Wherever You Roam, Take the Keys to Great Client Relationships

Joel Frey, Public Relations Manager, Travelocity
Vollmer Public Relations Client and Guest Blogger

Dallas. Houston. El Paso. San Francisco. Indianapolis. New York. No, this isn’t the latest wayward itinerary of our beloved Roaming Gnome. Rather, this is a list of cities where any given member of the Travelocity/Vollmer PR team will be working on a typical business day.

“So how does that work?” you might be thinking. “Surely, they can’t get much accomplished with their team so spread out.”

As someone who has worked on both sides of this equation – three years as a VPR account exec and six as PR manager at Travelocity – I can say, confidently, that it has worked and continues to work well. In fact, the Travelocity/VPR relationship has been going strong now for 14 years, dating back to a time when our brand was little more than a half-baked idea being thrown around the marketing department of our parent company, Sabre Holdings.

So how has our relationship with VPR weathered all of the peaks and valleys of the last 14 years? Undoubtedly, executing award-winning campaigns revolving solely around a lawn ornament and having the flexibility to schedule conference calls with team members spread across all four time zones are major factors. But, from my perspective, there are four bigger reasons why we have kept our relationship intact with VPR since 1995.

Candor -- Several years ago at one of our annual “eyeball” meetings, it was late in the day and we were all getting tired of each other. The conversation was lacking direction, the ideas were falling flat and after a while Helen made her feelings known. “This is bull****, guys!” she blurted out. We were stunned and not sure what to make of her outburst, but looking back on it today, I realize that there probably aren’t too many agency heads who would have the guts to say this to their largest client.

Patience -- This one works both ways. There are times when VPR has had to explain to us that a pitch might not quite be ready for primetime or that it wasn’t that good to begin with and we need to go back to the drawing board. Conversely, we’ve required patience from VPR when a hot product launch that has been in the works for months gets delayed or an executive we had lined up for a series of interviews had to back out at the last minute.

Fun -- As our team has become more spread out, the eyeball meetings have become part business meeting/part family reunion. We recently converged upon Dallas for a day of planning, brainstorming and, well, drinking. The dress code was Hawaiian. I was timekeeper and scheduled the meeting to end promptly at 4:00 to give everyone enough time to visit and catch up over a couple of cocktails before parting ways.

Trust -- I’ll close with what, in my humble opinion, is the most important element of building a long term relationship. For us it means that every day, regardless of the circumstances, when any one of us needs an extra hand, we all know that someone will be there to back us up.

It’s hard to place a value on such peace of mind.

Visit www.joelfrey.com for more information on Joel and his book "Two Sides of a Cypress Wall: The True Story of a Reluctant College Graduate."

Why Travel Now?

by Amanda Borichevsky and Kim Tillinghast

On the heels of months of news headlines warning of skyrocketing fares, new airline fees and reduced availability, many consumers and businesses seem to be rethinking travel plans. However, contrary to popular belief, this may be the best time in a long time to grab your bags and experience a journey. With gas prices down and some sectors of the hospitality industry practically willing to “throw in the kitchen sink” to fill capacity, the reality is that right now there are more deals and discounts than ever before to take advantage of when the travel bug hits.

Why buy now?

• Because when the economy dips and demand decreases, deals abound – if you know where to look. Many consumers battle with “flight fixation,” operating under the assumption that airfare is the most expensive or important component of the vacation. Au contraire, as a multi-night hotel stay typically devours most of the travel budget and THAT, coincidentally, is where we’re seeing the best discounts. Take advantage of hotel packages that include transportation and added-value extras, leaving more room for higher airfare costs.
  
  
• When times are tough for hoteliers, you can often travel like the rich and famous. Some of today’s great hotel discounts will enable you to experience a four-star hotel at two and three-star prices. In cities like Las Vegas, it’s not uncommon to find that the five-star hotel of your dreams is finally a reality. One of VOLLMER’s travel clients, the high-end W Dallas – Victory hotel, has enhanced some packages to include everything from free breakfast and cocktails to hotel spa services, along with some steep discounted rates that can span weeks at a time.
  
  
• Despite many airline reward programs falling by the wayside, travelers should think beyond the bulkhead seat to maximize frequent buyer rewards via hotel chains, cruise lines, online booking engines and more. For example, the Travelocity® Rewards MasterCard allows consumers to earn points that offer instant credit back when they reserve flights, hotels, car rentals or combined packages on the site.
  
  
• Fortunately, some economic developments lend themselves to increased domestic travel, such as lowered gas prices. Road trips are making a comeback, allowing travelers to explore multiple regions on a budget. Industry experts like Texas Tourism, another VOLLMER client, are offering experiences that add value without cost, such as the podcast walking tours available for download on TravelTex.com. These free podcasts offer guided audio tours to select areas of Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi.
  
  
• On an international scale, travelers no longer have to cross distant destinations off their lists thanks to a strengthened conversion rate. However, even thought the dollar has gained strength in popular tourist destinations like Europe and Canada, a recent survey of travel agents in USA Today showed that five of the top ten projected international destinations for 2009 are in Mexico, with the remainder dominated by Caribbean cruises. Perhaps travelers need not be so gun-shy about Europe, Asia and beyond.
  
  
• For business travelers and professionals who simply MUST stay connected, hotels worldwide offer amenities allowing them to remain “plugged in” virtually anywhere. Whether conducting business via hotel-wide Wi-Fi or from a poolside executive cabana, business travel can turn into leisure travel (or vice versa) with the click of a mouse. Another helpful trend for today’s worker bee, according to human resources consultant Hewitt, is that it’s becoming more commonplace for employers to offer bonus vacation benefits and to allow employees to roll vacation and sick time into one single pool, making it easier to capitalize on hard-earned time off than in years past.
  
  
• For the millions of people searching for ways to give back but who can’t seem to scratch out the time amidst the daily routine, “voluntourism” is an increasingly popular travel trend for individuals and families alike. It allows consumers to visit exotic locations while still benefiting a local community, maintaining focus on environmental and social responsibility, and creating a more fulfilling experience as a result. Dozens of hotel chains and tour operators have dedicated their mission statements, efforts and proceeds to support all of the above, including offsetting carbon footprints created by airplane fuel, or donating a percentage of proceeds to local communities or charitable organizations.
  So, don’t forget the upsides of traveling now.

By taking advantage of some of the aforementioned budget-maximizing trends, travelers can get the most of their mileage, whether for business or pleasure.