Earlier this year we talked about Virgin shaking up the cruise lines with an adults-only upscale cruising experience. I questioned then, if the age of mass-market cruising was coming to a close (or at least a consolidation of sorts) and now I question it again with the introduction of Ritz on a ship.

The famed Ritz-Carlton brand is launching a new ship in February 2020. 623 feet long with 149 suites accommodating 298 passengers. With two more on the way. This is a first for any hotel brand and somewhat of a gamble.

With fares starting at $4600 per person for a 7-Day itinerary, the ship is most decidedly not mass-market. Nor is it completely inclusive as some others are. Excursions appear to be…

Incentives work. Here are two examples I happened across in just the last two weeks, tied to an opportunity that may prove right up your alley.

I heard from a group of Tractor Dealers that an incentive worked wonders for those who saw the benefit of parting with a little cash. Yes, it appears that money still manages to get some people's attention. How does that old saw go? "You have to spend a little money to make a lot of money."

  — Travel Research Online
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Marketing is about winning new clients and keeping old ones: from the first we achieve growth and from the second stability.  The business trinity of marketing, sales and customer service is oriented to accomplishing exactly those objectives. Smart marketing, relationship sales and good customer service should combine to ensure continual growth.

If only it was that easy.

Unfortunately, we have a hole in our bucket. It may be true it costs five times more to win a new customer than to keep an old one, but somehow or another, despite our best attempts, we lose customers. Some, of course, we lose to the inevitabilities of life and circumstance, but others we lose to something far more insidious:…

Rob Huffman can easily state that his career in the travel industry began more than 30 years ago while attending the University of Tennessee. But truthfully, his travel bug began as a youth, growing up in the industry as the son of travel agency owners, who were as passionate about travel as he is.

Most of Huffman’s career in travel has been spent within the cruise segment. Joining Carnival Cruise Lines in 1993 as a business development director, Huffman spent 15 years focused on sales, training and marketing efforts in various territories. In 2009, Huffman was named to the position of regional vice president of sales – southeastern region, overseeing a team of 12 business development managers and…

The one certainty about trade show promotion is it is harder than it looks. The entire process must be a well coordinated and timed convergence of the right suppliers, the right speakers and a collection of travel professionals. This year, Travel Show Marketing Group’s Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum demonstrated how adept the group has become at putting together an exceptional travel agent trade show and received well deserved praise from both suppliers and travel professionals for their efforts.

The Stats: 900 travel agents in attendance with 130 Hosted Agents each whom boasted a vetted one million dollar annual production. More than 280 vendors were on site to exhibit, in total more than 1,700 travel professionals from across the world. 

The Conference Schedule: This…