Family Reunions Rising

Family Reunion // © 2009 Tracy Hornbrook

Like many families, Ruston Harker’s family has a reunion each summer. Also, like many families, most people that attend the Harker reunion do not use a travel agent.

“Even though we have 100-plus people show up to our reunions, as far as I know everyone handles their own travel plans,” Harker said. “Those that do travel several hundred miles to attend usually attach the reunion to part of a bigger trip, so they’ll visit other family members, friends or do some sightseeing before or after the reunion. I suppose, in that case, a travel agent could be helpful.”

Despite difficult times, family reunions have remained a major incentive for people to travel, and this segment has been on the rise, even this year. According to The Leisure Travel Monitor, by YPartnership/Yankelovich, Inc., 23 percent of leisure travelers reported that a family reunion was a primary reason for taking one or more trips in the past year — up 13 percent over 2008. This trend was confirmed by Edith Wagner, editor of Milwaukee-based Reunions magazine, a publication and Web site specializing in this market.

“On every survey we do, we hear back that reunions are still happening. Everyone says, ‘Oh no, our reunion is too important to cancel.’ These events are taken very seriously,” said Wagner. “Families understand that some people can’t come every year, but they go ahead and do it anyway.”

Wagner pointed out that the majority of reunions happen year after year, making it very attractive in terms of repeat business. But she also confirmed that many agents are not currently focused on the reunion market.

“Over the years, I’ve worked with agents in relation to reunions, but I really have never seen a robust participation of agents in the marketplace,” she said.

So, how does an agent open up this potentially lucrative market?

Understanding the Dynamic
The first step in getting into the family reunion market is understanding the basic dynamics of reunions, which includes identifying the all-important reunion planner.

In most families, one person — or one branch of the family — will take on the role of the reunion planner and will make most, if not all, of the major decisions for the group. Sometimes the planner is extremely hands-on, insisting on personally deciding every detail, and other times they are busy and could really use some assistance. In any case, this is the most important person for the agent to identify.

Barbara Oliver is the owner of All Together Now Travel in Valencia, Calif., and she books a lot of reunion trips. She said that a key in beginning the process is determining what type of group leader you are dealing with.

“The existing family dynamics make this niche a challenge. Much is dependent on the group leader,” she said. “You can have a take-charge type that says, ‘Okay, next year on this date we are going to take a cruise. Here is the info, call Barbara and put in your deposit.’ Then, you have the passive group leader who thinks that they need to please everyone. So, we go through several itinerary choices and false starts as far as getting pricing and blocking group space. The family members can sometimes get frustrated because they just want someone to make a decision and tell them when and where they are going, which usually means I step in and drive the decision. Or, you can get two or three factions fighting for different itineraries — and these are the ones that usually end up not booking at all!”

Of course, Oliver — who happens to have a degree in psychology — prefers working with a strong leader, however she pointed out that she must maintain a relationship with all the traveling parties, so she makes sure that, even with a take-charge leader, she listens to everyone’s desires and does her best to work them in — sometimes even without the leader’s knowledge.

“The family members know the leader’s style and they usually are grateful that someone recognizes that it’s their vacation as well,” she said.

Wagner agreed that a key for any agent interested in this market is being able to identify the personality of the group leader.

“It’s not just finding the planner, it’s finding the planner whose mind set is not opposed to letting someone take over and do the work,” Wagner said. “There are an awful lot of people who, once they get to the actual reunion, wish they had let someone else do some of the work, but the key for an agent is showing the planner that they can be of assistance to them, and finding a planner who will listen to that.”

Special Skill Set
In many ways, working with a family reunion involves the same basic challenges of any group travel, and agents who have a particular skill set probably will do better than others.

“Family reunions are a lot of work for a travel agent and it takes a special person to be able to work with a group,” said Wagner. “I think it would take some persistence on the part of the agent to demonstrate their value — even people who use a travel agent for their own travels, might not think about using an agent for their reunion — but if an agent can break through, reunions can be very strong repeat business. An agent who is also like a party planner could do really well.”

Wagner suggested that one valuable asset for a travel agent is the ability to handle logistics on the ground. An agent who can arrange for buses, if necessary, negotiate for discounted attraction admission and work with local convention and visitor bureaus can show immediate, practical value to reunion planners.

For her part, Oliver uses a variety of skills working with her clients, including some innovative online thinking.

“The key is to be very clear with the booking procedures, prices and logistics. I put everything in writing and also like to create a group Web page that contains all the details so, no matter what time zone everyone is in, they can get all the updates as they happen and don’t have to rely on someone passing on the info,” she said. “That way, each traveling family can feel empowered and a part of the process. I just find that being really clear and inclusive during the planning process allows people to enjoy the actual event so much more.”

Oliver said she also tries to put together some special projects beforehand to get everyone excited about the upcoming trip.

“One product I brought into the mix this year was an online scrapbooking service called Heritage Makers where everyone can work on their own pages independently,” Oliver said. “The family members can either do a ‘this is your life’ type book for the family matriarch or patriarch, or everyone can go on after the trip and upload their pictures and create a memento book. It’s a win-win for me — it’s a great service to offer and I’m an affiliate, so I make commission — but it’s totally done on their own so I don’t have to be involved.”

Tips and Tricks
A key for any agent interested in reunion travel is to reach out to potential customers. Both Wagner and Oliver agreed that the first step in this process is to think locally. If you are a parent, join your school’s PTA or other family social networks to meet people. There are also a handful of trade shows that might be valuable as well.

“I have participated in several expos — the local Chamber of Commerce Expo as well as some child and family expos around Southern California,” said Oliver. “And they are much the same as a bridal expo, for example. You have a narrower target market right there. It’s much harder to do follow-up marketing to these expo folks, however, as they are more reluctant to enter a drawing and be ‘put on a list.’ So, I’m always trying something new.”

Wagner suggested getting involved with a local genealogy society and attending their events too. Also, Reunions magazine features resources for reunion planners, as well as listings of upcoming family reunions.

Another key is reaching out the local convention and visitors bureaus (CVB).

“Many CVBs have reunion planning workshops — we list those on our site and in our magazine — and I’m sure agents would be very welcome to attend those,” said Wagner. “The CVBs set up educational events followed by a trade show. It could be a really good way for agents to network.”

Regardless of how agents find clients, Oliver suggested a few practical caveats for agents to follow.

“Make sure you are comfortable mediating family disputes,” she said. “Know that it can be a longer timeline and process. Be committed to setting aside the time to listen. Make sure you establish very clear expectations. Institute a planning deposit — it’s twofold, it gets and keeps people committed to working with you and it also helps alleviate a lot of the second guessing that the rest of the family does. When they know Aunt Martha has put out money, they are less inclined to scour the Internet looking for other options.”

The reunion market has a lot of potential waiting to be tapped by the right agents. And, in this economic environment, can you really afford to let any opportunity pass you by?

Contact
Reunions magazine
www.reunionsmag.com

Reunions and Cruises
Both Oliver and Wagner singled out cruises as one of the most promising forms of travel for reunion planners.

“I prefer cruises for family reunions for many reasons,” said Oliver. “They are good for multigenerational groups because everyone’s needs can be met. They are also fairly all-inclusive, and aside from maybe one or two special shipboard activities and one or two shore excursions, there isn’t a lot of extra work once it gets under way.”

Oliver pointed out that cruises also have hard “in and out” dates, so it’s less likely that you will have many members of the family arriving on different times and having different lengths of stay (unless they want to extend). Also, because of the cruise line booking process, people are more likely to commit further ahead and stay booked versus land vacations, where sometimes you have individuals adding or changing plans until the last minute. And the cruise industry has some great, easy-to-arrange activities.

Wagner agreed, but she warned that even cruising is not a slam dunk with all reunions.

“Reunions are really picking up on cruises,” said Wagner. “But there are still people who think a cruise is too expensive for every member of the family and, believe it or not, there are also people who are still afraid of cruising. So, you want to make sure you discuss these things with the reunion planner early on.”