The romance between consumers and their travel agent partners is just getting rekindled as travelers realize the value that a good travel agent provides in all aspects of the travel planning process. Do a search online for anything travel related and you’ll feel so overwhelmed you won’t know where to ...

If there’s one category of travel that just might be recession-resistant, it’s the honeymoon and romance segment. Newlyweds still seem to want to go on a honeymoon, and they’re willing to spend for this (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime experience. Romance travelers still want to travel to that private beach or experience that ...

Have faith in the success of your business and your passion

If you were to walk into my home office, the first thing that you might notice is that I have a collection. Yes, I have the standard assortment of tourist tchotchkes and travel photos, but I also ...

Embrace change in order to keep your business relevant

As I moved into my new apartment and home office at the beginning of the year, it occurred to me that 2010 is going to be the year of change. Even though I only moved down the street, the ...

The New Year means it’s time to make sure your business is legally up to par

As we get further into the New Year, I feel it’s beneficial to outline some frequently asked questions and issues raised by my clients. This column provides some general advice in response ...

How and where to get those customers for upscale travel

Each New Year brings new opportunities for new resolutions, new ideas and new approaches. And I’d like to kick off this column by thanking you for the feedback and questions you shared with me in 2009 and for ...

How to strengthen your skills as a manager to achieve success

How many people do you have working for you? I mean, really working? I was at an exploratory meeting with a potential new client, a travel agency owner, when I received inspiration for this month’s column. I ...

Don’t worry about what others may think—just sell!

As I have on almost every previous New Year’s Day, I saw a TV news segment this year that once again caught my attention. There stood a bunch of half-naked people freezing their privates off while most of them successfully ...

Updates on wireless phones, Internet telephony and software cleaners

Over the past couple of years I’ve received hundreds of questions about software programs; technology, from computers to cell phones; gadgets; and so much more. I use what I consider to be the newest and most up-to-date technology, but I ...

Training programs that boost your honeymoon and destination business

Selling romance isn’t always an easy job. Honeymooners and romance travelers are guaranteed to travel, but you're not guaranteed they will book with you. The more knowledge you have about the market, the destinations and the products that couples ...

Let Virtual Luxury Expo expand your knowledge of the upscale travel market

Our Virtual Luxury Expo will go “live” Feb. 23 and 24, enabling you to boost your luxury sales right from your office or home computer. This second annual event will continue to be available on demand ...

Piper Fenton focuses on the South Pacific destination and its suppliers

The salmon, the dominant icon of the Pacific Northwest, is famous for swimming against the current. Maybe it was the salmon that inspired one of the region’s top travel agents. Agent-at-home Piper Fenton, the owner of Portland, ...

Romance specialists share their tips for qualifying couples Realizing the dream

When it comes to selling romance travel, Susanne Hamer, CTC, a honeymoon specialist with the Travel Store and three-time winner of Travel&Leisure’s Top Travel Agent List as a French Polynesia and Fiji specialist, wrote the book—literally.

Expert advice on how to find new romance clientsThe Human Touch

Kim Caudill, a Nexion agent and owner of K&S Travel in Fort Wayne, Ind., uses the personal touch when it comes to honeymoon marketing.

When Caudill first started selling romance travel, she broke the bank ...

How to create just the right experience for your newly wedded couples

Just as no two couples are alike, creating the ideal honeymoon or romantic getaway means something different to each of your clients. Most travel agents who specialize in romance travel agree that the most important part of ...

Small ships provide unique experiences for honeymooners and other romantics

Cruises are popular for honeymoons, destination weddings and anniversaries, and large-ship lines are well known for their success in offering packages and customized programs for those occasions. But another segment of the cruise industry offers its own perks ...

The Victoria Jenna and Three Gorges Dam expand access to the Yangtze

Dams can change a lot of things, from geography to personal lives to tourism. And perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in China, where the massive Three Gorges Dam development began rising at the beginning of ...

MSC Poesia delivers an Italian-like cruise for your Caribbean clients

The Poesia, the fourth ship of its size and configuration from MSC Cruises, debuted in October 2008, and is now sailing Caribbean itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The ship is sleek, but not glitzy, with a gorgeous combination ...

Tour operators are putting a romantic spin on a wide range of packages

For travel agents honeymoon/romance sales are more important than ever before. After the crash of 2008, romantic travel proved its worth once again as one of the markets least affected by the downturn. No matter ...

Destination weddings at all-inclusive resorts can take the stress out of planning

According to the Association for Wedding Professionals International (http://afwpi.com),  “destination weddings will continue to rise as wedding costs escalate. The better valued areas will be the Caribbean and Mexico.” Even domestic doyenne Martha Stewart has come ...

Leisure Pops reminds you of critical information at the point of sale

A new company, Leisure Pops, is designed to give agents pop-up reminders about preferred supplier offers, last-minute specials and upsell opportunities, all in the middle of the selling process. Founded by Lee Rosen, general manager of Sabre ...

Why you should consider affiliating with a member of this agency co-op

For the past few years, one of the hottest travel agency groups around has been Signature Travel Network. This agency cooperative (it’s owned by its agency members) has won raves from suppliers and its members ...

CityCenter’s Aria offers many different moods in a contemporary design

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an aria is an elaborate melody sung by a single voice. It’s also often the centerpiece of an opera. Whether or not those definitions were behind the naming of Las Vegas’ newest ...

Five ways you can better sell this brand-new CityCenter hotel

If your clients want to experience Las Vegas’ new CityCenter complex but need a bit more space at slightly more affordable rates, the Vdara Hotel & Spa may be just the right choice to suggest. CityCenter now offers three ...

Jamaica’s expansive hotel inventory inspires romantic getaways 

Ever since Ursula Andress emerged from the sea foam off Ocho Rios to a waiting James Bond as a 1960s version of Botticelli’s “Venus,” Jamaica has been a haven for romance. In July, Modern Bride named the island to its ...

The top 10 things to do in the world’s fifth-largest country  

Welcome to the Brazil decade! With the FIFA World Cup coming up in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, Brazil is attracting even more attention than it already does with its offerings of samba music, soccer ...

London offers attractions galore for American fans of British sport

The British are nothing if not sports mad—though not necessarily for the same sports that your clients are used to on this side of the pond. But if you have customers who are over-the-top about such games as football ...

Egerton House offers elegant rooms close to London’s major attractions 

On a quiet block just off Brompton Road, one of London’s busiest shopping streets, is the Egerton House Hotel. Located among a complex of 19th-century red-brick townhouse apartments, the Egerton has just 25 rooms and four studio suites, but ...

The host of the 2010 World Expo gets ready for its close-up 

Shanghai is a city of superlatives. One of the most heavily populated cities in the world, it’s also home to some of the tallest buildings, fastest trains and most futuristic architecture. And this year it’s ...

The Thar Desert is off the beaten path but worth exploration

Desert sands are not what most people think of when considering a visit to India. Yet the massive Thar Desert, occupying a sizable swath of northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan, contains fabulous sights and experiences that ...

Fiji has the idyllic setting and diverse accommodations to lure romantic couples 

About 80 percent of Fiji’s American visitors are couples. Couples love Fiji for its lucid seas, bright beaches, warm people and intimate bures. Fiji loves honeymooners because they spend three times more than normal tourists ...

Suppliers wishing to submit fam information for publication in Agent@Home must submit the information to Mimi Kmet at mimik@pmgemail.com at least three months prior to the departure date of a fam tour or the expiration date of a fam rate.

Abercrombie & Kent

A&K is offering a “China ...