Americans preparing to head to Europe must be ready to traverse a changing travel landscape, including COVID-19 testing, vaccination proof, advance reservations, quarantine requirements and more — leaving travel advisors with a lot of extra trip-planning work and stress.
But Brigitte Armand, president of destination management company (DMC) Eurobound, sees this as an opportunity for agents to demonstrate their value, as they have been doing throughout the pandemic.
Here, Armand discusses current booking trends in the Europe travel market, as well as how Eurobound (which works exclusively with travel advisors) can help both agents and their clients navigate the complex and fast-changing landscape of rules and requirements.
What are some of the main challenges to planning Europe travel right now?
The biggest challenge is that every country has its own rules. It’s a bit of a puzzle, and it changes frequently. Several of us [from Eurobound] are based in Europe; I’m in France, I have colleagues in Italy and Portugal, as well as in Croatia. And we’re even having a hard time coordinating everything sometimes.
How is Eurobound helping travel advisors navigate these issues for their clients?
We have had a lot of requests and bookings for August and September. As soon as Europe opened, everybody rushed to travel which was great to see. But we’re recommending that clients try to stay within one country, or at most, two. This is not the best time to do multiple countries [because] if a country changes the rules while you’re there, how do you get to the next one?
But that’s when we become really important, because when there is an issue like that, we’re scrambling to arrange things and make sure that people can go on to their next destination. We’re here, we’re on top of it, and we’re trying to make the best of it.
We also let agents know what the rules are at every moment. For example, France instituted a health pass that people need in order to go to restaurants, movies, museums, [as well as top sites such as] the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. That’s the kind of information that we’re constantly on top of, informing our office in L.A. so that they can in turn inform agents.
COVID-19 testing is the other thing we’re [often arranging] for clients. In fact, for every client who’s coming over, before they even leave the United States, we’ve made an appointment for them to have the PCR test they need before they come back to the U.S. In most cases, at the more upscale properties, the nurses come to their hotel rooms to do it. Or we make an appointment in the vicinity [of their hotel] so that clients don’t have to worry about it.
What happens if advisors have clients visiting a country where the rules do suddenly change?
That’s why we’re here. There’s a number that clients can call to reach us at any time. And because we’re in Europe, we’re all on the same time zone, so they’re not going to wake somebody up in the middle of the night in the U.S. We can react immediately. Whatever must be done, we’ll manage it.
In general, there’s nothing that’s going to be a huge issue immediately. With the health pass, for example, it was not a rule that was immediate; there was time to react. If there’s an immediate lockdown, then we’ll have to deal with it. But I haven’t seen anything like that right now — usually we have a couple days’ notice.
Brigitte Armand, president of Eurobound
Credit: 2021 EuroboundWhat are some of the most popular European destinations for Americans right now?
Iceland, but it’s completely sold out. I’ve had to turn people away. Hotels are totally full. Because Iceland was one of the first countries to reopen its borders, everybody rushed toward it.
We’ve had a slew of requests for the U.K. [since it announced its reopening], and even people who were looking at other destinations switched to the U.K.
France is still a very popular destination. As is Italy, always. The U.K., France and Italy are the ones I’m booking the most right now.
Are there any other trends that you’re noticing among Europe bookings?
People are planning now for 2022. And surprisingly enough, there are a lot of hotels that are sold out in 2022. Especially the very high-end hotels — they’re booked up for April, May and June. We also have a lot of bookings for 2022. It’s encouraging to see that.
For people who are thinking of 2022, I would encourage them to start planning now, because the hotels are going to be full.
For people who are thinking of 2022, I would encourage them to start planning now, because the hotels are going to be full. And [attractions] are limiting their space, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Forum and the Colosseum in Rome. So, it’s crucial to have reservations, because you want that access, and they’re going to limit how many people they let in. People might have wanted to wing it [in the past], but it’s not doable right now. And to go all the way to Paris and find that you can’t go to the Louvre, that would be a shame.
Do the current challenges of booking Europe present any opportunities for advisors?
They highlight the value of a good travel agent. We don’t book directly with clients; we only work with travel agencies. And they rely on us to do all the behind-the-scenes work. People don’t know who Eurobound is, and they don’t need to know. But it really highlights the value for clients to go to a trusted travel agent and know that somebody is going to be looking out for them. Book something online right now, and good luck navigating all this on your own.
There were times when people thought agents were a thing of the past, but it hasn’t happened that way at all. Of course, there will always be people who book online, but the clients who want , assurance — that somebody is looking out and helping them if there is an issue — those people are not going to book online. They see the value. And this pandemic has certainly highlighted what we’re able to do for people.
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