Q – We know that Churchill & Turen is different, but how do you describe the difference to potential new clients?
A – The travel agency system in the United States is based on the real estate model. Every agent is a salesperson and normally there are no salaries involved. Agents get paid commission based on what they sell. Travel agents are bombarded with sales seminars – teaching them how to sell more and more; how to get that deposit and, especially, how to sell “up”.
If you felt that your physician, financial advisor, or attorney was a salesperson trying to sell you more stuff you would likely look somewhere else. Our owners and our entire team believe in a radical concept – “Travel Should Never be Sold”. We see ourselves as travel “truthtellers”. We provide the best possible information and our guests make the decisions that are best for them. “Selling” or “Selling Up” is prohibited at our firm. Our model is not the real estate industry – our business model is the trusted physician with a knowledgeable, salaried support team. It is a team approach. To our knowledge, no one in the industry has ever tried to copy it. But that may be because few seem to understand it. It just runs contrary to the way the vacation booking process works in the United States.
