations for a living. Nor have I ever had a client ask me to "pimp my vacation."
Still, I wonder if that isn't the most important thing we do.
In effect, a majority of my clients come to me with the basics, and they expect our crew to add special, sometimes unique touches that are truly personalized and fulfilling. When a vacation rolls out of our shop, it ought to have some street swagger. It ought to trumpet its uniqueness.
Some of us take orders for travel; some of us craft experiences. The clients expect us to pimp their vacation in ways that will make them memorable.
The stumbling blocks to this approach have little to do with the creativity of travel planners. We can all come up with ideas to transform a routine touristic experience into a truly personal one, crafted especially for our clients.
But to do this, we need to be working with suppliers who "get it." We need suppliers who understand that every time we place a guest in their hands we are depending on them to deliver at least one out-of-the-ordinary experience.
We need to pin hoteliers and resort management to the wall with the question "How will my clients be made to feel special when they arrive?" Hotel management needs to be brought into the conversation when we ask questions like, "What is one thing your staff can do for my clients that will have them talking about your property six months after they check out?"
For cruises and tours the possibility of pimping your client's vacation is tied in with the relationship you have with local offices, a relationship that comes packaged with membership in one of the better consortia. But if you are not a member of a consortium, valuable contacts can still be acquired if you attend one or two of the better worldwide travel conferences where local travel contacts can be solidified.
Your little black book of supplier contacts around the world should list, exclusively, those who "get it." Those who don't understand that we want them to help us pimp this vacation don't warrant inclusion.
There are fewer consultants out there than there were 10 years ago. All in all, it's a good thing that the order takers and the robo-bookers have started to decline in numbers. Suppliers who don't understand our mission are, hopefully, declining by the same percentages.
Contributing editor Richard Turen owns Churchill and Turen, a vacation-planning firm that has been named to Conde Nast Traveler's list of the World's Top Travel Specialists since the list began. Contact him at rturen@travelweekly.com.