Ottertail Creek, British Columbia. Picture courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer
It’s not hard to fathom Rocky Mountaineer’s enduring appeal. Take cracking scenery, add some top-notch hospitality in comfy rail carriages – with glass-domed observation cars that enable you to make the most of the views – and top it all off with interesting overnighters, excursions and cruise extensions. It’s a recipe for holiday gold.
When it comes to selling it, a major plus for agents is the choice of options available. Indeed, Rocky Mountaineer is not one single experience – there are nearly 50 packages available across five rail routes, all backed by a good choice of excursions and experiences, from Gondola rides in Banff to helicopter rides over the Rockies.
Flexibility is another plus point. In addition to the range of durations and departures on offer, clients can do the routes in both directions. And unlike on many rail experiences, the all-daylight journeys mean your clients don’t miss any of the action unfurling outside the windows. Add in the latest additions like the US options and rail-cruise packages (see below) and it’s an easier sell than ever, with added potential for repeat business.
Sales support
Featured by everyone from Great Rail Journeys to Canadian Affair and Virgin Holidays, in recent years Rocky Mountaineer has ramped up its efforts to help and encourage agents to sell it. In addition to fam trips and regular training sessions, agents can take advantage of special trade rates to experience it first-hand.
Leslie Peden, Rocky Mountaineer’s director of sales EMEA, says the first port of call for agents should be the dedicated trade website, agent.rockymountaineer.com. In addition to offering information on the different packages and add-ons available, it contains the 2012 tariffs and is a great point-of-sale tool as it breaks the final package into different components to help the agent explain it to the client.
As prices are now in sterling in its UK brochure it’s easier for agents to calculate pricing and commission rates. Rocky has also extended the booking period for its early booking offers by two months. As a result, agents have until November 30 to take advantage of the offers and use them in their promotional activity.
And for 2012, Peden says Rocky is doubling its trade spend. It has appointed a new business development manager for the UK market, Carl Upshall, who will be starting next week, and it is running four to six UK fams.
“It’s all part of reinforcing our commitment to the UK trade,” says Peden. “We think there’s great potential there which hasn’t been fully realised yet.”
Silver Service
One of the most exciting developments is the launch of SilverLeaf Service, which will be available on every 2012 departure on Rocky’s First Passage to the West route, from Vancouver to Banff or Calgary. The new mid-tier offering sits between GoldLeaf and RedLeaf and it’s a great bet for travellers who crave some of the elements of GoldLeaf but whose budgets can’t quite stretch.
Compared to RedLeaf the carriages have more attendants and double the viewing space, backed by single domed observations cars. There’s also a hot meals service at your seat for breakfast and lunch, and, like in GoldLeaf, clients’ luggage is taken to the overnight hotels.
The company also plans to make improvements to its flagship GoldLeaf service. By the end of 2012 it plans to have refurbished all of its dual-level GoldLeaf carriages, introducing a more contemporary look and feel. It is also designing some high-end goodie bags that will be given to all GoldLeaf customers next year, based on high-quality shoulder bags containing items they can use on their trip.
SilverLeaf service. Picture courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer.
US options
Rocky Mountaineer may be as Canadian as maple syrup and ice hockey but that hasn’t stopped it gazing over the border. The port of Seattle is set to play a key role in its plans to grow its burgeoning rail-cruise programme.
The city also features on Rocky’s new three-day Coastal Passage itinerary. The route links Seattle to Banff or Jasper via Vancouver and sits alongside its four, core routes across British Columbia and Alberta – Rainforest to Goldrush, Journey through the Clouds, First Passage to the West and Whistler Sea to Sky Climb – which agents can ‘slice and dice’ into different offerings.
Peden is understandably excited about the prospects for the US. In addition to adding more options it has allowed it to get into US brochures. Hayes & Jarvis, for example, having introduced Seattle as a standalone destination for 2012, has added Rocky as an option in its Washington State section.
Hitting the water
Seattle will act as a second cruise hub, alongside Vancouver, with Rocky offering 12 to 17-night rail-cruise itineraries exploring the Alaskan and Canadian coasts on long-standing partner Holland America Line. Rocky has also teamed up with Disney Cruise Lines for 2012 on rail-cruise options out of Seattle.
Having taken in the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska on Disney Wonder, guests can swap water for rails in Vancouver before heading to the Rockies and overnighting and exploring places such as Victoria, Kamloops and Jasper.
To help expand its rail-cruise business, Rocky recently joined the Association of Cruise Experts. Having forged relationships with cruise specialists such as Reader Offers and Virgin Holidays Cruises, the operator is in talks with operators about plans for joint activity, like helping them create rail-cruise mini brochures that can sit alongside their main brochures.
New opportunities
Another area Peden wants agents to push is specialist bookings. Rocky trains have lounge cars with meetings tables, flatscreen TVs, Wi-Fi etc and can be used for everything from meetings and incentives to talks by special interest groups such as photographers. With the strong focus on gourmet food and wine there are also good possibilities for agents booking epicurean tours.
“We’re strategically looking to expand our groups and incentives business and this will be a focus of the upcoming fams,” he says.
“Many agents aren’t aware of the opportunities we have for groups business.”
Meanwhile, the recent developments have fuelled a growth in multi-generational travel, with older travellers returning with younger relatives, while the growing groups market has helped to widen the customer demographic.
“In the past Rocky Mountaineer was viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but we’re getting a lot more repeat visitors now,” says Peden. “There’s a perception that Canada is an older market and that’s definitely changing – our largest growth age bracket is now 40-54 years.”
Early booking bonus
Rocky Mountaineer is offering passengers added value of up to £750 per couple for 2012 bookings of seven nights or more in GoldLeaf and SilverLeaf Service made before November 30 and paid in full by January 20, 2012.
The Early Booking Bonus, which follows the launch of the new 2012 brochure, includes an additional hotel night in Vancouver, Whistler, Calgary or Seattle with complimentary dinner; a round-trip train journey onboard the Whistler Sea to Sky Climb; and a CA$25 souvenir credit. A similar offer, albeit of a lower monetary value, applies to the entry-level RedLeaf service.
