Virtuoso Members Shine in Shanghai!

A whirlwind week in China has ended, I'm comfortable sitting at home with my laptop is, well of course, on my lap, and it's time to catch you up on Virtuoso Chairman's Event 3 days in Shanghai.

I already mentioned our arrival at the Ritz-Carlton, the wall of applause as we entered, the breathtaking and well-appointed rooms. I forgot to add when our luggage arrived in our room, each piece had an engraved silver Ritz-Carlton luggage tag attached personalized with our name.

I prefer being on the Puxi side of Shanghai for several reasons, accessibility to my favorite shops and markets, walking along the Bund, enjoying the view of the skyscrapers on the Pudong side with their lighted exterior decor at night, and being closer to the actual city center of Shanghai. Holding that bias, I still delighted in everything about the Ritz-Carlton Pudong - the contemporary yet classic feel of the rooms, the steeping tub that affords a skyline view of the Puxi side, the double-headed shower that allows you to use both the handheld and rain shower head in tandem, the French press coffee pot, bedside room controls, phenomenonal service without the obsequious aftertaste, and food equal to the best privately owned, trendy hideaway.

An editorial correction: I mentioned we dined at Flair but spelled it Flare. Personally, I suggest they rename the restaurant Flair Flare because it is both stylish and eye-catching!

Thursday, October 20 presented us with options for tours such as the Back to the Future tour of the French concession led by W. Patrick Cranley, the Yu Yuan Garden and Old Town area led by my dear friend, Gerald Hatherly of A&K, a tour of the Jewish section (Did you know Shanghai was one of only a handful of places that did NOT have immigration restrictions?).  We lunched at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel and had a sumptuous food-station buffet dinner at the swank Park Hyatt Shanghai. The Park Hyatt Shanghai, the tallest hotel in the world, entertained us in their private dining venue on the 93rd floor.

Friday began with gray clouds and a few sprinkles that morphed into a lovely puffed-cloud, blue sky day. We spent the morning in an area on the outskirts of Shanghai, Zhujiajiao, a village whose roots go back hundreds of years. Many of the century old buildings house art galleries, craft stores, shops, and museums. Often called the Venice of Shanghai, Zhujiojiao is also famous for its system of canals. Before boarding a boat for a ride in the canal, you can purchase a small koi fish to release in the river and that is supposed to bring good luck. This is actually a great business model: The vendor catches the fish in the river, sells it for RMB 5 to us, we release it in the river, and the vendor catches it again! Gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit!

If it's noontime, we must be lunching somewhere wonderful, right? Friday's luncheon at the Grand Hyatt, was nothing less than mesmerizing. Before the meal we enjoyed apertifs, champagne, hors d'ouevres, and opera, arias sung by a tenor whose voice rivaled Andrea Bocelli. Staying with the Italian theme, our meal was a contemporary Italian dream.

Friday night, our final evening, found us all decked out in our custom-made black velvet Mandarin styled jackets. Before arriving in China, we sent our measurements to Virtuoso and included our choice for the lining color. Upon arriving at the Ritz-Carlton Pudong, we had a final fitting of our jackets and proudly wore them for our final Gala dinner, which was held at the Peninsula Shanghai on the Bund. I had the good fortune to stay at that uber sophisticated property last month and was eager to return. After an elegant cocktail hour, our hosts ushered us into the ballroom set with four long banquet tables adorned with silver candelabra, beautiful china, and both Western silverware and silver inlaid ebony chopsticks. Our multi-course meal was an example of the best of contemporary Chinese cuisine, and dessert - glad you asked! Dessert, held in the lounge area of the 13th floor, featured desserts of the future, yummy treats interspersed in a setting of a futuristic chemistry lab! Only the iconic Peninsula group could be so creative!

We reluctantly bid farewell to the Ritz-Carlton Pudong on Saturday morning and headed to the Shanghai Pudong Airport. Our final China treat was a ride on the famouse Maglev, the world's fastest highspeed magnetic levitation train. Reaching a speed of 431 km/h, we traversed the 30 km route in just over 7 minutes.

The takeaway: Plan a visit to China today! Enjoy a mix of the "lure of the past" and feel the "impact of the future" in today's China. This is not your mother's China nor the China many of thousands of people dressed alike in  drab uniforms black, gray, or blue. China is vibrant and exciting, a hotbed of creativity and design, a forward thinking and acting country that today honors its rich history.

PS. Many of you know I've been very critical of the service I've received on international flights. Now hear this: the flight crews on United, both directions, was excellent. Maybe there is hope that we haven't lost sight of true customer care!

Virtuoso Symposium: Bill Smith Joins Virtuoso as VP, Cruise Sales & Exclusive Product

I felt as if I was on the streets of New York and a huge story had just leaked to the press.  I could see the little boy holding the NY Times, shouting, “Extra! Extra! Hear all about Bill Smith coming to Virtuoso!”  Yes, the biggest surprise of the Virtuoso Symposium happened last night when Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, announced that Bill Smith is joining Virtuoso as the Vice President of Cruise Sales and Excusive Products.  Upchurch made the announcement at the conclusion of dinner and received a lengthy applause from the audience. 

News had leaked out an hour or so prior to the “official” announcement by Upchurch so the entire room was already teeming with conversations about the exciting news.  Dinner conversations centered on what role Smith would play at Virtuoso, as well as who would replace him at Crystal Cruises.  Plenty of names were discussed, yet no general consensus was found on who will follow Smith’s enormous and popular legacy at Crystal Cruises.  However, based on the conversations from this evening, the agency members of Virtuoso are quite pleased he is joining the organization.  Smith is highly regarded by the travel agent community and many feel as though he will bring a fresh approach to the leading consortia. Many feel as though Smith epitomizes Five-Star and his presence at Virtuoso is the perfect fit for the leading luxury consortia.  
 
The second day of Virtuoso’s Symposium began with Kristi Jones giving the audience of 400 a brief recap of the previous day’s session, which was hosted by Nancy Giordano, founder of Play Big and one of the premiere Futurists in the industry.  Ms. Giordano continued her dialogue with the audience regarding the future of the travel industry and how Social Media will play a growing role in how Travel Professionals will be able to communicate with their customers. 

Giordano’s points were interesting and thought provoking. The center of this discussion was to ensure the agency community is able to get their message across with all the Social Media “noise.”    With so many new voices at play (i.e. travel related websites, blogs and new tech companies entering the industry); the key word has to be trust.  Who does the consumer trust and how can you relay that feeling of trust to your customers?

Giordano commented that the Social Medial phenomenon will take 50 years for us to fully understand how we can use this new source of communication.  Although Social Media is only 3 years old; we have a long way to go before we can learn how we can harness the possibilities.

Rick Meadow, President of Seabourn Cruises, commented that with Social Media, there are no experts.  “We are all learning.  Taking small steps will make it easier to see the big picture.”  Meadow suggested simple steps to get more involved with using Social Media to not only drive new business, but as a way to communicate with existing clients.  One simple step he suggested was getting a Facebook link to your outgoing email.  He also commented that suppliers can do a better job of helping agencies use Social Media to grow their business and this is something Seabourn is actively working on for the future.

“Travel has become an entitlement, and not just in the luxury market.  However, in the luxury market, it’s even more relevant and more important.   Travel is now considered a right, rather than just a privilege.”

Gerald Bellino, Vice President of Wagonlit Travel, commented that his company is looking at different marketing channels to drive new business, such as white label programs, which may or may not necessarily involve Social Media.

Jennifer Fox, COO of Intercontinental Hotels, announced that the hotel brand has over 5,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook.  Fox commented, “it’s important to understand your client’s values before you can sell or market to them.”  One example she gave for using Social Media as a way to communicate with their customers is a new pilot program called Facetime. Coinciding with the release of the new iPad 2, the company has now updated their Concierge app and will now include the ability for consumers to have live chats with their hotel concierges before they arrive at the property.  This exciting new program may become the model for the entire industry.  The live chat offers a very personal interaction and this “face-to-face” time is at the push of a button. 

Judy Stein, Co President of Ovation Vacations suggested that Travel Advisors try to become the filter.  “There is a tremendous amount of information overload and the key for the advisor is to be able to decipher through all the information and sift through the noise to see what information would best fit their clients.”  Stein feels that being the “filter” will be a major role that agents will play in the future.

Stein also commented that Ovation Vacations hires young, talent based on attitude and passion and allows them to develop their own style by empowering them to learn, but to also learn their own style.    “Everyone is different.  Some are better at research, while others are more comfortable speaking to clients on the phone.”  Ovation tries to find what talent best fits their new hires.

Scott Ahlsmith, Virtuoso’s Executive Vice President of global technology and President of 23TouchPoints commented that within 90 days after a traveler returns from a cruise, consumers will spend on average $2,400.  This translates to the best time to contact a customer is right after they have returned from their vacation.  The general consensus has always been that travelers will refrain from spending money right after traveling.  However, 23TouchPoints has debunked that myth and has discovered that travelers are not broke after returning home; rather they are travel inspired.

The remainder of the afternoon had the attendees touring Madrid’s Old Quarter and Royal Palace, as well as the world famous Prado Museum.  Afternoon tours have been sponsored by Virtuoso On-Sites, Valesa Cultural Services and Made for Spain.  This evening is the final Gala Dinner taking place at Quinta del Duque De Arco. 


Jay Johnson
Coastline Travel Advisors
http://traveler.tafaritravel.com/
Twitter: TafariTraveler
 

Virtuoso Symposium: The Rise of Collaborative Commerce

Virtuoso’s annual overseas Symposium officially kicked off this evening with a warm reception at the beautiful Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid.  This spectacular hotel will be the hub for what will surely be three days’ worth of intense networking and sharing of ideas amongst the 400 travel professionals in attendance. 

Spain is the only country that has hosted the Virtuoso Symposium twice, noted Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso.  Matthew Upchurch began the conference by stating “Exponential change happens as the result of three things: Technology, Information, and Culture.” Following Matthew’s speech was energetic Nancy Giordano, founder of Big Ideas and one of the most prominent Futurists in the industry. 

Giordano gave a fascinating and insightful presentation on the Rise of Collaborative Commerce, which was the overall theme of this year’s Symposium.  The focus was what is in store for the travel industry.  Listening to how the changing demographics and the affect it is having on our industry was warmly received by the audience. 

The speed of change is exponential.  “Change is also inevitable and faster, so embrace it and lead it,” said Nancy. Nancy also stressed that new technology is changing the way consumers behave and it’s important that our industry realizes these changes and finds ways to adapt, as well as find ways to reach out to the next generation of travelers; both the Gen X group, as well as the Millennials, which are those who were born between the 1970’s to the early 2000’s.   

The purchasing patterns of Millennials, Generation X and Boomers vary so greatly that to try and establish a common marketing theme for all three groups will certainly lead to failure.  Even within those groups are various subgroups that must be treated differently.  Gender, race and socio-economic factors all play major roles in how consumers spend.  What was facsinating about Giordino’s presentation was her ability to understand how all these specific roles come into play and how, as an industry, we must find ways to truly understand our customers in ways that were unheard of only a decade ago. 

Some notable and interesting facts Giordano shared with the audience was the rise of Social Media and its impact on buying patterns.  For instance, every month, over 1 million new internet domains are created while there are over 17 billion electronic devices connected to the internet.  Considering that represents more than double the earth’s population, it’s simply mind boggling, to say the least.   And, this growth continues with no end in sight as again, growth is exponential.

Another interesting fact shared by Giordano is that there are over 31 billion (yes, billion) Google searches each month, as well as 195 million Twitter users on the planet.  Considering Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams less than four years ago, the growth of the social networking site is astonishing.  And, there are those who believe Facebook will surpass Amazon as the largest online store in the world.   Currently, there are 20 million Facebook apps installed every day.  What is even more astonishing is that many of these purchases are originating from smart phones, not PC’s.  EBay stated that they sold 2 billion worth of merchandise that originated from smart phones and not PC’s. 

Another changing demographic that will certainly be a factor for the travel industry is the number of singles living in the US.  In the year 2000, approximately 32 percent of the population was living alone.    Now, that number has swelled to almost 50 percent, which is now higher than the number of married couples in the US.    This is a staggering percentage and will certainly play a role in how travel is marketed to consumers. 

Along with the emerging millennial group, the change in diversity; notably the enormous growth of the Hispanic market throughout the US, and the rise of women population; each of these will be playing a role in how we market to consumers.  The number of women in the US that hold prominent positions in Fortune 500 companies has grown tenfold over the past decade.   

Following the presentation, the attendees were spoiled with a lavish lunch at Cibeles, where many of the members commented they were unaware of the wide variety and superb quality of food in Spain.  Like Virtuoso, there will be a sizable number of returnees to Spain.