I’ve had some discussions with new clients lately that has got me tweaking my messaging.
It’s definitely true that many consumers have a do-it-yourself mentality (the DIY’ers). They believe they can get all the info they need to plan the perfect vacation just by spending a few hours on the internet searching. To paraphrase my Virtuoso colleague, Anne Scully, finding the x-ray doesn’t mean the DIY’er knows how to carry out the surgery.
The DIY’ers do not have the resources, the experience, nor the skills to do what professional travel advisors do. They don’t have the booking engines, the tools, nor the clout to wield influence should issues ever arise. The DIY’ers risk their most precious asset, their limited vacation time, and their family memories… and are oblivious to the pain they are inviting, but more importantly, the pleasure they are missing. The DIY’ers cannot get the value-adds which my Virtuoso traveler clients can get. And no matter how many hours they may spend on the internet searching, the DIY’ers simply do not have the connections to “VIP” themselves.
So, hiring a travel advisor essentially boils down to PITA x 2. The pain avoidance, but also the pleasure attraction!
The first PITA is what I call the pain avoidance principle. In this case, PITA stands for Pain In The A$$ factor. Can you do book your own travel? Yes, of course you can. But why not avoid the pain? You hire someone to clean your house, when you can do it yourself; so why not hire someone to book your travel? Why not save yourself the PITA, so you can focus your time on the delivery of your vacation dreams, rather than the mechanism? Enjoy your lush life. Hire someone with the resources, the experience, and the skills that you do not have! Hire someone with the booking engines, the tools, and the clout to wield influence should issues ever arise.
The second PITA factor is even more important that the first. The second PITA is what I call the pleasure attraction principle. Obviously, it’s important to avoid pain. But living a lush life requires more than pain avoidance. It requires pleasure attraction. And this PITA is the Pleasure In The Advisor. The DIY’ers cannot get the value-adds which my Virtuoso traveler clients can get. And no matter how many hours they may spend on the internet searching, the DIY’ers simply do not have the connections to “VIP” themselves. If you book on the internet, you are a reservation number, not a VIP. Look – you hire an accountant to do your taxes to avoid the pain, but also to attract the pleasure of hiring someone who can tap into resources and benefits that you cannot. So, why would you give your taxes more respect than your vacation? Your personal travel advisor can help you orchestrate your travel dreams!
Don’t be oblivious to the pain you are inviting by not using a travel advisor, nor the pleasure you are missing. Hire a travel advisor.
Remember – PITA x 2. You won’t be sorry.