Welcome back to the Monograms Booking Agent Program. We hope module 1 convinced you that there is a need for a better independent travel alternative. Selling FIT is not only difficult for the agent, but can be a pain for the consumer as well as evident in our pain points! Now moving on to our goal for this module, to be able to answer this question: how does Monograms solve the traveler pain points we discussed in module 1? 1
IN this module, we will discuss how Monograms is the perfect solution to the pain points facing today s independent traveler, from information overload to untrustworthy online reviews. The features of Monograms give your clients a perfect balance of inclusions, often most associated with touring, and freedom to explore and operate o their own! 2
So now that we have discussed those pain points facing today s independent traveler, I also wanted to touch base for just a minute on Monograms Europe in 2017 as she also launches today! There really is nothing like it. it is the one travel product that combines the benefits of touring, with the freedom of independent travel. It really is a new way to tour. But lets talk about the elements of Monograms that you would usually have to take a tour to get and first up is an option of hand-selected, centrally located hotels. They are close to the city sights, and allow your clients options when they choose their hotel can take the included base, or even upgrade based on the city. Second, and the one I think is most valuable is the Local Host. They are your friends in the city who are, better yet, based at your hotel. Their goal to is make sure every element of the experience is seamless, including the sightseeing which is VIP. Monograms skips the lines and provides local guides to bring the destination and experience to life. This experience alone makes it a better experience than if your clients were on their own. And transportation always included. And not just any transportation 1 st class trains 3
where available. But its more than just the act of traveling and ill touch on that in just a bit. We also offer breakfast daily and over 600 personalization options. All of this all these elects of a tour are included. But this is done at your clients pace allow them to explore what they want and when they want. It really is a unique way to travel and a perfect way to travel independently. Add in daily breakfast, personalization options via MyMonograms and Wanderlist promotions (which can be found in #52) and it should be easy to see why Monograms is such a wonderful way to travel independently especially considering that we now have daily departures to 5 cities in Europe! Rome Florence Venice and of course London and Paris So you can see, even with a basic understanding of what Monograms is it solves many of the pain points preventing travel! But I want to spend this module taking a deeper dive on HOW each component of monograms really works, hopefully giving you a great look for your clients. 3
Starting with our Hotel choice (vs. going on your own) at a very basic level, we handpick hotels based on location near the action, amenities and delivery to us as a brand (we work with most for years). The Hotel Makes or Breaks the Vacation 35% of independent travelers say their hotel did not live up to their expectations Finding a good hotel is among the most difficult and frustrating tasks that travelers encounter. Remember when I said many hotel sights, especially in foreign locations, present different information that may be unfamiliar to you and your clients. Multiply that lack of help by cities all over the world and you quickly understand why there is a need for a better way. You are a travel agent. With 10, 20, maybe 30 years or more of experience. How would you wade through 44 million in Rome hotel results? Now put yourself in the shoes of the traveler. Is it any wonder someone abandons the dream of a European getaway after being confronted with this? This is why we hand-select and cull down the choices to a few, so you and your clients 4
can trust your choice, every time. How does a hotel become a Monograms hotel? 4
First, the location needs to be centrally located. In each city, you have a choice between 1 and 5 hotels. 65% of Monograms travelers find the most value in our booking their hotel in the heart of their destination. Why dream of the world s greatest sights when you can wake up right next to them? Our hotels are located in the city center, so your clients are close to the action. At Monograms we feel that being close to the major attractions on their vacation takes the headache out of planning transportation and finding their way around. We want them crossing sights off your list, not wasting time crossing town. Let s take a quick look at just how close the London hotels really are to the attractions, such as: 1. Piccadilly Circus 2. Westminster Abbey 3. Houses of Parliament All extremely close and within walking distance! You ll notice several hotels why? Because we give your client s options! 5
Second, it s got to have a good range of amenities. They must be first-class hotels and above. Pictured here is one of our most popular properties in London, the Millennium Gloucester. 6
And finally we must have firsthand experience working with the hotel through our history with Globus and are able to negotiate a great value for your clients. Here are some of our most popular properties around the world. Here we have the Millennium Bailey s Hotel in London, the Hotel Aranwa Sacred Valley in Peru, and lastly, the SKYCITY grand hotel in Auckland But who better to really explain hotels than our VP of marketing Steve Born. Steve? 7
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Thanks Steve! As you can see, no matter where your clients decide to travel with monograms, their hotel is going to be first class, and of course, centrally located everything you look for when choosing your hotel. 41% of prospective travelers cite long lines at attractions or sites a challenge while on vacation, making it the most cited example. And since most prospective independent travelers are not past tour clients, they simply don t know they have options. Remember how I said monograms take a lot of the wonderful inclusions of touring, but packages them in an independent manner? That is exactly what we have with our VIP Sightseeing. Of course, your sightseeing with monograms is going to be included. One of the things people rave about the most is our VIP access, the happy lines, that are included with your clients sightseeing. They get your clients to the front of the line, skipping any wait and entering with their private, local guide. Thanks to Monograms, you can offer that same great experience to your independent clients that you may be familiar with on Globus. How could your clients possibly see the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum during one day in Rome, without the assistance that Monograms provides in scheduling and facilitating the sightseeing? They couldn t. It can take up to 3 hours alone to simply get into the Vatican. With Monograms, your 9
clients won t wait in line. Plus, for all sightseeing they will have a certified Local Guide, just like they would have if they were on tour. Monograms sightseeing ensures your clients see the right amount, including all the must-sees, during times that make sense. This all adds up to no wasted time, and leaves them plenty of time to enjoy the destination during their free day as they wish. If those 41% of respondents knew of Monograms, you could kiss that worry goodbye! But just to really bring the message home, let s have Steve gives us another detailed description on sightseeing with Monograms: 9
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Travelers think, oh that only looks like a couple blocks, shouldn t take long only to find themselves walking for hours. Or they try to navigate public transportation, only to waste half a day backtracking. The need for perfectly synched and reliable transportation is vital to an enjoyable vacation. 11
If your clients need transportation to experience something, get to their hotel or make it to their next city, Monograms includes it. And the beauty of Monograms transportation for you, is that you don t have to line up the schedules or worry that your clients won t make it to the train station. For example, in Rome, your clients will be picked up at their hotel, taken to the train station, walked to the correct platform and waited with until they board the correct train. And even better, when they arrive in Florence, someone will meet them their too, and get them on their way to their hotel. How many times have your clients vacations been destroyed simply by missing a train? That will never happen with Monograms. BUT, what if something does come up? 12
Say hello to the Local Host. Every one of your clients will come in contact with a Local Host, on every one of our packages and yes, they are EXCLUSIVE to Monograms guests. They are there to welcome your clients, give your clients a printed Travel Kit to help with orientation and navigation, make recommendations, coordinate purchase of additional excursions and tackle any unforeseen challenges that might pop up. They are truly our brand heroes, and for you, it s like you re on trip with your clients. And to make your clients feel even more at ease, the Local Host will have a copy of all the materials in your clients previously delivered Travel Kit (just in case the guests have forgotten theirs!). Also, they will share some local knowledge in the form of top ten suggestions, local maps, a phone number of the host on location and any relevant, functional information they feel helps guest on site, like schedules and transfer information. 13
There is so much travelers really can t plan ahead for, or they simply want to see what the destination has to offer before they plan every minute. Though often once they get in the destination, they find they don t have anyone to turn to. Even the concierge gives them recommendations that don t really line up with what they want to do. 14
Yes, this is part of the Value proposition of Monograms, but the true value of a Local Host needs to be presented on its own it is that strong of a selling point. Who has the strongest espresso in town? What street has the hippest boutiques? Where's the quietest spot to view the sunset? Your Local Host knows! Throughout your client s Monograms vacation, we provide them with a friendly, knowledgeable insider in each destination to offer hints and recommendations, steer you off the beaten path, and help them maximize every moment of your time. No other travel company offers this accessible wealth of information. So there's no wandering around hoping they ll stumble upon a local gem. Their Monograms Local Host will lead them right to them. I really want to stress the importance of the local hosts to your clients give them a simple role play. Try to put them in the mindset of touching down in Berlin, exhausted from an overnight flight with jet lag starting to set in. Now ask them to find the ground transportation, hail a cab, navigate to the hotel, and check in all in German. Seems a bit overwhelming once you start to show them the flipside. This is one of the most effective messages you can use many travelers don t realize the flipside of the coin until it happens to them. And by then its too late! 15
Eliminate the Guesswork Range of Pre-bookable Activities and Excursions Detailed Schedules Destination Guide and Helpful Hints Transportation to and Assistance at Train Stations But I think one more video from Steve would really help drive home the important value and inclusion of the Monograms Local Host Steve? 16
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Thanks so much Steve! Now I have one more video to show you. but before that, I wanted to take a look at the most important elements that travelers look for and appreciate when traveling with Monograms. We asked past travelers and prospects, what are the most important elements of Monograms? These were their top responses. READ Notice something? Once someone has traveled on Monograms, they begin to value the inclusions EVEN MORE. Why? Because when you are actually on trip, these are the things you discover truly matter. Pay special attention to these when viewing our video in just a minute! Now let s talk quickly about how Monograms benefits you, the agent! Beyond giving your clients an amazing vacation of course! 18
Time. Is. Money. If you could make $1,000 for just 10 minutes of work, wouldn t you start doing that more often? That s the average booking time, as well as average commission for ONE monograms booking, from the time you start the actual booking process. Even when you use FIT packagers, you are wasting a lot of valuable time searching through hotels, linking up components, and rarely do you make a commission on all the components. TRANSITION Stop the madness and start booking Monograms. We ll send you one healthy commission check, from one supplier and independent travel can finally be worth your time. 19
And the best part, for you, is that Monograms goes practically everywhere you clients want to travel. With 141 packages (more than 400 combinations) to 32 countries, you can feel confident recommending Monograms to destinations in Europe,, South America, Africa, Asia & the South Pacific. But I think THIS VIDEO REALLY BRINGS TO LIFE ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE MONOGRAMS A TRULY BETTER WAY TO TRAVEL. That video really does summarize everything unique to Monograms the inclusion of a local host, transfers to and from the airport, centrally located hotels, VIP sightseeing and much more. Now that you have seen how Monograms benefits your clients, let s talk about what it means for you. 20
As you ve learned, Monograms is the solution to so many of the pain points that face today s traveler, from offering hand selected hotels to the local host, everything is done to ensure the planning and execution of your clients trip is seamless. Next up: Traveling with Monograms: Europe Monograms is the only way to travel Europe Independently. We will take a look at how Monograms operates throughout the world, in particular, Europe. 21
Thank you for taking the time to complete this online module today. You re on your way to becoming an MBA a Monograms Booking Agent and Independent Travel Specialist. For questions please contact Inside Sales: 866.270.9850 See you soon! 22