Advisors tell me vendors won't budge, won't hold the block, won't adjust the deposit, won't customize the experience. And I always ask the same question: did you get on the phone? Because here's my honest experience: I don't really get told no. And when I am, the no arrives by email, where no is easy, and dissolves in conversation, where it isn't.
“I don't really get told no. And if I am told no, then I want to hop on the phone.”
How the call runs
- Whenever there's conflict, it's conversation. State what you need, plainly and warmly. Then pause and be quiet. Silence does the negotiating; the person who fills it first usually moves.
- Learn the two kinds of no: "I'm not comfortable doing that" is vulnerable and real, respect it, and find another route. "That's just not what I do" is a policy reflex, that one has room in it.
- You're not bullying; you're partnering. Vendors say yes to people who sound like repeat business, and a phone call is how you sound like repeat business.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
Whenever there's conflict
it's conversation. State what you need, plainly and warmly. Then pause and be quiet. Silence does the negotiating; the person who fills it first usual
- 2
Learn the two kinds of no
"I'm not comfortable doing that" is vulnerable and real — respect it, and find another route. "That's just not what I do" is a policy reflex — that on
- 3
You're not bullying; you're partnering
Vendors say yes to people who sound like repeat business, and a phone call is how you sound like repeat business.
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
Vet for luxury before you contract
The call is also your vetting instrument. For upscale trips I ask questions that expose a vendor's instincts: How many courses at the included lunch, and how long do we sit, a leisurely ninety minutes or a rushed hour? Is there cold water in the vehicles? And the big one: how do you handle a group running behind, because the answer I need is choices offered with trade-offs, never guests being rushed. Vendors who pass those questions deliver luxury. Vendors who fail them deliver apologies, and the apologies come out of YOUR brand. Ten minutes of phone beats ten pages of contract, make the call.
Common Questions
How do you negotiate with travel vendors?
By phone, not email. No is easy to write and hard to say, so state what you need, then pause and stay quiet while the other person fills the silence.
What kinds of vendor no should you accept?
I am not comfortable doing that is real and worth respecting. That is just not what I do is a policy reflex with room in it.
How do you vet a vendor for a luxury group?
Ask questions that expose instincts: how long the included lunch runs, whether there is cold water in the vehicles, and how they handle a group running behind.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
6× Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist, Certified AI Consultant, and founder of Travel AI University. $3.4B+ in enterprise travel software sold to Google, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD; $16M+ in luxury travel sales with Up in the Air Life.
About Claire
