Latest / Travel Agency in a Year / Day 202: Small Touches, Big Feeling: Building Luxury Into Your Travel Client Process This Week
Transcript
- Rachel: Whew! Hi, it is the Travel Agency in a Year podcast. We are on day 202, and I am your host, Rachel K. If this is the first time you're coming to an episode, which maybe it is, I think about s no, nope, that's a different number. Back up, Rachel. I am a travel agency owner. And I also have Elevate with Rachel K, which offers like courses and like mentoring and one-on-one coaching for travel advisors because I have been in your shoes and I can help you get where you need to go. I help the my own agents on my team get where they want to go. Okay. Today's episode, or you can just subscribe to this podcast. I don't care. Welcome back, by the way. If you have returned. Today's episode is adding on to yesterday's episode about what true luxury is. We talked over the we talked about the definition of it. compared to what a lot of brands tout themselves as like, we're a five-star luxury experience. I quickly Googled what a five-star hotel rating means and explained that because I wanted to make sure it was like as close to the correct definition as I could. Anyhoodle. We're gonna talk about today building luxury into your client process with simple steps you could do this week. So, yesterday we redefined luxury as a feeling. If you need to go back, pause right now, listen to that episode, or listen to this episode and download yesterday's episode. I don't care. We're gonna get really specific on how you can implement real touch points, no matter what type of niche you're in, what you book. what your average booking price point is, okay. So one thing you can do, and this would be good if you have a lot of local clients. I tried this with my wedding couples, and my wedding couples are all over the US. And I was like, this is not real. This feels it started to be it started to feel like very automated and fake. And it was like way more of an investment in my time and my money. And I was like, I need to stop doing this. This is feeling generic. A personal note before departure. Not just have a great trip, but something specific to them. I do do this, I do do. Do do this. with my group hosts and since again since they're all over the country I like to do a phone call and be like what other questions do you have? Do you have all this packed? Do you need help? Do we need to set up a quick Google Meet or Zoom? I can show you how to pack. I've done that before like people who have never left the country and they're like, how do I fit all this into a carry-on? And I'm like, let me show you. Here's here's my imaginary what I would bring on this trip and here's how I pack it into a carry-on. So So anyway. But maybe you had a conversation during the planning process and you were like, hey, you know what? You should go ahead and check out this restaurant. I contacted the resorts concierge or whatever, because sometimes all inclusive resorts don't have every restaurant open every single day. But like two days before the trip. you might be able to get that information and then send it over to them and be like, hey, just so you know, the steakhouse or the hibachi, like those are usually pretty popular ones, or the Italian place, does have it will be open for Wednesday and Thursday of your trip. Like something simple like that. any kind of reminders of anything they've ever mentioned about being nervous about? Mid trip, you can set up an email or send it yourself. I like to do this for my wedding couples. I will send An email just to the bride and groom the morning of their wedding day and be like, I can't believe it. it's been like however long it took, and now you're here, and I hope you have the best day ever. I will add personal touch points to it. I'm still here for you until you get back, and I would love to have a call once you get back. Blah blah blah blah blah. Like that kind of stuff. I do a mid-trip one. I have an automated one for the wedding guests, but and then if there are any wedding guests like the parents or someone that really Rode the struggle bus with getting to that destination. I will personally check in with those people because I'm like they clearly need help. You know, most people won't need anything, but the message itself is the touch point. It tells your clients that you are still there, you're still thinking about them, and not just present until the commission, well, until they make the deposit on their booking. And I will say, the first time I booked with a travel advisor, I don't know if she's still working in the industry, but I have seen her around a few years ago. And I was like, it's my inspiration. She sent me a a a check-in email on my honeymoon, like two or three days into like a five or six-day honeymoon. I don't remember how long it was. But I remember being like, wow, this is so nice, even though I don't need anything. And why am I checking my email on my honeymoon? But I was just like bored one morning. And I think I saw it like the a day or two after. And sh I was like, I felt so taken care of with her. even though it was like a freaking royalty. But I was like, wow, this is the best thing ever. anyway, the welcome home follow-up. And if you can, you can send it as a text separate and just be like, hey, I sent you our generic welcome home email, but also how was your trip to Duns River Falls? Or how was your trip to the Cenote? Or did you end up getting dinner at the Hibachi place while you were there? Or like something personal to the trip. This shows that you actually remember the details of those people and the itinerary, which most clients don't expect from anyone. proactive problem solving. If you hear of a flight's delay, or maybe you're watching the weather on the way between where they are at home, getting to destination, or vice versa, you can reach out before they wonder if you've even noticed. this one single habit being ahead of the problem instead of reacting to it does far more for a client's sense of being cared for than almost anything else on the list. So you can reach out to them. I I mean I I do this with my groups kinda monitor the main airports and if they're all like generally Midwest, I'll look at the weather patterns and anyone in the way, like in the path of possible bad weather, I'll be like, Hey, I am monitoring the storms. I know you booked your flights on your own, and I'm here if you need anything, you know? Like if you run into any delays. anyway, so let's talk about the Ritz-Carlton model. I learned this way back in a hospitality slash culinary arts school because I've had pretty much every major on the face of the planet. So it's called the Ritz-Carlton model because it's how the Ritz-Carlton trains every single employee around a three-step service model. And it's a warm and sincere greeting, anticipating each guest's needs, and a fond flip farewell. The middle step anticipation. is the one that actually separates forgettable services from remarkable service. A warm greeting and a nice goodbye, those are just basic AF. But what people remember is the moment in between where something was taken care of before they even had to ask. And I've mentioned this in past episodes where I'm like, hey, I had to learn how to like I had to learn to understand the principle when I was a butler and I had to learn, like I quickly learned, if his water bottle that he had to have on his desk while he was working was For him specifically, if it was 50% because he didn't want the water too cold, that was when I would have to grab a new bottle, untwist the cap, but twist it back on so it was easy for him, and just quietly place it as his at his desk. So that he had it and it was warm enough, not super chilled from the fridge, but warm enough and already easy to open. And then I would just kind of keep an eyeball. Once he switched them out, that other one was gone. that was something I just for him it was about fifty percent empty bottle. but like when I was a server even, people were like, Wow, you're a great server. Places I worked at always had free refills. So I would monitor like how quickly every person at every table was drinking their drinks. Cause some people chug that stuff down and some people sip. Okay. And if it was a dark soda, Once that once that ice starts becoming kind of clear looking, I just have a backup. So it could be like a third full, but I'd be dropping off a full fresh soda for them. And they'd be like, Wow! And that really helped my tips, by the way. Little things like that. If I could see through like the beer stein. and I knew the bar was busy and it was like two thirds to half empty, I would go ahead and ask Would you like another beer? I'll put it in now so it's out whenever and they'd be like, Wow, okay 'cause I didn't want to just charge them for it, you know. anyway. You can build a version of this, like I just mentioned as a server. You can build a version of this into your own client process. A warm personal greeting at the start of the relationship, genuine anticipation of needs throughout the planning and the trip itself, and a thoughtful close once they're home. Three simple checkpoints applied to every client, regardless of their budget or trip type. Now, I bet you're thinking, how the heck do I learn how to anticipate instead of just guessing? Anticipating a need isn't about guessing or being a mind reader. It's a skill built on active listening. And I've talked about active listening in past episodes. We're gonna bring it up again. There is real research behind why it works. there's a study. on hospitality service failures, which pause, let me talk about that for a second. Travel agencies are primarily sales and marketing. And when you are thinking about your client experience, I would definitely recommend pulling from hospital ho blah blah hospitality services because you are often booking hospitality services. So why not be aligned with them, right? So anyway, a study on the service failures in the hospitality industry, which is like hotels, restaurants, bed and breakfast. found that when staff genuinely listened to a guest's concerns and acknowledged them, it didn't just resolve the immediate issue, it made like their guests feel like they were receiving preferential treatment, which measurably increases the overall satisfaction. Being heard specifically and genuinely changes how someone experiences everything else around it. So anytime you run into any issue, your clients will. This is like The people who get angry at servers at restaurants for something the cook did, you know? Like it's not it's nothing you've done. And you have to be able to develop that skill of being like, man, I'm just as frustrated with you. Let me see what I can do about this. Normally, this is these are my limitations, and I appreciate you letting me know, right? Like things like learn how to say things like that when there are issues. And you want to be able to repeat back to them when you're doing this, be like, let me make sure I'm understanding correctly this happened. And you want to make sure that you are expressing like their frustration and what happened. And you want to make sure you communicate back to them what they said to you to demonstrate you are listening. And if you are incorrect, they have the opportunity to correct you at that point. So, how do you build this in your own like consultations so that you can like start anticipating needs? Listen for what's said underneath the request. A client Asking about like kid-friendly resorts or cruise lines might really be asking about not having to manage every moment of the trip themselves so that you can proactively suggest a resort with a kids' club, not just a pool. A client who mentions their last trip was kind of stressful, is and maybe they said they worked with another travel agent, didn't feel supported. They're telling you. what to specifically avoid this time, even if they never say it directly again. Here's another crazy example. I actually was talking to a colleague of mine and they said, I got this cruise request and they wanted something. Calmer and less stressful, and like fewer kids for the cruise. And if you're listening, no, I'm not gonna name names, it's fine. Because I know you're listening to the podcast. But this is a really good example of this active listening and being able to anticipate needs. And they were like, okay, so they sent some brands that were like quiet, right? And the advisor or the client was like, I don't know, I don't know. So they sent this, they sent a virgin brand over, and they were like, well, this person normally likes to like they know them in person. And they're like, normally they're way more active and like gregarious and like fun. And they didn't like these like quiet, stuffier cruise options. So I'm gonna send this one over. and They told me like five seconds later, they were like, This is perfect, gonna book it. And I was like, That's crazy, because they may have thought there are no adult-only cruise options for them. So they were thinking if I pick a stuffier cruise line and I say I want something quieter, like they're implying no children. And while that advisor like sent those right away after thinking about it, knowing who that person is, they sent exactly what worked. For them because they're like, let me activate my active listening skills, and I know this is what they really want. And that's why that advisor is awesome. Okay, anyway, so keep little notes, like make mental notes of your clients if you know them in person, like that advisor did, so they could be like, boom, let's close this. Not just like the trip logistics, but like personal details, maybe an allergy that's mentioned in passing, or a milestone they're celebrating, or a fear from a past trip, or experience. another study to back this up. Apple. I don't like Apple. I don't care. Apple's retail training. This was something I had to learn extensively about when I was actually working towards my leadership degree. They describe this as listening for both the expressed and unexpressed needs, the stated request, and the thing underneath it that the person may not think to say out loud. So referencing these details later without being asked. is what creates the feeling of being anticipated rather than just simply served. And that like everything I just said applies to that advisor's experience where they're like, wait a dirn minute, this is what they want. You know? Like, why why am I only listening to the stated needs? Their real need is, they want this. And they were kind of like, maybe they'll want like this is my other option, you know? Like, this is it. This is what I think is the best. And it works. You don't need to completely overhaul your entire process this week. Just pick one touch point from today's list. maybe do a practice run-through of a consultation with someone, and You definitely want to do it as like a role play sidebar. Like they need to have an unexpressed need and you need to tell them that. Like you have a need that you're not gonna expressly communicate with me, and I'm gonna see if I can figure out what that need is. Like kind of role play that on the consultations, like practice consultations. Anyway, you don't need to overhaul everything. It could just be like during mid trip check-in. It could be maybe during the consultation, do that role-playing. Maybe it's better notes that you take during your consultation so you can pick up that information quicker and just build it into your SOPs in your next client interaction. Test it out, then make it part of your SOPs if it's working. Luxury service is built through consistency of the small moments, not the big grand gestures, not Not the spammed all over Instagram hottest new locations and destinations. No, that's bougie. Sorry if that's what you are into. But okay, so that closes out the stretch on the luxury services, what it actually means, how to build it into your travel business, and the fact that most of you are already being luxury travel advisors, regardless of your niche or your client's average spend. yeah, that was day two zero two of the Travel Agency in Year podcast. Have a wonderful day. I will see you tomorrow.