Goldring Travel is Now a Member of The Affluent Traveler Collection!

I am thrilled to announce that Goldring Travel is now a member of The Affluent Traveler Collection travel consortium!

Before I get into the details of what you can expect moving forward, a very quick explanation of, “Why and Why Now?“.  As you may know, Goldring Travel was a member of Ensemble Travel for over twenty years, but about a year ago the member-owned consortium was sold to a private company, and, well, things changed from management to philosophy to, well, you get the picture. So, it was time for Goldring Travel to move to a consortium that better aligns with our philosophies and our need for the highest levels of service for our clients.

The family owners of The Affluent Traveler Collection are universally considered some of the nicest, most caring, and passionate people in the travel industry. While profits are always important, they believe in the concept that if you do it right and support those who are supporting you, success will follow. In other words, they really care…and they care about every aspect of their relationships with suppliers, travel agencies, and agents.  Thus, they also care about Goldring Travel’s clients.

As an example – and how many times does this happen – you book a hotel, and when you arrive, the promised amenities aren’t waiting for you. Well, ATC tracks every booking and contacts the hotels directly right before you arrive to ensure the amenities are waiting for you and to address any issues so you don’t have to.

The Affluent Traveler Collection is part of a larger organization that includes other travel entities, including Travel Savers. This affords me the ability to offer you not only those cruise lines, tour operators, hotels, etc. that one might align with the term “Affluent”, but also those that may have a broader appeal.

What you will see moving forward are classy, helpful, easy to read, communications and publications – curated by Goldring Travel (so no more inundation with emails and mailings from cruise lines, etc., you have no interest in).  And they are promoting Goldring Travel, not the consortium.

As an example, here is a link to the newest addition of The Affluent Traveler Magazine.  Besides articles and editorials, it offers you a number of special offers by type (Boutique, Resort, Ocean Cruise, River Cruise, Guided Tours) that – and I like this a lot – you have to click on, showing your interest first in the subject and then in the offer before all the information is delivered. This is so much better than being bombarded with lots of irrelevant information right up front. Try it out!

Goldring Travel is still transitioning into the programs, so the magazine is not yet branded for us, but the content will be the same. (For now, if you see something of interest, don’t fill out the online form, but contact me directly!)

And Goldring Travel will be offering the magazine to my clients in both digital and hard copy form. 

This past weekend, I attended The Affluent Traveler Collection Symposium for two and half days of meeting everyone, getting a better feel for ATC, and talking with a wide variety of suppliers. I’ve been to many such conferences, and ATCS was different. No hype. No over-the-top. Just nice people getting together, networking, and enjoying the experience. It cemented my belief that I have joined with the right folks!

In the meantime, I have requested all the emails and mailings from my prior consortium be stopped, but it will take some time, especially since mail pieces can be in the queue for up to three months before being sent. I do appreciate your patience during the transition!

Goldring Travel is continually working to do more and do it better for our clients. I know over the past eighteen months I have engaged in a whirlwind of travel from Antarctica to Europe to South America to the Arctic. Some of you have wondered if I have been working or playing. I have been working hard (not all hard work is terrible), developing new relationships, building knowledge, and creating better ways to serve Goldring Travel’s clients.

Joining The Affluent Traveler Collection is just one of them!