VOCES DE LA INDUSTRIA
BRYAN HUSKEY VICE PRESIDENT OF RESORT AND CLUB ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ARRIVIA
2023
JUNIO
Entrevista Bryan Huskey VOCES DE LA INDUSTRIA
Can you describe your role as Vice President of Resort and Club Account Management at ARRIVIA?
I oversee our resort partnerships in the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean. At the end of the day, my job is to ensure that ARRIVIA is providing the products and services necessary to help grow our partner’s business. I do this by staying in constant communication with the executive and sales teams to understand what is working and what we can enhance to achieve their goals.
How do you work with resort and club partners to develop and implement marketing and sales strategies for vacation packages and other offerings?
First, we want to identify the specific needs of our partners. Do they want a stand-alone Club Product? Do they want incentives to help with their sales and marketing efforts? Or do they want a travel platform that will enhance their core membership and increase the value proposition of their product.
Once we’ve identified the “what”, I work with the many amazing team members here at arrivia to come up solutions to these needs. Together we build a customized proposal that I cover with the partner. Once the solution is agreed upon, our team gets to work on building the products using our industry leading technology.
From there, I collaborate with the partner and come up with a launch strategy and timeline. This involves in-person on-site training at all their sales locations, which happens to be my favorite part of this job. Since I have been with arrivia, I have personally traveled to each location and launched all of the new products. There is no better feeling than standing in front of 100 sales and marketing personnel knowing that you are training them on a product that will make them more money.
Can you discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that you face in managing relationships with resort and club partners across multiple regions and markets?
Managing relationships with resort partners across multiple regions and markets presents
both challenges and opportunities. Some of the challenges are that every market is different. They have different target audiences, different marketing and OPC operations and different sales techniques. This diversity does create opportunities though. We are fortunate to have partnerships with companies around the globe. Through constant communication, we can gain a better understanding of each market and what it will take to be successful. This knowledge is what drives our innovation to create the best products around. I will say though, one of the things I’ve learned in my 26 years in this industry, is that regardless of the region, marketing must provide sales with prospective clients and sales needs to have a product that travelers see value in. Our job at arrivia is to help our partners to be successful in these efforts.
How does ARRIVIA differentiate itself from other vacation package providers, and how do you ensure that your offerings are competitive and appealing to customers?
ARRIVIA differentiates itself through our white-label travel platform where we can offer members greater savings and travel options than any other company in the industry. The relationships we’ve built over the years with all the major suppliers worldwide allow us to consistently have the lowest net rates in this space. But where arrivia really stands out is with our marketing and customer service teams. Once we receive a new member within one of our programs, the real work begins. Our marketing teams #1 goal is to get our members engaged and using the product that our partner sold to them. Our strategic digital and direct mail campaigns were responsible for generating 1.1 million travel transactions in 2022, while saving members $36M on their
vacations. Lastly, we take great pride in creating the best customer experience possible. Our 10 global offices are staffed with our travel team, offering personalized assistance and best-inclass support for all our member’s needs.
How do you measure the success of your marketing and sales efforts, and what metrics do you use to track performance?
To measure the success of our marketing and sales efforts, ARRIVIA utilizes various metrics and performance indicators, primarily focusing on member engagement and retention.
Engagement efforts begin with new member acquisition. Once we receive a new member, a coordinated digital Nurture Series deploys. The goal with this step is to simply get the member to log in to their account and familiarize themselves with the platform. Our marketing team analyzes open and click through rates along with log in attempts to determine the effectiveness of this campaign. Our membership team works in tandem with these efforts to provide a courtesy Welcome Call to walk the members through the program and answer any questions they may have regarding their benefits. From there, our sales and marketing teams work towards getting the members to book travel. By sending targeted offers and strategically displaying inventory with the deepest discounts, we can
begin to gauge booking conversions. We want to determine if the right offers are going to the right audience at the right time. The metrics for this is how many members are we driving to shop for travel and how many of those are resulting in a confirmed reservation. Finally, to determine if we have been successful with all those efforts, we can begin to measure retention, or how many members wish to continue with the membership after their initial term. If the members are happy with the benefits and services and we’ve shown them value in the product, they’ll continue to renew their annual membership.
Can you discuss your approach to managing a team of account managers and sales representatives, and how you help them achieve their goals?
My approach to managing a team of account managers and sales representatives first starts with creating an open line of communication with them. Since they are on the front line with our partners, their feedback is crucial in making decisions to optimize the partnership. We have regular one-on-one sessions to discuss recent meetings and trainings so we can collaborate on next steps. Conducting formal performance reviews allows me the opportunity to not only discuss the success and opportunities within their accounts but how they have contributed to these outcomes. Once we’ve reviewed past performance, we work towards establishing
goals. Understanding their personal goals and aspirations helps to ensure that we can align these with the company objectives for the upcoming year.
How do you stay up to date with industry trends and developments, and how do you incorporate them into your business strategies?
I typically focus on continuous education, networking, and collaboration with partners. Attending conferences, like the annual GNEX/ ACOTUR event, allows me to stay on top of industry trends and developments. I can then share these findings internally so our company can ensure that our business strategies are aligned with the evolving needs of our partners and their members.
How does ARRIVIA ensure that its vacation packages and other offerings are aligned with customer preferences and demands?
By soliciting customer feedback, analyzing data and monitoring trends. Doing this allows ARRIVIA to deliver personalized offerings and timely and relevant travel experiences to our members.
Can you discuss any new initiatives or programs that ARRIVIA is currently working on, and how they will benefit your resort and club partners and customers?
Our current initiatives are driven by our acquisition of strategic companies within the travel space. Leveraging the technology from companies like SaveOnResorts and WMPH, we are building a consolidated platform to take the best features and benefits of each to provide the most powerful travel engine in the industry. Our most exciting new initiative comes from our recent acquisition of the company Redweek. This relationship is going to give our partner’s members access to highly coveted timeshare rental inventory around the world.
How does ARRIVIA prioritize customer satisfaction, and what steps do you take to address any customer concerns or issues that may arise?
ARRIVIA prioritizes customer satisfaction by maintaining dedicated customer service teams that are available 24/7. These teams are instrumental in ensuring that any customer concerns or issues are addressed promptly and efficiently. To go a step further, we work with Medallia to act as our customer experience management partner. This allows us to take a proactive approach and survey members across multiple touchpoints to gauge our service levels. Text analytics and survey scoring is used to trigger an outreach program designed to address any customer dissatisfaction and prevent escalations.
Finally, “What are some benefits that being part of ACOTUR has brought to your company and personal life, and what do you appreciate most about being a member of this association?
Being part of ACOTUR has brought several key benefits to the company and my personal life. ACOTUR brings together professionals from the industry and provides opportunities for networking, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Providing a platform for members to connect with like-minded individuals and share insights not only strengthens me personally but I believe it strengthens our industry as a whole. O