Tips for selling the highest end of luxury travel: Travel Weekly

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Jamie Biesiada

Jamie Biesiada

Luxury-focused advisor Kristin Chambers has planned some truly over-the-top trips for her clients.

Chambers, the Boston-based founder of D.A. Luxury Travel and Travellustre, specifically focuses on “ultraluxe” clients who are willing to spend the big bucks on their travels (think weekly spend of $100,000 to upward of $2 million). 

Focusing on that clientele results in a long-term partnership between the advisor and the client, Chambers said.

“They need that built-up trust, and they need those long-term partnerships,” she said. “But really, what it means when you serve the ultraluxe market, which I particularly do, you need creativity, and you need a lot of resourcefulness and you need transparency and trust.”

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Chambers has been in the industry for nearly 19 years. She worked for a small agency for a few years right out of college. In the mid-aughts, she realized hospitality was about to shift away from the transactional. Instead, she believed, advisors should focus on things like deep destination knowledge and hand-picking guides.

In 2007, with that in mind, she launched her personal brand, D.A. Luxury Travel. The agency was, as its name suggests, focused on luxury clients.

The definition of luxury is different for everyone, Chambers said, but “basically, it means forward-thinking service and truly authentic, designed itineraries. None of this mass market stuff.”

Her agency did well, growing by double digits every year, and other advisors — both seasoned and new — approached her about partnering together. So, in 2016, she founded the company Travellustre. While it’s set up as a host agency, Chambers prefers to describe it as “a portfolio of leading travel advisors.”

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But more on her personal brand, D.A. Luxury Travel, specifically the kind of trips she plans.

She chartered an entire SeaDream Yacht Club ship for a family group. It will sail from Dubrovnik, Croatia, to Venice, with unique activities along the way. For one, she rented out a palace for a special dinner and musical performances. For another, she’s got colorful Beetle convertibles lined up to take her colorfully dressed clients up a mountain. At the top, they’ll have a beautiful, harbor vista sunset celebration. 

For another trip, she did a full resort buyout in the Caribbean for a big family for a week. They’re not that big a family, though, they just wanted the resort for themselves. She’s been busy organizing performances and food experiences.

These are bookings of which most advisors would be envious. Here’s Chambers’ advice for working with ultraluxe clients.

“One, do not be intimidated,” she said. “They are people, too.”

Do what you say you’ll do, be loyal and be dedicated to the client, Chambers said.

When looking for clients, she advised looking in industries or markets that have had particularly good years. That indicates the workers within would have similar financial success.

But she also encouraged advisors not to overlook their current book of business. Many situations could have shifted, and a client that’s been dormant with your agency for five years could have elevated themselves into that ultraluxe space in that time.

It’s also a great time to throw out bigger-budget trips to clients. She encouraged agents to go out and see the experiences supplier partners have put together and share that research with their current book of business.

“Now’s a better time than ever to throw those left-field ideas out there,” Chambers said.

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