Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008 - (Page 63)

the association to review properties. One could say he’s passionate about hotels; in fact, he’s written a book on the topic called Craving for Travel: Luxury Experiences for the Sophisticated Traveler. A second book is currently in the works. In September, he’ll travel to Japan to personally meet with the guides the agency has used in the past and to find additional options for his clients. Sometimes, there’s the need to assist a customer with issues that don’t involve an itinerary. One day, Jim received a phone call from the personal assistant of a very important client who had dropped her BlackBerry in The Grand Canal while traveling in Venice. Jim got the call from her personal assistant and promised to FedEx a replacement. However, since he had planned to travel to Europe within the next few days, he rearranged his schedule to fly to Italy so that he could personally deliver a new device. “It was a customer that I had for many, many years, who is very, very dear to me, and they were on an extended trip throughout Europe,” says Jim. When he arrived at the Palazzo Bauer, the client had already gone to dinner. He tracked her down in the restaurant, where she was dining with a large group of friends; many from the Dallas area. NANCY STRONG travels all over the “I walked in and they were very happy to see me, but when I delivered the BlackBerry, she was very, very floored. Then I met all the people around the table, who are all now clients of mine,” he says, grinning. In another instance, right after September 11, the Strongs had a photographer client on assignment in South Africa. His concern that increased security at the airports might mean that his film would receive an increased X-ray dosage, convinced him to leave it all behind, even though it was for an incredibly important assignment. When he returned home, he called Jim Strong. “I need to get my film,” he said. Recognizing how dire the situation was, Jim flew Andrew Rocchio, one of his agents, to South Africa to retrieve the package. Rocchio left on a Friday, picked up the film, had it hand-checked when he went through security and delivered it to the client on Monday. Strong Travel Services’ employees are extremely important to Nancy and Jim; many have been with them for years and have traveled all over the globe together. Jim personally leads the entire agency, salaried consultants and independent contractors combined, on three trips throughout the year. In the past, they’ve traveled to Istanbul, London, Paris, Venice, New York, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Miami and Lake Como, Italy. Next stop: Scottsdale, AZ. Jim says the trips, which certainly bond the staff together, tend to create immediate selling results as well. For example, after a visit to The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, the manager called to tell Jim that business from Strong Travel Services had shot up by 600 percent. At the end of it all, what’s clear from spending a full day with Nancy, Ace and Jim Strong is that they are a family that works beautifully together. According to Nancy, it’s about respecting each other’s talents. “When the three of us sit down to discuss something, we understand the strength of that person’s comments because they’re the one dealing with it,” she says. “If it’s about numbers, Ace is there at the desk looking at the numbers. Jimmy is over there discussing contracts and I’m over here discussing the sale. So, at the end of the day, the three of us have the ability to bring our heads together. There doesn’t seem to be any disagreements, there’s no screaming, yelling or gnashing of teeth at this point.” At this point, after 33 years of working together, it looks like the formula is working. “We come to work every day and we try to do the very best job we can,” says Nancy. “We have an understanding of service and what service is all about.” world to garner insider secrets for her clients. She is shown here in Dubai. www.luxuryta.com August 2008 | LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR 63 http://www.luxuryta.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Maui Dubai Cape Town The Capella Resort and Spa, at Pedregal Cabo San Lucas Ritz-Carlton Cancun Presidential Suites The Palazzo, Las Vegas The Water Club Arrabelle at Vail Square Ferntree The Spa at Half Moon Fall Foliage Cruises New England Strong Travel On the Horizon: Luxury Travel Expo The Pulse Traveling Shopper Leaders Speak Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008

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