InteleTravel is to run its first luxury travel training event next month.
Partners signed up to attend the evening session on October 24 include upmarket tour operators such as Carrier and Abercrombie & Kent, as well as several small ship luxury cruise lines.
President James Ferrara said: “We already have plenty of agents selling luxury. Tricia [Handley-Hughes, UK managing director] gives out awards to agents who do big individual bookings; she had one of £247,900 recently, but people still assume that InteleTravel agents can’t sell luxury.
“It simply isn’t true.”
More: InteleTravel president eyes cruise growth in UK
InteleTravel plans international expansion in 2023
Atol sales prove more popular than expected, says InteleTravel
Handley-Hughes said if the evening goes well, she will run the next one as a full-day event.
“Once our agents realise how much they can earn in commission off a luxury holiday booking, we think we will get many more register for the training,” said Handley-Hughes.
President James Ferrara explained that the content of these sessions is not purely product-led.
“It’s not just about the suppliers. The other challenge is teaching agents not to sell from their own pocket books.
“If you earn a certain amount and don’t think like a traveller with loads of disposable income, you’ll get stuck in the universe of product that you can afford.
“So we need to get agents thinking about who is the traveller, how can they find these people, and how do they communicate to them?
“We want to get these agents selling outside and above their own pocketbooks,” he said.
Ferarra said he hoped the focus on luxury sales would help more InteleTravel agents achieve the £100k challenge.
“This is a global programme to help agents make £100,000 in commission/personal income through their travel sales. It’s been going on in the UK since the beginning of the year and we take agents through a step-by-step programme and help them create a business plan of how they are going to achieve it,” he said, revealing he already had two agents in the UK that were well on their way to earning over £100,000 in commission this year.
In addition, anyone completing the £100k challenge in the UK this year will go in the draw for a place on a Classic Collection VIP fam trip.
More: InteleTravel president eyes cruise growth in UK
InteleTravel plans international expansion in 2023
Atol sales prove more popular than expected, says InteleTravel