If you’re curious about the latest trends, where better to find out than at a convention of 800 advisors, managers and suppliers? Last week’s Ensemble Horizons Convention at Resorts World in LAS proved the perfect place to put a finger on the pulse. Here’s some of what Open Jaw learned…
• Luxury travel just keeps getting more popular and more fabulous. Companies such as Kensington Tours are stepping up with more personalized, more inclusive and more 5 star product than ever before, including the highest of high end villas. Adams & Butler can arrange dining with aristocracy in Ireland.
No longer the domain of wealthy boomers, luxury travel now appeals younger clients and multi-gen bookings. So-called post-pandemic “revenge travel” may be over but there is a steady and growing customer looking for wonderful experiences.
• “People want value. Not for their money but for their time,” said guest speaker Arnie Weissmann, Editor-in-Chief, Travel Weekly. • Not surprisingly, river cruise is booming. Uniworld’s EVP, North America, Michelle Palma, shared some insights with Open Jaw: “We’re definitely seeing a demand for longer cruises, and clients can now combine itineraries, such as France plus Portugal.” Unique to Uniworld, rail-and-sail itineraries are proving a huge success. “And we are definitely adding more land product to our cruises, such as a four day stay in Madiera.”
• But one trend that perplexes Ensemble President Michael Johnson is advisors’ ongoing reluctance to implement service fees. According to Ensemble surveys, fully 60% of Canadian advisors are not charging service fees. “There is sweat equity in developing your expertise.”
One solution to that – and to getting greater client satisfaction while discouraging them from booking direct – is bundling. Even a sale to an all-inclusive beach resort (still hugely popular with Canadians, way more so than in the US) can be bundled with airport transfers at home and private transfers in destination, private guided tours and other elements to create a vacation that’s not available “off the shelf”. Bundle in a service fee and you have a truly all-inclusive experience.
• And here’s a fascinating figure: while some 56% of Ensemble advisors report that their clients use them because of customer service and expertise, and 3% book with them because of price.
• What about AI? Over half of the agents report they have not yet tried using AI tools to simplify their lives – but that is sure to change as they realize it can be a huge and reliable timesaver and not a threat to their living. AI can become your research assistant, your colleague. But don’t worry: the warm, human touch will always be needed.
• Lastly, Ensemble’s award-winning print magazines Range and Range Best are clearly a hit with both agencies and their clients. Ensemble handles the distribution, customized with the agency’s or IC’s contact info, with the quantities per agency dependent on its sales volume. (The mags are also available online.)“It’s music to our ears when an agency manager tells us they are getting bookings as a direct result of the magazines,” Ensemble’s SVP of Marketing Shahla Lanani told Open Jaw. The mags are proving such a hit that Ensemble is looking to increase the print runs.
