Each year, countless non-refundable high-end travel experiences are canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Certainly, a black swan year like 2020 illustrates this activity and in years of normal activity, consumers end up bearing the brunt of these upsets.
However, a new app on the market hopes to make exorbitant fees and financial losses due to these cancellations a thing of the past. Enter Eluxit a first-of-its-kind resale marketplace that has recently launched online to shake up the global travel market by recasting rather than rescinding cancelled bookings.
Founded by Los Angeles–based travel industry expert, Bahar Schmidt, Eluxit offers a StubHub-style model for next-level travel in which sellers recoup much of the cost associated with the purchased trips they cannot take, and buyers can acquire these high-end bookings at substantially more affordable prices. This means no more stress about non-refundable travel for travel agents and their clients and that these reservations can now be made available to a fresh segment of enthusiastic travelers.
The novel solution answers an age-old problem associated with high-end travel — these packages must often be booked far in advance, with non-refundable deposits and no last-minute options. Think once-in-a-lifetime cultural safaris, yacht charters and private jet experiences, plus in-demand accommodations, adventure tours, sold-out special events and cruises – these can now be resold through travel advisors for a fraction of the original cost, keeping clients happy and creating some non-problematic sales for travel consultants. As an innovative digital travel marketplace, Eluxit brings together buyers and sellers of prized experiences, benefiting both parties.
Vacation suppliers can benefit here by listing and selling otherwise empty rooms and generating secondary revenues. Additional features of Eluxit include convenient, dedicated access to packages during travel high seasons, resulting in serious savings on last-minute travel packages. The Eluxit platform is easy to navigate and complemented by 24/7 customer service.
Travel-Intel spoke with Eluxit founder Bahar Schmidt about how this new platform can benefit agents and travel businesses.
1) How are commissions tracked and delivered? Is that cost fingered into the end price?
Once the travel agency becomes an Eluxit affiliate, they are assigned a Customer ID and under that ID all of their agents can have their own personal logins. With that ID our system tracks all sales and commissions for that agency. Travel agents earn 7% commission on their listing and 3% if they refer a traveler to our site.
2) There is a booking fee. Does that go to the agent or does the agent include the mark-up in the pricing they have placed?
The processing fee at checkout is to cover the referral fee. When the agent lists the vacation there will be a 15% fee automatically added on the back end so the agent does not need to calculate the amount. We are striving to make the site very user friendly.
3) What qualifications does an agent or agency need?
The travel agency has to be a member of IATAN or CLIA. Individual agents can only sign up under their main agency.
4) How are these trips vetted?
We ask the posting agent for the booking and then verify it is valid and transferrable before posting it.
5) For consumers, what policies are in place to protect them: last minute changes or cancellations; trip does not turn out to be what is listed; non-refundable means resort won’t accept name and guest change; get to property and turned away…
We are in negotiations with Travel Insurance providers and hope to implement an option to purchase travel insurance upon check out. For the time being the dedicated Eluxit Agent for that booking will give all Travel Insurance options to the buyer. Once the buyer purchases the trip they will be contacted immediately by a dedicated agent from our team.
6) Are all reservations handled through a bonded travel agency so there is back up, responsibility and someone in charge in case things don’t go right?
Yes, Eluxit in-house agents handle reservations.
7) How does the company find enough product to sell?
There are many cancelled trips currently that were not refunded, and we hope through various means of getting the word out that we can reach anyone that may not be able to go on a trip in the future to work with us so they can resell it on our site.
8) How do site owners and agents become affiliates? Are there bars to entry?
We have a link on our site that will guide them to a form they fill out. Then we verify the agency and will contact the manager and if all goes well they will be approved and will have a unique log in on our site.
From there, anyone of the company’s agents can create a user log in and will get their unique log in to post a trip. The agency manager will have full oversight on all bookings posted and sold with their unique log in credentials.
9) How last minute can these bookings be for consumers to book?
We suggest booking at least five days before the travel date. However, we know not everything is black and white and exceptions can be made, of course, up to 24 hours before travel date. I think it would depend on the credibility of the agency, if it is an agency that is well known or that we have a good working relationship with then this exception would be possible. We just want to be a safe site for our consumers.
10) What is the vision for the future? Will it expand to other distressed travel inventory — cruises?
Any product is welcome to be posted including Cruises, Yachts and Private Jets. We would like to expand worldwide in the future and hope that will give us more unique destinations and a larger variety of products. Ideally, we are a Travel Resale Site, similar to Real Real or Poshmark. And we are new and are open to future opportunities.
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