All About Ultra

John McMahon, EVP and group publisher of Luxury Travel Advisor, welcomes luxury advisors and suppliers to Ultra
John McMahon, EVP and group publisher of Luxury Travel Advisor, welcomes luxury advisors and suppliers to Ultra.

In attendance were top luxury travel advisors and suppliers who spent two-and-a-half days in a collaborative environment. Ultra, which was crafted originally as a think tank of sorts to help advisors draw up a blueprint for their future, has evolved in to just that. On the docket for the first day was a trio of heavy hitters: Larry Pimentel, president & CEO of Azamara Club Cruises, shared insights on luxury travel gleaned from a Boston Consulting Group study commissioned by Azamara’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which Pimentel also serves as chief experience officer. “The business and complexity of luxury is changing, and it is about shifting attitudes,” he said. The BCG study, which spanned 17 countries and nearly 1,300 personal interviews, focused on consumers with a minimum $250,000 annual income and $1 million of liquid assets, excluding real estate. BCG found there were some 380 million high-income people worldwide in 2013, and that group is expected to grow to 440 million in 2020. They spent $950 billion in 2013 and are expected to spend more than $1 billion in 2020. Their top three purchases in 2013 were real estate, automobiles and travel, the latter representing “the largest growth sector.”

Ben Shank, resort manager for the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World welcomes attendees to the Luxury Travel Advisor Awards of Excellence
Ben Shank, resort manager for the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World welcomes attendees to the Luxury Travel Advisor Awards of Excellence.

A top finding of the study? “Consumers are buying experiential travel,” he said. “I get it: I go places, I see things. But what was the element that got people charged, tuned in, excited? It indeed was the ability to connect with human beings.”

Joshua Bush of Avenue Two Travel participates in a collaborative discussion. He’s shown here with John Mannion of Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Joshua Bush of Avenue Two Travel participates in a collaborative discussion. He’s shown here with John Mannion of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global, was next up, and presented: “The Affluent Traveler: Myths, Motivations and Market Opportunities.” A portion of his findings came from MMGY’s annual research study for the last 25 years called the Portrait of American Travelers, a comprehensive analysis of emerging Americans’ travel habits, preferences and intentions.  Once a year, the firm surveys 2,800 households with an average income of $418,000 a year. “This is the sweet spot for the doing-pretty-well-10-percent,” he said. He pointed out the importance of the Millennial market, a generation that’s larger than the Baby Boomer segment. Better yet, 24 percent of those surveyed intend to travel more in the future. In his description of Millennials, Yesawich said they value unique experiences and access to the otherwise inaccessible, adding: “There’s a drive for novelty in all that they do, certainly when it comes to their leisure travel behavior. Six out of 10 agree with this statement: taking a vacation is the event to which I look forward most each year.”

Katie Ladomerszky from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with Alyse Cori of Travelwize and Kelly Messina of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority.
Katie Ladomerszky from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with Alyse Cori of Travelwize and Kelly Messina of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority.

Caitlin Domke, brand strategist for NewsCred, a content management and syndication service, rounded out the morning’s discussion by presenting on the “whats and whys of content marketing.” Domke quoted David Beebe, head of Marriott International’s Content Studio, which she said is a leader in the travel industry, with a 35-person studio that’s churning out film, photography and websites: “Rather than talk at consumers, we’re shifting to speaking with them using attention-grabbing content that adds value to consumers’ lives by providing them with information and entertainment at the right time and in the right context,” said Domke.

Judith Krotky of JMK Travel with Lynne Thomson Rinkoski of The Leading Hotels of the World and Kate Murphy of Wings Travel Group.
Judith Krotky of JMK Travel with Lynne Thomson Rinkoski of The Leading Hotels of the World and Kate Murphy of Wings Travel Group.
Gary Davis of Acendas with John McMahon, participating in the group collaborative discussions.
Gary Davis of Acendas with John McMahon, participating in the group collaborative discussions.
At the Awards of Excellence: Doug Seagle of Seabourn picking up the prize for “Best Cruise Line for Luxury Small Ships”; Ruth Turpin of Cruises, Etc.; Judy Keller of Crystal Cruises, picking up the award for “Best Cruise Line for Luxury Ocean Cruises” and Mary Ann Ramsey of Betty Maclean Travel.
At the Awards of Excellence: Doug Seagle of Seabourn picking up the prize for “Best Cruise Line for Luxury Small Ships”; Ruth Turpin of Cruises, Etc.; Judy Keller of Crystal Cruises, picking up the award for “Best Cruise Line for Luxury Ocean Cruises” and Mary Ann Ramsey of Betty Maclean Travel. 

Pop Up Panels stole the show later that afternoon; participants were randomly chosen from the audience to talk about pressing issues of the day for luxury travel. During the first discussion, “Pain Points in Selling Luxury Travel,” Joshua Bush of Avenue Two Travel suggested that with all the amenity wars going on with hotel groups, it would be nice to have a relationship on property that could facilitate getting a client a perk they really value, such as free parking, rather than a spa or food-and-beverage credit they weren’t going to use. “Let’s do something. Let’s get creative. Let’s make sure we are rewarding the right customer,” said Bush.

At Ultra, Pop-Up Panels randomly paired advisors and suppliers on stage to candidly talk about industry concerns. Here, John Mannion of Starwood; Hope Smith of Born to Travel; Ty Horn of Corinthia Hotel London and Joshua Bush of Avenue Two Travel discuss the challenges of selling luxury travel.
At Ultra, Pop-Up Panels randomly paired advisors and suppliers on stage to candidly talk about industry concerns. Here, John Mannion of Starwood; Hope Smith of Born to Travel; Ty Horn of Corinthia Hotel London and Joshua Bush of Avenue Two Travel discuss the challenges of selling luxury travel.
Mary Ann Ramsey of Betty Maclean Travel; Ken Neibaur of Cardoza-Bungey; Alex Herrmann of Switzerland Tourism and Mauricio Aceves of Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancun discuss the latest technology trends in travel.
Mary Ann Ramsey of Betty Maclean Travel; Ken Neibaur of Cardoza-Bungey; Alex Herrmann of Switzerland Tourism and Mauricio Aceves of Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancun discuss the latest technology trends in travel. 

Ty Horn of the Corinthia Hotel London said sometimes it’s the simple things that can be a challenge, like not knowing the basics of a client’s itinerary. “Please tell us when they’re coming, that helps guarantee early check-in,” he said. “It really helps when we have a comprehensive profile on your client. It’s not over-communicating or too much work for us.” 

In one-to-one meetings, suppliers and advisors updated each other on their businesses. Shown here is Jim Augerinos of Perfect Honeymoons & Holidays Travel with Rick Stiffler of Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
In one-to-one meetings, suppliers and advisors updated each other on their businesses. Shown here is Jim Augerinos of Perfect Honeymoons & Holidays Travel with Rick Stiffler of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. 
Kier Matthews of Europe Express with Hope Smith of Born to Travel .
Kier Matthews of Europe Express with Hope Smith of Born to Travel.
Caitlin Domke of NewsCred gave a compelling, high-level look at content marketing.
Caitlin Domke of NewsCred gave a compelling, high-level look at content marketing.

Another panel drew two travel advisors and two suppliers who got to ask each other: “What do we do that drives you crazy?” 

Michael Holtz of SmartFlyer joins the discussion during a general session.
Michael Holtz of SmartFlyer joins the discussion during a general session.

Jill Taylor of Jet Set World Travel said it irks her when “we spend a lot of time getting information from our clients, but when we actually go to a DMC or a tour operator and give them all that information, and they come back with an itinerary that is absolutely nothing that I’ve requested. I don’t want you to just cut and paste and send me something. If we’re going to do the due diligence on our side, the suppliers have to do it on their side as well.”

Three top general managers joined us for a candid discussion on delivering a luxury experience: Thomas Steinhauer of the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World; Jim McPartlin of the Loews Regency Hotel in New York and Hermann Elger of the St. Regis New York.
Three top general managers joined us for a candid discussion on delivering a luxury experience: Thomas Steinhauer of the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World; Jim McPartlin of the Loews Regency Hotel in New York and Hermann Elger of the St. Regis New York.
A Pop-Up Panel on “What Do We Do That Drives You Crazy?” included Alexis Romer, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company; Tristan Dowell, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Jill Taylor, Jet Set World Travel and Gary Davis, Acendas.
A Pop-Up Panel on “What Do We Do That Drives You Crazy?” included Alexis Romer, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company; Tristan Dowell, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Jill Taylor, Jet Set World Travel and Gary Davis, Acendas. 
Larry Pimentel, president & CEO of Azamara Club Cruises, shared proprietary research on luxury consumers.
 
Larry Pimentel, president & CEO of Azamara Club Cruises, shared proprietary research on luxury consumers.

Another panel asked the question: “What do you do when you’ve got a luxury client whom you know has the money to spend but is resistant? How can you close the deal?”

“What I try to do, and I really tell my staff to do this, is tell a story,” said Kate Murphy of Wings Travel Group. “You have to paint a picture. You have to whet their appetite. And I mean, get extremely graphic, just gush, whatever it is you need to do. But you need to leave them sitting there, saying, ‘I have to do this, this is a life experience.’”

Michael Holtz of SmartFlyer concurred: “When a situation comes up and the client is spending $50,000 to $100,000 and the agent has a problem, I often get involved. My parents travel all the time and I always remember what they say: ‘It’s real simple. We can spend the money, do what we want and go where we want to go, or we can leave the money to our grandkids.’ And that’s what I tell the clients.”

Taking home the “Top North American Hotel Opening in 2014” award was Park Hyatt New York. Celebrating are Tristan Dowell, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Kimberly Newbury, Luxury Travel Advisor; Roxana Toledo, Hyatt; Karen Nakai and Ernie Arias of Park Hyatt New York; John McMahon and Ruthanne Terrero of Luxury Travel Advisor.
Taking home the “Top North American Hotel Opening in 2014” award was Park Hyatt New York. Celebrating are Tristan Dowell, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Kimberly Newbury, Luxury Travel Advisor; Roxana Toledo, Hyatt; Karen Nakai and Ernie Arias of Park Hyatt New York; John McMahon and Ruthanne Terrero of Luxury Travel Advisor.
Maria Tuttocuore and Laurence Aquilina of the Monaco Tourism Office update an advisor on the destination.
Maria Tuttocuore and Laurence Aquilina of the Monaco Tourism Office update an advisor on the destination.
Helene Singer, Singer Travel; Robin Marcus of Direct Travel; Randall Soy, Regent Seven Seas and Alexis Romer of Ritz-Carlton.
Helene Singer, Singer Travel; Robin Marcus of Direct Travel; Randall Soy, Regent Seven Seas and Alexis Romer of Ritz-Carlton.
Tony Salamone of Tony Salamone Travel engages with the speakers at a general session.
Tony Salamone of Tony Salamone Travel engages with the speakers at a general session.