Sailing for a week with 500 or so travel advisors and partners for the KHM Group Crystal Awards Cruise, I heard a lot of presentations onboard Celebrity Reflection last month. And a surprising number of them shared the same advice for travel advisors in 2024. Whether you are a new advisor or a Crystal Award winner or even a supplier, I heard over and over again, the key to success in this busiest of years is to zero in on your top customers.
It started with KHM VP of sales and marketing Geoff Cox, who noted that the host agency is one of the few that truly welcomes newcomers to the industry. “The first couple of years can be a challenge—but it’s worth it,” he said. When someone calls, don’t ask where they want to go, he suggested. Interview them to make sure they are a good fit for you first.
“Have them apply to be your customer, and build the business with your right people. For new agents, that’s really tough—but it’s ok to push business away.”
Then focus on delivering great service. “You may only have 3,000 customers, but you should own those 3,000 customers. Focus in. Once you have a customer list go through it, look at each one, and take extra care of the people at the top. Focus on the pinnacle people who are your best customers.”
That goes for suppliers, too, he said. “Ninety percent of our business is with the 30 suppliers who are on the ship this week. As you expand, we hope you will keep focused on those top suppliers who make it possible for us to really help you when there’s an issue,” Cox said.
For its ICs, meanwhile, KHM is offering a record 28 live events in 2024—including its first-ever retreat for the 164 ICs who reached its mid-level Platinum and Gold status, earning more than $50,000 to $100,000 in 2023. And it is adding extra recognition for its very top level, Diamond Elite agents, selling $2.5 million or more. (Though president Rick Zimmerman also noted that “every one of you is created in a unique and special way, no matter how much or how little you sell.”)
In her keynote, meanwhile, Celebrity Cruises’ SVP of sales & services Katina Athanasiou noted that “what makes great advisors stand out is their willingness to really pay attention and listen, and their ability to execute on a one-to-one relationship. It’s so easy to send a bottle of wine or to recommend a canned tour; it’s very transactional. What defines really great vs. really good is the one-to-one personalization.”
She recommended that travel advisors read Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect for its insights into how creating extraordinary experiences for top clients can “turn the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations” booked through you. Pay attention to the small details and be thoughtful about creating unique moments for them, she suggested. Be maniacally focused 95% of the time, but the other 5% allow for creativity. That is where the magic happens.
Celebrity, too, will be focusing on its best customers and its best partners. In the works are an enhanced guest experience for suite guests, and more personalized education programs for travel advisors, said Athanasiou. (For more on this see Sailing with Katina Athanasiou and John Diorio: The Scoop on Celebrity and Virgin | Travel Research Online from last week.)
Beyond that theme, though, I heard lots of stories: the story of KHM and its unique focus on faith, caring, and giving back. A story of accessibility and inclusion shared by KHM and the Royal Caribbean Group, who have focused on making all guests feel welcome (for more on this, see my story at Tips on Dealing with Clients with Disabilities from Celebrity and KHM Travel | Travel Research Online.) And many unique stories of the travel advisors—some smart and successful, some new to the industry—who sailed together for a week of learning and fellowship and shared their tips and trials.
Western Region Agent of the Year Susie Flores told me that only now—after five years in business, with 92,000 followers on TikTok and almost $3 million in sales—is she thinking about expanding beyond her best niche; until now she has sold pretty much only cruises. She recommends that new travel advisors “focus on a sector of travel you are passionate about. Once you are comfortable, then you can add to your portfolio. But if you try to do it all too fast, it’s very overwhelming.”
It’s all about the service, she said—so avoid MLMs. “This isn’t about building a team, it’s about servicing your client. It’s an investment in a relationship with a client who works really hard for that once-a-year vacation.” Do your research in choosing a host that offers great education so you will not just find clients but keep them. She came to KHM through Google and Host Agency Reviews, attracted by the family feel and “unparalleled education and support,” she said.
“I would definitely not try to be everything to everyone,” agreed CLIA VP Charles Sylvia, onboard for the week. “I would focus on a couple of brands within each category and go deep with those brands, enriching my relationships with the BDMs. I would also take CLIA’s State of the Industry Report and use some of the slides as a presentation. I would take its story to the street and speak with local and civic groups, whoever is willing to listen, about the incredible growth, popularity, and diversity of cruise travel. Doing so will position advisors as a cruise authority in their community and drive new business for them.”
Indeed, Sylvia said, “I believe we are witnessing the next period of prosperity for our industry. The number-one lesson to be drawn from what we experienced in the recent past is that life is short—and as a result, consumer demand for leisure travel has skyrocketed. To meet the demand, travel advisors are becoming more proficient at dealing with the high volume of inquiries, serving their clients better every year, becoming more creative at surprising and delighting their clients, showing unique value, and securing repeat business for decades to come.”
KHM Goals and Accomplishments
At KHM itself, president Rick Zimmerman also is looking for the perfect set of ICs rather than going for volume.
“2023 was our best year ever in a number of ways,” he told TRO—including total revenue of $375 million from more than 5,000 members. But rather than trying to grow quickly in 2024, the agency is “about building in a different way, building a community of people who are caring and loving” to one another and to their customers. “We attract people who really care about their clientele and are interested in lifelong learning, because you can’t care for your clientele if you know nothing about the product.”
For 2024, he hopes for 10% growth in ICs and sales. KHM will continue reaching out mostly through Google ads and social media that send potential ICs to Host Agency Reviews, where KHM gets top scores as a host and educator. “I want to build slowly; I’m not looking to set the world on fire,” he says. “We are looking for a particular agent, someone who is willing to learn.”
He sees those as achievable goals, heartened by what’s happening in the industry, where “the cruise ships are building, Hyatt is building, the big money is betting on long-term success in the travel industry and I don’t doubt they are betting the right way.” At about 60% land and 40% cruise, KHM is a big seller of ALG, but also sees growth in cruise.
Overall, “travel agents are back on the map and it’s great to see the resiliency of the channel. A lot of TAs decided to get out of the business during Covid but those resilient agents who have that passion have remained.”
Tips, Tales and Take-Aways
Of course, the week was full of tips and good ideas.
KHM VP of industry relations Anita Pagliasso suggested that travel advisors should not forget to promote their skills and remind clients that they are the best resource. Brag on your business card by including not just your CLIA and ASTA certifications, but also the niche you are in—and the niche you are building. Use phrases like “river cruise expert” or “luxury travel expert,” she said. “Entitle yourself for the business you want to grow.”
Get your CTA certification—and build a support group to help you do it, says Toni Rath of Adventures by Toni. When a fellow advisor called to ask a question about how to study for the exam, Rath stepped up to the plate and shared her notes, her tips and her time, forming a weekly online study group that met for a full year to help her colleagues prepare.
Emily Bookey, owner of Emily’s Travel in Minnesota, leaped from $1.9M in sales in 2019 to $3 million in 2023 to win the Travel Advisor of the Year award for the fourth time in five years, as well as Agency of the Year, with $4.5 million. In business for 11 years, Bookey specializes in Europe FITs and all-inclusive vacations.
Her key to success holds no big surprise; it comes down to “getting up at 4 am every day, getting a workout in, and getting right to work,” she says. Divorced and single, “I don’t have set hours. My business is my baby so I can operate 24×7.”
Like a surprising number of advisors in the group, Bookey found KHM by Googling “How to become a travel agent,” and honed in on her first and only host by reading the feedback from other ICs on Host Agency Reviews. Based in the Midwest, she specialized in all-inclusive vacations and weddings in sunny destinations—but when Covid hit she took an extended vacation to visit her sister in Italy and traveled there extensively. A dual citizen of the US and Italy, she now has added Europe FITs and river cruises, and her sales have pretty much doubled every year.
“My clients watch me travel, so I set a precedent for the type of travel I want to sell. And I like nice things,” she told me. Now she is getting “big Europe trips, big family trips to all-inclusives in Mexico, river cruises. So my advice is, if you are going to Vegas, that’s what you are going to sell.” This year she is headed for a Malta-to-Rome cruise on Oceania, and to Croatia, Puglia and Norway –“new places that I am very excited about.”
She has four ICs—including her ex-husband!—and a new assistant, and offers up two pieces of advice on that front: “Selling travel is not something you can train someone to do. And, hire someone you can fire.”
Not surprisingly, CLIA’s Sylvia suggested that a great way to grow is by joining CLIA. But he had the data to back that up. Travel advisors who have achieved CLIA certification have seen their cruise sales jump by 261%, he said. And don’t pass up the free 15 minute one-on-one career counseling session CLIA offers.
And one line I just loved, from KHM Hall of Fame inductee Hollie Schmitt: “Life brings us to unexpected places. And love brings us home.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
