Travel Leaders is reporting details of its newly launched Certified Luxury Specialist program, a cornerstone of Travel Leaders’ Luxury Travel Center of Excellence.
The program focuses on broadening each participant’s knowledge of luxury travel through extensive study of luxury suppliers and in-person luxury travel experiences, case studies, development of a luxury travel marketing plan, and outside reading assignments.
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Roger Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, said, “While most of our agents have significant luxury travel clientele already in their individual portfolios, our goal through this certification program was to provide them with ongoing education that will challenge them and, ultimately, enable them to better serve their current luxury clients and significantly increase their base of luxury clientele even further.”
In order to earn the new Travel Leaders Certified Luxury Specialist designation, Travel Leaders agents must complete a minimum of 250 credits in seven distinct modules, including:
- Understanding the Luxury and Experiential Customer – Luxury agents must complete The Travel Institute’s “Luxury Travel: Now” niche market specialist program, along with a “book report” based on outside reading about affluent consumers.
- Destination Knowledge – Luxury agents must complete in-depth destination certification, from a select group of pre-approved destinations that meet Travel Leaders’ luxury travel standards, through The Travel Institute, ASTA’s International Destination Expo and/or a specific country’s tourism board.
- Luxury Travel Experiences – Luxury agents must document and report on their personal luxury travel experiences, such as luxury cruises, luxury hotel/resort stays, FAMs or personal trips with luxury tour suppliers, attendance at ILTM in Mexico or France, attendance at the Travel Leaders International Summit, and/or participate in a Travel Leaders sponsored luxury FAM trip.
- Travel Leaders’ Luxury Programs – Luxury agents must complete training on proprietary programs including: In-Country Partners, Distinctive Voyages, Worldwide Hotel Program,Select Hotel Program and a webinar on Travel Leaders’ Luxury Marketing campaigns. Participants must also complete their agent profile to better illustrate and showcase their luxury travel experience.
- Luxury and Experiential Suppliers – Luxury agents must complete specific training provided by select suppliers; participants may choose from a host of luxury supplier training programs for airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels and resorts, rail lines, and tour suppliers.
- Case Studies of Luxury and Experiential Customers – Luxury agents must complete three detailed case studies related to luxury and experiential travelers.
- Luxury Marketing Plan – Luxury agents must develop a targeted luxury and experiential client database and develop a comprehensive marketing plan.
“This specially tailored certification program will help our Travel Leaders travel agents to excel in luxury travel sales and develop the necessary skill sets required to provide luxury travel clientele with highly-customized and unique experiences. In addition, it will provide concrete ideas to help our agents market themselves and grow their luxury clientele database,” added Travel Leaders vice president Perry Lungmus.
“We purposefully created this luxury travel certification program to be challenging and demanding. Affluent and luxury travelers have special needs and desires, and we want to make certain anyone who earns our Travel Leaders Certified Luxury Specialist designation is more than prepared to excel,” Lungmus said.
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