This week I attended the ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) in Nassau, Bahamas. Some of it was as expected, other things were eye-opening.
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What Is The International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM)?
The International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) is an invite-only conference for both suppliers and buyers whereby travel agencies are matched with 20 or more meetings every day for three days. The suppliers range from entire rooms featuring major brands to boutique single properties and small chains.
The ILTM prioritizes matches by brands the agencies and their representatives have indicated they’d like to meet, as well as from brands looking to meet particular agencies that may advance their bookings.
Meetings are 15 minutes long with five minutes to move between them. In most meetings, the time allotted not quite long enough to introduce the agency and the market niche and hear about the property or product.
Major brands have entire rooms dedicated to their brand; Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG, all had their own rooms for example. Others like Luxury Hotels of the World, Hidden Doorways, and even the country of Portugal had rooms as well along with larger general rooms.
There Are Great Boutique Properties, And That Market Is Growing
I was able to connect with some amazing small boutique hotels that offer something unique away from the chains. There are a handful that made the journey from Europe to showcase properties with as few as 11 suites and apartments, another pair of gems in Barcelona (The Wittmore) have just 22 rooms and suites.
Though the Brando is loosely affiliated with IHG, this is another bucket list property for me and something my clients will love. Just over 3o rooms, suites, and bungalows in French Polynesia, this resort was constructed by Marlon Brando and in lockstep with the local government with a promise that the ecology wouldn’t be disturbed. To that end, they have an on-site team dedicated to cleaning the beaches and maintaining the ecosystem for the sea life that visitors come to see.
The indication was clear, the boutique market is growing – they haven’t all become Unbound collection and Curio properties yet. In fact, many of these are too small to fit into the major programs but offer the perfect little quiet getaway from the bustle of Paris, Barcelona, and Rome. Yet they are thriving.
While this has long been a staple of European travelers, many of these properties are invisible to the market and more than one supplier indicated that the North American market is the one they are chasing.
Prices Are High, Have To Come Down
I asked for the ADR (Average Daily Rate) for any hotel or resort I met. There were some bright spots like the Waldorf-Astoria Las Vegas which took over the Mandarin Oriental property and renovated. Resorts World also had great ADRs for the product.
But generally speaking, rates are very, very high across the board. So is occupancy. However, most agreed that in the coming months and over the next year rates will have to come down. Some were hesitant to talk about their ADR because they were higher than they would be going forward. This is a good sign for travelers but also suggests that the revenge stage of travel is likely coming to a close.
Travel Agents Are Needed
On the flight over, I could hear others sharing with passengers about the conference and the question came up: Why should I use a travel agent? The responses were in line with what I have shared on this site before: we have access to rates, upgrades, and amenities like Hyatt Privé (and Hilton Impresario, Marriott Stars & Luminous, IHG Lifestyle & Luxury, etc.) that OTAs and even elites booking direct on the site do not.
But there was something else that became increasingly clear throughout the conference. Because of events like this one, our contacts, experience, and raw client feedback, we can provide something unique: direct knowledge. I attended the equivalent of 60 presentations, gained over 100 new contacts, and learned about products from all over the world. When someone is looking to get away from it all and traveling via Dubai, Six Sense Zighy Bay is about as remote as it gets. When a traveler has sailed everywhere else, what about the Kimberly region of northwest Australia? When a client knows where they want to stay in Rome, but wants access to a private tour of the Vatican, or a cooking class with a celebrity chef in Paris – travel agents know how to get these arranged and have contacts on the ground.
Now more than ever before, there are more travel reviews, influencers, and general focus. However, parsing the fluff from the substance is difficult without an informed concierge to help you navigate.
Suppliers, especially of boutique products like guided tours, villas, and boutique hotels, can’t rely on OTAs to get the word out. They need travel agents too, who know their customers and can match them with the perfect product.
Conclusion
Meeting these suppliers and seeing their products was immensely helpful to me personally, but also for our staff and clients. The luxury market is not only growing but thriving. Boutique products are having a moment that will hopefully continue well into the future. Travel agents are needed to pair even the most experienced travelers with products that might be off the radar, and help them distinguish hype from substance. Prices are likely to come down some but no one is racing to the bottom as occupancies remain elevated. If I had the honor of being invited back to the ILTM, I would jump at the chance despite the heavy commitment and busy schedule.
What do you think?
Ask them about the extra “resort fees” and other “fees” . My wife and I had a reservation at a medium-quality resort in California , and they tried to hit us with a “resort fee” . When I asked what was the money used for ? They told me it was used for extra gratuities for the staff workers . Does anyone know if this is accurate ?
Shame we couldn’t connect at ILTM. I was there too in my capacity as a Travel Advisor / Agency Owner. I too had a great time, the appointments are timed well and of my 3 days of meetings, I’d honestly say I could count the poor ones on one hand. Try doing this at travel week, and you’ll run out of hands!
Boutiques are where it’s at for the discerning traveler
Our beloved travel agent was also at the conference. Like you, she brings first hand knowledge of the boutique style offerings that we love. She has booked many trips for us over 13 years and I know just say “yes” to what she picks because I trust her to know our likes.
I absolutely recommend finding a relationship with a great advisor. I have friends that like the thrill of the chase, so to speak, but I like knowing we get the perks of upgrades, extras and someone that can trouble shot when things go wrong like when we were delayed two days reaching Botswana AND South Africa shutdown due to COVID. Her plan B in Cape Town was amazing, an experience we never would have had otherwise.
If anyone wants her contact info it’s Deborah Barth at Brownell Travel.
Not to argue with your sensible advice about the importance of travel agents,but every time I travel Americans pay noticeable more for hospitality services than Europeans. I’ve learned to mingle with Europeans while traveling and save thousands.
I always mentioned amazing boutique properties that are way better then most chain hotels. That’s is mostly true in Europe, Asia and Latin America. With loyalty to chain hotels becoming less and less valuable, I have been focusing on some amazing local properties in many countries that provide a great experience. First, they tend to be smaller and thus more exclusive. Second, they sometimes have owners taking care of it so they will definitely do their best to make your stay memorable. Last but not least, they offer some special things that big hotels ignore. Examples are homemade breakfast (had an owner baking a pistachio cake every morning in Italy), some local high quality amenities (toiletries from local brands that are not mass produced), no BS on housekeeping and offering turn down services, no extra charges or resort fees (had free e-bikes at hotels in Europe), etc… Definitely recommend exploring options when traveling abroad.
No one needs a travel agent anymore. Any travel question can be answered on the internet. Using a travel agent is a waste of money.
Up yours! Show me how you’ll get virtuoso benefits without a virtuoso agent. Good luck,
@Joe United – I’m not sure whether you’re aware, but agents don’t charge for their services, they earn commissions from travel providers. And as another said, there are benefits that consumers can’t access on their own. They named Virtuoso, but Hyatt Privé, Affluent Traveler, Hilton Impresario, etc aren’t available even to loyal elites. Agents also sometimes have unpublished perks or special rates.
@Kyle, that claim is simply incorrect. There are plenty of travel agents that do charge for their services- in fact, I suspect that the majority do. If you know of anyone who is IATA accredited and happy to issue tickets without charging anything, please do let us know. Indeed, I could do with a travel agent for a booking I am trying to make at the moment as the Lufthansa booking engine isn’t flexible enough to accommodate a combination of mixing cabin classes and an overnight connection on an open jaw ticket. Of course I am not prepared to pay them $50 or whatever to issue me a €350 ticket for which I need no advice of any kind.
It’s very interesting to note that the high end travel ‘advisor’ model is continuing to be popular in the USA when most travel agents in Europe are dead and buried. I am not convinced it’s sustainable in the long term, but there’s certainly money to be made in the meantime as Americans seem to be prepared to pay higher prices for travel-related services (just check the rates at any Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton against those of the competition in continental Europe).
Coming from the hotel industry, we have a lot of guests booking from travel agents, and these guests see the benefits of booking through consortia (resort credit, free breakfast). However, the consortia rates are best available rate, not AAA/Senior/those affinity rates that can be even cheaper. Depends on what benefits you’re looking for.
And yes, there are some agents with annual fee/minimum spending. I don’t get it. They don’t get more benefits than other consortia agents that don’t charge anything, and they can’t pull strings like they used to.
European guests tend to come to the US with a travel package (multiple cities), so their agents will work with a wholesaler to put the trip together. Travel agents are not dead in Europe. I’ve been getting emails from them.
They mostly seem to exist as holiday shops which resell packages, often in a vertically integrated way (e.g. TUI, Barceló viajes). The US-style self-employed ‘travel consultant’ is so unusual as to be unheard-of in many countries.
In the UK, almost all of the ‘traditional’ travel agents with premises that are open to the public who are still around cater to ethnic groups that are interested in VFR or religious tourism to very specific destinations.
I think we have one travel agent in my community of over 100,000 people. I love using a travel agent because I always get a better deal than trying on my own to book airlines, hotels etc. The problem is that there just aren’t many travel agents/agencies around anymore. I do wish that agencies become popular again for the great deals and insider info that they provide but that’s probably gone forever.