KUONI has revamped much of its product and destination coverage in its US programme following a tie-up with receptive operator Americantours International.
The main element of the alliance is Kuoni’s on-line link with the US company, enabling UK reservations staff to check instant availability at more than 2,500 hotels across the US.
Kuoni says this has helped strengthen its coverage as well as improve tailor-made options that are a growing part of its business. It has resulted in a wider hotel selection in key areas like Las Vegas and New York and first-time stays in Seattle, Washington State, and Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee.
Graham Bendelow, product manager for America and Canada, said: “The new technology has given us extra flexibility to expand our tailor-made programme, especially for flydrives, and opens up other areas of the US for us. Aside from California and the southwest, this includes Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, as well as America’s heartlands and accommodation in national parks.”
He added that rather than increase off-the-shelf, pre-arranged self-drive itineraries – as a lot of US operators have done – Kuoni has reduced them in favour of constructing more personalised itineraries.
“If a client wants to spend an extra night in the Grand Canyon, for example, or take away a night from a Las Vegas stay to fit their ideal itinerary, we are now able to do that instantly whereas before it took us a little while to make the change. This avoids having to place things on a request basis, which a lot of operators still do.”
Bendelow said Kuoni has a strong following among clients, and the majority of its travellers are now second and third-time visitors to the US.
In line with this, the operator has reduced the duration of its city-stay packages from seven nights last year to three or five nights this year, depending on the destination.
He added: “This assists us in helping clients construct their own multi-centres, such as an air tour or flydrive.
“For example, we have seen a big increase in sales to Las Vegas in combination with other destinations in the southwest so we have raised the choice of hotels from four to 11 this year.
“Our clients can now pick up a rental car in Vegas and drop it off in any other city within Nevada, Arizona or California for no extra fee. This gives them the freedom to explore new areas instead of the usual loop between Nevada and the West Coast.”
The tie-up with Americantours also sees more boutique-style hotels on offer in San Francisco, which are concentrated around Union Square in the heart of the city. Bendelow says this district gives clients more of a feel of the destination, rather than staying in the more commercialised Fisherman’s Wharf area.
Another area getting more exposure is New England, where Kuoni has hiked the number of character inns on offer in all six states. In addition, it has added a breakdown of resorts in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from which clients select a beach stay to tack on to a flydrive.
Kuoni
Las Vegas: five nights from £457 in April or November with flights and accommodation.
Seattle: five nights from £513 in November/December. Three-day San Juan Islands and Victoria (Vancouver Island) trip for £255, with cruise and accommodation.
Deep South: Memphis and Nashville five nights from £490 in May plus flights and accommodation.
Flydrives: a la carte tailor-made flydrives in California, Arizona, Nevada and New England.
Multi-centre holidays: three nights in New York and four nights in Las Vegas from £720 in October and £563 in November/December with accommodation and flights.