Focus on your passion and the level of travel that makes the most sense to sell.

I’m often asked how and why I got into the luxury travel business, and more specifically, what is my specialty. There are a number of ways I could answer this, since I have traveled extensively throughout the world, but my answer is always the same: I sell luxury travel. The reason I say this rather than referring to specific destinations I know best is simple; luxury travel is what my passion is, and so this is the level of travel it makes most sense for me to sell.

In my past life, as the editor of a glossy magazine geared towards ultra-affluent private jet travelers, I witnessed just how much interest there is in the world’s top hotels, private tours, ultra-luxury cruising and incredibly special experiences   regardless of the cost. As I transitioned from being a magazine editor who wrote about luxury travel for many years to the owner of my own travel agency selling luxury travel to affluent clients, I continued to witness the incredible level of interest in this style of travel.

I’ve also kept in my head something I once heard my fellow Agent @ Home columnist Larry Pimentel, CEO of SeaDream Yacht Club, say a few years ago at a luxury travel conference. Speaking to a number of agents like myself, he told us that when targeting and working with the affluent market, it is essential “not to think with your own pocketbook.” The clients we deal with are accustomed to spending gobs of money on luxury products, and even if we think the $10,000 per night price tag for that suite is outrageous, our clients may not.

This philosophy has been extremely important to my growing success selling luxury travel. I constantly remind myself that my clients are much more concerned with getting the experience and personal service they demand than what it costs. In fact, my favorite clients are those who sometimes don’t even ask what the trip will cost. Instead, they just call me to tweak the itinerary and confirm that everything is how they want it.

These are the same clients who are often willing to pay for an extra night to ensure their top suite is available for an early check-in or expect to have the driver waiting upon arrival to whisk them away to their hotel. They don’t want to have to ask the concierge for restaurant recommendations since their reservations are already set. They don’t need to call the spa director about available appointment times because their in-room massages are confirmed for their time of choice.

The longer I am in the business of selling luxury travel – and it has been three years now   the more convinced I am that this is the niche that holds the most potential for my long-term success. As the world becomes crazier by the day, even type-A business executives who haven’t vacationed in years are starting to give into the pressure to take time off to de-stress and rejuvenate themselves with a luxury vacation. Often they take their families, and the last thing they are thinking about is cutting corners on any aspect of the trip.

Today’s luxury travelers feel they deserve the absolute best, and when this their top priority, cost becomes secondary. That’s not to say that luxury travelers do not expect lots of value   they do. But when you are sending clients to the top hotels in the world and they are booking suites or expensive rooms, these hotels go out of their way to provide VIP service and additional amenities to keep them happy, especially if you’ve remembered to send a personal note alerting the management to your client’s VIP status and date of arrival.

Of course, you can’t just wake up one day and decide you are going to specialize in catering to the luxury market without having a good understanding of that market. With all of the opportunities available for at-home agents to educate themselves on the wealth of products that exist for this market, however, it makes sense to look at these products and determine where the highest profit margins are.

I’ve found that it takes me just as much, or often more time to plan a honeymoon for a couple with a $5,000 budget as it does for one with a $15,000 budget. And when I stand to earn triple the commission selling the honeymoon comprised of the products I am most comfortable with, it does not make sense for me to even spend a minute of my time on the budget trip.

When I first started my business, I was anxious to build my client base. Thus, I found myself taking on more budget-focused clients. That often left me strapped for time to focus on my more lucrative customers and potential clients. That is when I made the conscious decision that my focus would be luxury travel, defined as FIT trips and cruises priced at $10,000 or more, with a specialization in high-end hotels worldwide and unique experiences where my personal service is more important than the price tag.

Fortunately, my background and years of experience learning about the luxury market has come in quite handy. I am now very comfortable recommending only the best products in the world, and I don’t cringe when I email or call my clients with the price. It didn’t happen overnight, but like anything, with practice and experience it has become increasingly easier for me to stick to my ultimate goal of being recognized as one of the top luxury travel specialists in the country.

I’ve found the only way to achieve this has been to position myself as such a specialist. I no longer feel bad when I get a call from a potential client wanting a cheap weekend trip and I tell them I am not the right company for them since I only sell luxury travel. After all, my company is called Elite Travel International, not Budget Travel International.