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Agent recipe for success?
The International Kitchen advertises itself in trade publications and has representatives on the east and west coast whose only job is to call on travel agents.
But owner Karen Herbst thinks even with that help, more travel agents should consider booking her cooking school vacations to Italy and France.
“We pay 8%, which is not a huge amount, but there are other advantages to agents,” said Ms Herbst, herself a former travel agent who combined her travel experience with a love of cooking to start the company.
“One advantage is that agent’s payments are non-refundable, and they are paid 60 days prior to departure. They get a check two months before their clients have even traveled, and to my knowledge, no one else does that,” she told TravelMole.
Agents also receive commissions on hotels and other elements of the trip, she added.
Groups are generally up to a dozen people, though she will book trips for as few as two.
She has upwards of 70 trips that generally last a week or more. The average price is $2500. There are reduced rates for companions not interested in cooking.
Ms Herbst practically had the field to herself when she started her company in Chicago 11 years ago, but since then there have been many imitators, she says.
The assumption might be that well-known cooks would be part of her tours, but that’s not the case at all. For one thing, renowned chefs are too expensive, she said.
“But also people aren’t drawn to my trips because of famous chefs. In fact, they prefer some simple dish done by a grandmother. They don’t want elaborate recipes. They want simple things with ingredients they can prepare at home,” she said.
One of the reasons her trips are popular, Ms Herbst thinks, is that “travelers want experiential travel. They want the authentic experience of meeting the farmer and meeting the cheese-maker.”
Two of the most popular areas to visit now are Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
Report by David Wilkening
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