Loyalists of Delta Air Lines are no doubt familiar with Delta Vacations, the airline’s packaged vacation brand. But they may not know that booking Delta Vacations now comes with added perks, including the ability to earn airline status on the entire booking, along with new products and experiences recently added to the company’s portfolio to meet consumer demand.
Here, Kama Winters, president of Delta Vacations, chats with us about the latest news for 2024 and beyond, and why travel advisors are such an important distribution channel for the brand.
Who is the “typical” Delta Vacations client, besides being a loyal SkyMiles member with Delta Air Lines? What traveler characteristics do they share, and why do you think they are drawn to Delta Vacations’ packages?
This is an interesting one, because I think our client is twofold. Obviously, our travel advisors are a huge extension of our business, and they are kind of that first client that we serve. And even on their end, we're seeing a bit of a diversification of who's coming in to use a travel advisor. There is a younger demographic engaging with a travel advisor. And there’s that continuation of a demand for higher-end products, and services, and experiences coming through.
The majority of our SkyMiles customers who are coming in — whether through our direct channels or through our travel advisors — the lead booker [comes in via] email, which is a bit of a pivot, I would say, from our more traditional business traveler. But you know, the qualities are quite diverse. The other thing that stood out is the number of repeat customers that we see. They're looking at a number of different types of trips. [They] might have a couple's trip, and a family trip, and a multigenerational trip, or a girl's trip. And so it's less about the customer type, and more about the mindset of when they're booking.
Obviously, our travel advisors are a huge extension of our business, and they are kind of that first client that we serve.
New for 2024 is the ability to earn [airline] status on the entire Delta Vacations package, including land components. Can you tell us more about that?
Customers had always earned in the past on status on Delta vacations packages, but it was only for their flights. It's kind of a complex topic because, you know … we typically associate [earning status] with a business traveler, but I think business travelers are really a lot of who is using a travel advisor. They're busy; they don't have the time to necessarily sit down and plan.
Now you talk about booking a trip to Europe, or booking some of these high-end, all-inclusive [hotels], and all of that is going toward the value of Delta status. And that's whether travelers book through a travel advisor, or directly with us. They get that same benefit … and there's no impact to commissions for a travel advisor.
For us, it's really just a commitment to offer those unique benefits that are specific to Delta and Delta Vacations, and make it a really good experience for travel advisors. We want to make it as seamless as possible for them to engage. I think it has so much benefit for the advisor, because they now have this loyalty component that they can leverage, as well.
It's really just a commitment to offer those unique benefits that are specific to Delta and Delta Vacations and make it a really good experience for travel advisors. We want to make it as seamless as possible for them to engage.
What are some of the latest trends you're seeing in terms of vacation preferences, popular destinations, or travel behaviors?
Europe continues to be hot for us, overall. I think the Olympics [in Paris] have had some impact on that, just for the summer. We're seeing a lot of that push out into the fall, but I think that's really changed even how we're creating a lot of our products. We've added more activities, like food tours — things that we hadn't historically focused on. And more unique hotel types, [like] boutique [properties] and castles. I love seeing the product updates that come through from the team, because I get excited about the opportunity connect to some of these destinations.
Obviously, there’s demand in the Caribbean and Mexico. And we’re really excited to see that demand in Hawaii is picking back up. It also follows the demand of what Delta [Air Lines] is offering. From a Delta perspective, [the airline is] going into new destinations.
Kama Winters, president of Delta Vacations
Credit: 2024 Delta VacationsWe're at a really interesting inflection point for leisure travel. On one hand, it's never been greater, especially coming out of the pandemic. But I think we're also seeing a more sustained travel demand. Where there used to be a lot more peaks, particularly with the way that our business was structured, we're now seeing a much more consistent [demand]. Also, there's a lot of intentionality and interest around a more premium product.
And I think going along with that is this concept of responsible tourism. It's really partially on us to think about that. And so that, for me, is the role that we play, but also the role of our travel advisors and our partners to really help customers find the right way to experience these destinations responsibly.
When vetting your partners and choosing to work with them, are you asking questions about their practices? If they are sustainable, or concerned about overtourism?
I think [many] things go into our decisions to work with certain suppliers. That's really what we pride ourselves on — those strong partnerships for places that we know have good experiences with our customers, but also really have a responsibility for a lot of those communities and destinations we serve. We have a responsibility to say, “Hey, it's not just about supporting a massive volume of people, but really connecting the right travelers to the right destination.”
And the way that we think about our products, we want to have the right products on the shelf that meet the demands of our customer, but it's not about having every single product. And so to your question about the conversations with our partners? Yes.
What does Delta Vacations do to collaborate with its travel advisor partners, and prioritize that relationship? And what resources, tools, or programs does Delta Vacations offer that can help advisors stay informed on all the latest offerings/news?
[Our conference,] Delta Vacations University, is paused for this year, and is coming back in 2025. But this year, we’re really excited about more destination engagement opportunities with our travel advisors. We've added some higher-end reward trips for our [Diamond and Diamond Elite Travel Advisors]. We're also adding some connections trips, where we're getting at a different segment of travel advisors and taking travel advisors who are newer to the profession, or maybe newer to their role, versus those [trips] that are more geared toward seasoned advisors.
We also have a ton of destination training and online trainings, and we continue to add to that, as well. But what's unique this year is really those more diverse engagements and destination [trips] focused on a more intimate group of advisors.
Editor’s note: This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
