Embark Beyond held its annual "Immersion" event in Cancun, Mexico in November, bringing together 200 luxury suppliers and 200 Embark advisors for a week of networking and learning.
The theme of the event was “Clienteling,” a phrase used to address the need to get closer to one’s customers as artificial intelligence and other industry dynamics present consumers with new ways to book travel.
“Clienteling is the art of connecting to a customer, an art of being proactive in understanding the customer’s needs and personalizing your relationship and your focus on every customer, making them feel special in everything that they do and really finding ways to enhance their lives. It’s authentic,” said Jack Ezon, founder and managing partner of Embark.
Anne Scully, a partner in Embark, cited the need to present unique travel opportunities, not off-the-shelf products to luxury clients.
“We do not want to see an itinerary that has been designed for a thousand people; you know that happens. Our job is to work with our partners to share the story of our clients, to tell them what they love, what the meaning of the trip is, what every person on that trip wants for it to be special. When we do that with our partners they understand: “Nine people are on this trip. So, nine people must be happy. Nine must go home thinking, ‘What a memory I have. I never wanted that trip to end. I loved it so much.’ You want those people to come home and tell the story, to share it with friends, families, and colleagues. The best thing about a wonderful trip is the ability to retell it all,” she said.
Cindy Novotny, a partner in Embark, attended via live stream, and challenged suppliers to provide innovative offerings that advisors can offer to their clients. “You have to give these travel advisors the story. You have to give them something to talk about to call the client. They can’t just call with another, hotel, another cruise." You’ve got to create stories.
“Nobody’s going to replace you with AI,” said Novotny, who provides regular training to Embark advisors. “They’re not going to replace you if you are bold, if you are proactive, if you are partnering together to make sure you’re solid. And you are building relationships that absolutely will never ever be replaced by technology."
“Remember, if you can sell, you’ll always have a job,” said Novotny in closing. “But if you sell by clienteling, you’ll make 10 times more money.”
Ezon, an expert at collaborating with brands outside of travel to deliver more services to his luxury clientele, has recognized that upscale retail brands have done a great job of not only servicing their customers but customizing experiences for them as well.
“Luxury retailers no longer sell products. They sell relationships,” he said. With that in mind, he brought in an impressive array of A-list luxury retail leaders to address the Immersion attendees through panel discussions and one-on-one interviews on stage.
Here are some of the highlights of the conversations, condensed:
“Working with the luxury consumer these days is like the wild west. We’re all selling top-down, we’re seeing unprecedented growth in every category since COVID, even prior to COVID. And the lust for luxury is real, and it keeps getting stronger,” said Carolyn Travis, who heads up marketing for Bal Harbour Shops, an open-air mall in South Florida housing more than 100 luxury fashion and jewelry retail outlets. Due to demand, Bal Harbour Shops is currently undergoing an expansion that will add 300,000 square feet to its 463,000-square-foot premises.
Travis led a panel of retail and hotel executives on the topics of brand collaborations, spending habits of upcoming luxury consumers and how to stay true to one’s brand promise.
Sotheby’s has added new offering to its auction and private sales divisions to expand its audience of buyers. Known for handling the sales of iconic masterpieces and significant pieces of jewelry and watches, the luxury house recently brokered the sale of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe from 1955 at auction for a record price of 135 million EUR ($147 million) to a private collector. Another unique item is a red sweater that was worn by Princess Diana; it sold for $1.14 million at a recent Sotheby’s auction.
All of Sotheby’s auctions are now live-streamed, providing access to many new potential customers. “So we now have audiences of over a million people watching auctions globally, which is pretty exciting,” said Eleanor Dethier, vice president/ global head of partnerships for the company.
She said Sotheby’s has seen an explosion of new, younger generation consumers buying at auction. “Right now, almost 50 percent of our clients on the luxury side are under the age of 40,” she said.
Younger buyers appreciate the high quality of what they are purchasing, however, they tend to hold on to items for less time, she noted.
“Other generations used to hold their purchases for a longer time, whereas the new generation buys point pieces, looking for pricing and quality, but then they hold them for less longer. So they do buy with the intention to resell, which we didn’t see with previous generations.”
Aman Resorts is also trying to reach a younger clientele, said Anna Nash, chief commercial officer for the ultra-luxury hotel company. “In 2018, we launched our first line of skincare, which is really an entry-level line to reach out to a new audience, to very carefully bring them into the brand,” she said. She cautioned that offerings to entry-level customers must match the same quality as those served up to those at the top of Aman’s marketing pyramid, which comprises the brand’s ownership members, who can enjoy the Aman lifestyle 24/7.
“You can’t have that entry level experience be very different, because those expectations will still be the high point of that pyramid. It’s an emotion,” Nash explained to the audience.
Rimowa, the 125-year-old luxury luggage brand, has also ventured into product expansion to bring in new clientele. “Rimowa really is a brand for everyone. So that’s a fun sandbox to play in, when we can partner with brands like Porsche and Aesop and [American artist] Daniel Arsham, and speak to a really diverse clientele,” said Dezaray Romanelli, managing director of the Americas for the brand. She said that over the course of the Rimowa’s long tenure, its primary product category has been just luggage.
“Our clients are extremely loyal to us. They want more from us, which is exciting, but we have to really proceed with caution,” said Romanelli. During the pandemic, Rimowa launched an eyewear line because luggage wasn’t high on the list of must-haves because travel had all but stopped. “Our clients’ response to that was immediately, ‘What’s special about it?’”
Bottom line? Romanelli said, “It’s important to stay culturally relevant, but you can’t forget who you are as a brand. That’s a tricky space to be in. Our brand messaging needs to really be very, very clear.”
She cited a successful campaign that ran a few years ago where Rimowa invited customers into its SoHo, NY, store to get their passport photos taken in a private, luxury environment with flattering lighting. They could take as many photos as they liked until they got one that they loved. The experience was based around travel, which is Rimowa’s space and disrupted a drab process that usually involves going to a drugstore to get a picture taken.
“It was all about, how can you disrupt these ordinary moments in the travel journey and get something that’s really unique?” said Romanelli. “We really elevated the experience from something that is typically quite mundane.”
The results? “There was a queue outside our store you would not believe for this passport booth. It’s been wildly successful attracting a younger generation. There have been TikTok videos that have gone viral. So for us, sometimes that VIP experience is taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.”
For his part, Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles & Orient Express, which has just opened its headquarters in New York City, doesn’t “believe in putting generations into boxes” because people have different cultural exposures, backgrounds and upbringings and so have different perspectives from each other.
“Let’s not underestimate the client. On the ultra-luxury side, the consumer is changing and always will. We can sit down and analyze them, but they already know what they want and their habits are changing quite fast,” Acar noted.
Top Takeaways
Embark’s Jack Ezon shared top takeaways from the luxury retail panel that travel advisors can use for their own businesses. Here is a condensed version of what he shared:
- You have to always think about expanding to reach your customers and to make sure they feel special. How are you going to do that? Don’t do something if you can’t do it really well.
- Think about new entry points. It’s about bringing new people in and making sure they’re the right people.
- Look at what art, fashion and other brackets are doing. How do you play in that space? How do you use the trends you see to build your business?
- I love hearing about purpose over pride. Think about the reason why you’re doing something. Don’t just do something that’s nice. Do something that’s going to hit someone’s passion point and drive business.
- Establish the right branding in social media. Build your brand; build your awareness.
- Lead with your relationships and keep the communication constant. Relationships will bring them in.
- Stay culturally relevant but also don’t forget to stay true to your brand.
- Hospitality is the best vehicle for all these brands out there, and that’s us! Think about what you can do in your space. You sell a lifestyle. You sell a brand. Maybe it’s about craftsmanship. Maybe it’s about the process. Show them your process. Show them behind the scenes. How does your hotel work? How does your cruise line work? Tell us what it is.
- And lastly, everything you do should be about taking something ordinary and making it extraordinary.
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