Helen Fullem
Crown International Marketing
Serving the Deluxe Market Travel Agent

Crown International Marketing represents 23 four and five star hotels throughout the world to the US deluxe FIT market. President Helen Fullem recognized the potential for such a company while she was the US representative for Hotel Le Bistro in Paris. By targeting travel agents who worked specifically for the deluxe market, she helped the hotel reach an average year-round booking of close to 100%. Le Bistro became one of her first clients when she decided to open her own firm a decade ago to market international luxury properties in the US.

Her product is knowledge and service. "I am going for a niche market, the deluxe travel agents. These are agents who have deluxe clients and who can not make a mistake. They must match the client with the hotel and be assured that the client will be taken care of. Trust is a big part of what we are doing."

Her approach is welcomed by hotels and agents. "When you go out and ask for business, if you have a good product, they will come." She rarely solicits business now. Most of her clients approach Crown after being referred by travel agents whose customers frequent those properties.

Crown added eight hotels in 1998. She is talking to "one or two" others about joining the group in 2000. Not all hotels are accepted as clients, however. While the properties market themselves together, each maintains its separate identity, management, and personality. There is no corporate 'brand' or 'image,' except that each offers the highest quality of service and accommodations. "We only add a new hotel if it makes sense to do so. It has to be the right property. We visit all hotels before we accept them to see if they come up to our standards. It's important that all of the hotels are of the same mind and sell each other."

By design, no new properties were added in 1999. The eight new hotels meant "a lot of details" for Fullem and her staff. They wanted to have the time to effectively absorb the increased workload and to become completely familiar and comfortable with the new properties. The deluxe FIT client has very specific questions about his accommodations, be it the color and décor of a suite in Zurich or which room has the best view of Paris at night. "The deluxe traveler wants what the deluxe traveler wants the way he wants it, when he wants it, and how he wants it." One of the most important services Crown provides is a staff that can answer those questions for travel agents.

Most of the clients of the travel agents Crown targets are CEOs, business owners, and other top-level executives who are over the age 40 and whose travel plans often combine business and leisure. Future marketing strategy is to continue providing the services that group expects while studying the travel patterns of the younger market. "They are very strong in soft adventure and adventure travel. We also know that people want to learn and be active, regardless of age." With that in mind, marketing plans call for putting more emphasis on what clients can do in an area instead of concentrating on just the hotel alone.

Like many others in the industry, Fullem sees an increasing emphasis on automation and heavier concentration on the bottom line, often at the cost of quality. While it bothers her in the sense that it damages the field overall, she appreciates what it does for her business. "I used to get upset when I experienced poor service and performance, but now I've decided that just looks good for us. As there is a move towards more and more automation, customers want and appreciate more service."

Which is the philosophy of her business. "I want the service my clients receive from me to reflect the quality of service their clients get when they stay at our hotels."
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