Advisor Speak: Virtuoso Advisor Insights

Virtuoso Advisor InsightsBy Paloma Villaverde de RicoHere’s a snapshot of what your peers are seeing in their bookings. Business is Up“Business has doubled over the last year for us,” says Cathy Holler, President & CEO, Momenti Travel. “We’re seeing a lot of high-end, last-minute bookings.” Roland Howlett, Director of Frontier Travel, also says, “Business is up,” noting, though, that “the booking values have stayed about the same.” “We’re about 15 to 16 percent over [2023]”, adds Carolyn Addison, Head of Product, Black Tomato, but more importantly, from a “business operation perspective, what we’re seeing is that post-COVID, our team found the huge increase in volume for demand really emotionally stressful, but I think this year we’re at a much kind of happier level in terms of everyone feeling like they’re achieving a work/life balance and a professional satisfaction that maybe they were lacking right after the pandemic.” And Fernando Gonzalez, CEO of First in Service, points out that for his agency, “halfway through 2023 last year, we had already doubled from pre-pandemic numbers. Halfway through this year, we’re seeing double digit growth.”Recommend Standard Image Template-1725024296Sticker Shock? According to the panelists, some clients are balking at hotel rates while others are booking no matter what. “I’d say it’s very dependent on the client,” says Addison. “We do see some clients who might come to us for Italy, and maybe we are recommending that they think about Slovenia…and not just because of the rates, but availability as well, which can be challenging in certain places at certain times. Then there are other people who say, ‘I’ve always wanted to go to [the best hotels in the world]’ and tell us, ‘I don’t care what it costs.’” At her agency, Holler is seeing that there is “sticker shock [with] a lot of destinations. [Clients] are surprised at the price point. It’s trying to get them over that sticker shock...but they might have to go down from a five-star to a four-star. So, you’re seeing a lot of shifting in where they’ll go. Then I’ve had other clients who’ll come back to me and say, ‘It’s way overpriced for what I thought it was.’ And then as we have the discussion about what the experience is and what they’re seeking, what the emotional attachment is to that trip, they actually get over it.”Using Time Wisely“One of the things we’ve seen,” says Holler, “is the desire to slow down and to look at destinations more deeply than they have before. There’s that whole lengthening of experience, the desire to engage with the culture.” “I think in part that’s due to the advice of their advisors as well,” says Addison. “I think it’s a push-pull with advisors to try to say, ‘I don’t think you should squeeze quite so much into that stop.’ And they say, ‘But I’m going all this way, and I don’t want to miss it.’ That’s always a trick to make sure that you don’t cannibalize the whole benefit of the trip by pushing too much into it.”Recommend Standard Image TemplateGroup Travel“The biggest shift that our agency has seen across all of our verticals is group travel,” says Gonzalez. “There’s that desire to be with other people, to…relate to others.” Adds Addison, “Hopefully it will be a forever legacy of the pandemic, that we recognize how important it is to take advantage of the opportunity to be together as a family group, as a friend group.”What’s Moving the Needle• Antarctica Expeditions: “Antarctica expedition [is trending in the luxury cruise space],” says Howlett. “It’s about exploring the alternative, moving slower, living more sustainably, engaging with communities.”• Wellness Travel: The advisors note that people want wellness as part of their travel program. For example, says Addison, “Sometimes it’s people who want to do extended treks or who visit India and then finish at Ananda in the Himalayas to do more of a detox [experience] at the end.”• Solo Travel: “I do have some solo clients, but I tend to find a lot of solo clients that are pairing up with another solo,” says Holler. “So, they’re actually not totally solo…a couple of women coming together, they each might have their own group.” • Using AI as an Assistant: We need to see AI, says Gonzalez, “as a huge opportunity. Our business has changed tremendously with processes, applying logistics. It’s a little bit more complex, so, we need the assistance. We need to enhance our processes, we need to be able to centralize our databases, we need to have more readily accessible, accurate information for our advisors. This way they can do what they do best, which is recommend and understand the particular client. I think it’s going to be a huge, huge help for us.” COVERSANDALSTable of ContentsSANDALS SPREADEditor's NotesEDU HOUSE ADIndustry Insights: Luxury Travel Continues to SoarAdvisor Speak: Virtuoso Advisor InsightsMexico/Caribbean: Mexico and the Caribbean Redefine ‘Family-Friendly’CAYMAN ISLANDS SCTHE CAYMAN ISLANDSSAINT LUCIA SCSAINT LUCIAOnsite Review: Upscale Sandals Opens Its Doors in St. Vincent and the GrenadinesOnsite Review: “New” Discoveries in Saint LuciaNorth America: What's New—Florida Family AdventuresLEE COUNTY SCFort Myers Islands, Beaches & NeighborhoodsOnsite Review: Quebec City—History, Culture & CuisineMGM RESORTS SCMGM RESORTSCruise: Setting Sail for Fun—What’s New for Family CruisesOnboard Review: Margaritaville at Sea Islander One-of-a-Kind ExperienceOnboard Review: 10 Reasons to Book Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the SeasEurope: Onsite Review—Travels in AndalusiaTURKISH AIRLINES