Luxury villa company Rental Escapes is offering a new bonus commission incentive for travel advisors, going on now through the end of February, offering up to $5,000 in bonus commission.
26.01.2024 - 18:41 / travelweekly.com / Summer Olympics / Paris Olympics
As interest in trips surrounding the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is heating up, suppliers and advisors have forged new partnerships to offer a variety of ways to experience the Games.
On Location Experiences, the official hospitality partner of the 2024 Summer Olympics, has been working to jump-start its relationship with travel advisors ahead of the Games.
The company provides access to all Olympic competitions, special events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and other official Olympic events taking place across Paris.
Kier Matthews, vice president of global luxury sales for On Location, said the company builds packages that include tickets to the Olympic sporting events, accommodations, transportation to and from events and on-site hospitality, "meaning a venue that we've reimagined with food and beverage, entertainment, athlete appearances, etc."
On the RecordKier Matthews of On Location Experiences discusses the company's strategy.
There are more than 250 "travel packages" that include the Games and hotels, which range from three- to five-star properties and are available for up to 10-night stays. Those packages may also include priority access to cultural and tourism activities and transportation.
There are also more than 50 "hospitality packages," which don't include accommodations but in addition to tickets to the Games include an experience within a shared or private space at a sporting venue or a dedicated, central location in Paris, such as Clubhouse 24, a lounge in the heart of the city that will host a number of live entertainment events and special guest appearances.
Travel packages start at around $540, with hospitality packages starting from as low as $217. Matthews said that affordability and accessibility are top priorities for On Location. In its outreach to advisors, the company wants to convey a clear message: The Olympics are for everyone.
"There is a perception that you have to be significantly wealthy to attend these events -- but you really don't have to be," Matthews said, pointing out that some of the leading packages for the Olympics are no more expensive than taking a family vacation. "You can afford to take your family to the Olympics. I want to make sure we demystify that."
Zoe Kamman, senior travel advisor at Savanti Travel in Phoenix who is working with On Location, said clients want packages that solve the logistical challenges and the many "moving parts" that come with the Games.
"We have clients who have expressed interest in all-encompassing, high-end luxury experiences for the Olympics," Kamman said. "They're asking about the best way to secure tickets, how to get from one event to the next, how to ensure they are
Luxury villa company Rental Escapes is offering a new bonus commission incentive for travel advisors, going on now through the end of February, offering up to $5,000 in bonus commission.
As we continue into 2024, I have a few suggestions to make the job of travel advisor a bit easier:
Corina Johnson. (Source: Corina Johnson)
Last week, we revealed our 2024 Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards. Click here to see the list of winners.
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The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has submitted comments to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would prohibit unfair or deceptive practices relating to fees for goods or services.Focusing specifically on junk fees often charged by hotels and other short-term lodging services that result in a misleading total cost, ASTA expressed support for transparency."As an advocate for not only travel agencies and individual advisors but also the millions of consumers who rely on our members’ services, ASTA believes that the rule as proposed would greatly benefit consumers of hotel and other short-term lodging services, and it is in that context that ASTA has the greatest interest in the proposed rulemaking," the organization said in a letter signed by Peter N. Lobasso, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, ASTA."While charging mandatory resort fees has come under greater scrutiny in recent years, up until now predominantly by regulators and enforcement agencies at the state level, the practice remains common in the industry.""Moreover, the manner in which resort fees, also alternatively referred to by hoteliers as 'amenity fees' or 'destination fees,' among other terms commonly used, are disclosed to consumers is highly inconsistent," ASTA added. "And, as many hotel properties are independently owned and operated franchises, there is little uniformity in this regard even among hotels doing business under the same brand name."The organization is calling for uniform application of the full disclosure obligation."ASTA strongly believes that all consumers, regardless of where or how they choose to book their travel, have a right to expect that hotels, as well as OTAs, short-term rental intermediaries and other distributors of lodging services, provide complete pricing information, exclusive of any Government Charges, upfront in a transparent manner to permit meaningful comparison shopping. Moreover, we are of the opinion that the full disclosure obligation should apply uniformly irrespective of the distribution channel or medium used by the consumer when booking a hotel room."ASTA also asked for clarity regarding proposed penalty provisions in the context of intermediated transactions."As a matter of fairness, we believe intermediaries that reasonably rely on erroneous information provided by the entity charging the fee should be relieved of liability for the error. To that end, ASTA respectfully requests that the Final Rule include either an outright exemption or a 'safe harbor' mechanism to protect an innocent third-party seller from enforcement action in this scenario."
Forbes Travel Guide, a rating system for luxury hotels and other travel products and services, released its 2024 Star Awards on Wednesday. About 340 luxury hotels received “five-star” ratings, while about 1,600 others received other commendations in the 66th year of the rankings.
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