Big Profits for Home Based Travel Agents

Selling luxury cruises can be highly profitable for home based travel agents.
In fact, if practices intelligently and diligently, luxury cruises can be the most important product in a home based travel agent's portfolio. Two words leap out as the most important concepts to remember when selling luxury cruises: satisfaction and value. The first concept leads directly to the second. If clients are satisfied with the product you have sold them, if you meet, or better yet, exceed their expectations, then you will have created a good value for them.

It has been widely researched and reported that cruising has the highest rate of satisfaction of any travel product. And luxury cruises lead in all the surveys. Cruising is considered an outstanding value by travelers who have tried it (they keep coming back) and luxury cruising is deemed an even better value. The goal for home based travel agents is to use these twin concepts to sell luxury cruising.

Here are some facts that will make it easier for you to sell luxury cruises:

FACT #1:
Studies have shown that the total cost for a luxury cruise is less than the total cost for a vacation in a luxury, shore-side resort. This leads to the second fact: the value equation.

FACT #2:
The cost of most luxury cruising is all-inclusive or mostly so. All meals are included (even room service offerings) and wines are usually served on a complimentary basis at luncheon and dinner. Most luxury cruise lines feature an open bar policy, and gratuities are usually included in the price. When was the last time you or your client got a free drink at a shore-side resort? And when was last time you or your client didn't have to begin calculating tips well in advance of the end of the vacation?

FACT #3:
Luxury cruising has a high staff-to-guest ratio. On the smaller luxury passenger vessels, the staff-per-guest ratio is almost one to one.

FACT #4:
Let's refer to this fact as Service, Service, Service with a capital "S" That's what you get with luxury cruise lines. All studies show that top service ranks very high on what travelers expect on their holidays. Consider this: If travelers fly to their destination in a brand new jet but the in-flight service is lousy, that flight is a failure. But regardless if whether the jet is brand new, if the service is notable, then the flight is deemed a success.

FACT #5:
On luxury cruises, gourmet dining is the standard. On small, luxury vessels, the food is usually prepared a la carte and to an individual order. It's difficult to equate this with shore-side travel experiences in most urban hotels or resorts.

FACT #6:
Guests aboard luxury cruises take their staterooms with them. Their entire floating hotel moves from one fascinating destination to another. Obviously, that does not occur if you move about on land. And that leads to..

FACT #7:
Usually when travelers move from destination to destination by jet, train, or tour bus, they unpack and repack constantly. On a luxury cruise line, they unpack once and repack at end of the voyage. Which would you rather do?

FACT #8: On luxury cruises, there is considerable interaction with staff. They get to know the guests and learn their habits, their likes and dislikes. The staff even know their name and addresses them personally after only a few hours aboard.

FACT #9:
On luxury cruises, there is more interaction among guests than there usually is when vacations are taken on land. These new friends add stimulation to the voyage and frequently last far beyond the duration of the cruise-sometimes they last for a lifetime.

FACT #10:
There is one aspect of the luxury cruise vacation that no shore-side holiday can ever approximate. That is the romance of the sea. The experience is stimulating and at the same time relaxing, and it leads to a feeling of well-being.

Home Based Travel agents should keep these 10 facts foremost in their minds when focusing on selling luxury cruises, because they lead to satisfaction and value. And that's what selling travel is all about. To become a Home Based Travel Agent go to www.homebased-travelagents.com