Even with seasoned advisors well versed in the minutiae of travel, it's impossible to know the facts about every destination on earth, which is where destination management companies (DMCs) come in, say travel sellers who use their services.
“It's impossible to know the best spots in every city in the world,” says Nicole Patterson of Jet Set World Travel. “Even if you've traveled before, things change and it's impossible to keep up with all the new spots.”
“Having a local partner who lives and breathes the city helps sort through the clutter and find the perfect match for what the client is looking for.”
DMC also allows Patterson to offer unique experiences to her customers: “To find something that's not already on social media or something that's a little bit special, you really need someone in the city to help you find it,” she says.
“Working consistently with a DMC over the years builds a relationship of trust, and I trust that they will take extremely good care of my clients,” says Becky Lukovic of Bella Travel Planning, an affiliate of Travel Experts. “DMCs have access to the best guides, behind-the-scenes experience, and they know the trends of the destinations. If my clients ever have a problem traveling, DMC is there to help them. To me, that's invaluable.”
She added, “A DMC I trust knows the best people to work with, has wholesale agreements with hotels, and has real-time feedback on the services they provide.”
For Pamela Walker of Travel Expert affiliate Walker Adventures, DMCs are “critical because they cut out the middleman.”
“Their net fee allows me to make a profit and still offer a good price to my clients, and they know that if there's an emergency or change of plans, someone is there at their destination to help,” she said.
“I’ve always relied on DMCs, and when it comes to hotel pricing, many DMCs set contracted rates and some even include Virtuoso amenities, meaning they provide a one-stop shop for each destination, rather than going through a tour operator.
Walker said another competitive advantage is DMC's pricing, which “allows us to make more money because we don't have to pay the overhead of operating a tour.”
DMCs are used for “destinations that are a little more unique or require a curated experience.”
“I've used DMCs for destinations like Portugal/Spain, Iceland, Dubai, Ireland, Costa Rica (occasionally) and Italy,” he said. “We're coming across clients who are looking for more customized itineraries that incorporate local experiences, and I find it much easier and more beneficial to use a local DMC who knows it all and has local connections.”
Teresa McCombs of TP McCombs Travel, an affiliate of Travel Experts, also uses DMCs to plan her international trips: “DMCs build relationships with hoteliers, guides, drivers, etc., so you can confidently sell your destination with peace of mind that your clients will be well taken care of.”
Meanwhile, McCombs has relied more on DMCs since the pandemic: “So much has changed since 2020 with hotels closing, management changing, guides leaving the industry, so having a local contact who is destination-focused and doing on-site visits is really helpful,” she said.
In contrast, Linda de Sosa of Travel Expert affiliate Bucket List Travel Consulting has been using DMCs less frequently since the pandemic. “The reason is that most DMCs have gone up in price. One DMC quoted me $20,000, but when you quoted everything separately, it was only $12,000,” she says.
“I booked everything direct and charged $3,000 for it, but still saved my clients a lot of money. If there was a problem on the ground, with that amount of savings I could fly to Europe and fix it myself.”
But de Sousa does use DMCs for destinations like Asia, South America and Africa, where “these destinations are more specialized and we want to have people on the ground,” she says. “There are still some DMCs in Europe that are affordable, so I continue to use them.”
“What makes me better as a travel advisor is the local influence and expertise of suppliers and DMCs,” says Emily Webber of Travel Experts affiliate We Travel Luxe. “They plan the details and support my clients while they're traveling. If you book hotels and tours separately, you don't have the backup that a DMC can provide.”
Susan Quillin of Travel Experts affiliate SQ-Travel by Design says the process of working with a DMC begins with sending the company as much information about the client as possible. “From there, the dialogue continues until we’re both happy with the details we need to create an interesting, targeted itinerary,” she says.
“Using a trusted DMC saves time and gives you confidence that your proposals have been thoroughly researched and based on your client's data, eliminating the need to do separate research when creating a client's itinerary.”
Ultimately, the most compelling competitive advantage is “simply saving time, which means more time to help other customers and essentially more revenue,” Lukkovich said.
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