ET Insider – May 4, 2010

Elite Traveler Insider –

May 4, 2010

Elite Traveler Insider

Welcome to the latest issue of Elite Traveler Insider, the bi-weekly newsletter designed to update our top partners on trends in the private jet lifestyle. This information is provided to offer a better understanding of how to target these globetrotting elite travelers, their impact on your business and other trends that affect you. Remember, private jet travelers are paying up to $10,000 per hour to fly by private jet, so these super rich consumers could be and should be your best customer. We talk about them and how you can get more of them and more from them.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Spotting Fakes . . . In Publishing

2. Elite Traveler Delivers Again: Another Testimonial

3. The $53,000 Bottle of Dom (and $16,000 Tip)

4. Private Jet Travel Sees Strong Growth in New York

Not another magazine or newspaper in that stack of unread mail: With over six private jet trips every two months, that’s at least six chances for wealthy private jet travelers to see your advertisement in Elite Traveler. And even better, share it with friends on the jet!

1. Spotting Fakes . . . In Publishing

We all know all the reason fakes are wrong in luxury goods, be it handbags, wallets or watches. But publishing has its own fakers.

Who are they? Well, anybody can call you up, set a meeting and tell you they (spend the money to) print tens or hundreds of thousands of copies of their “magazine” and where the magazine is going.

To ensure that what the publisher is claiming is not “fake”, there are two organizations that audit publisher’s circulation, ABC and BPA. The annual membership fee is hardly a large sum of money: $10,000, so for a publisher who is printing and claiming they are circulating a given “number” of magazines, their claim can be verified by a third party.

Both ABC and BPA rigorously review records of the printer’s invoices and print orders, to ensure the copies that are claimed are printed. They even review postal receipts, and forms of payment to ensure that the copies were printed and sent out. ABC / BPA auditors further verify the circulation lists by contacting “subscribers” or “distributors” randomly pulled on an nth name basis to ensure they had either requested or paid for the magazines they are receiving and they indeed wanted the magazine, or were distributing it the way they say are. Publishers have to keep significant, detailed records to enable the audits.

Elite Traveler goes even further in terms of providing accountability. On our BPA audit statement we actually breakout in detail who is receiving Elite Traveler by category – private jets and private jet terminals, first class lounges, pro sports team locker facilities, yacht marinas, etc.

What this means is when we say we reach wealthy consumers who fly by private jet worldwide, in over 100 countries, you don’t have to take our word for it. It is a claim that has been audited and verified by a third party – in our case, by BPA.

Just as you don’t want fakes in your industry, fakes in the publishing industry only muddy the market and their unsubstantiated claims simply undermine publishers who are truly giving you what they say they are.

As Elite Traveler gets ready to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have seen “the fakes” come, and we have seen them go. Over the years there has been a stream of wannabes who claim private jet distribution.

The fact is not a single one of these pretenders has been audited. Except for Elite Traveler, today there is not a single audited publication that specifically audits and shows copies distributed on private jets and in private jet terminals.

So next time a publisher claims to have circulation on private jets, with the goal of having you spend your ad dollars with them there is simple way to verify their claims. Simply ask them to show you their Circulation Audit and then ask them to show you on the audit the number of copies distributed on private jets. Then ask them to come back when they can prove they are giving you what they say and not just a siren’s song on sales talk.

With 41 trips per year, including 11 intercontinental trips and 3+ principal residences, we know where you’ll find elite travelers: in their private jets and in private jet terminals. It’s why we’ve invested in providing BPA audited circulation to private jets and private jet terminals in over 100 countries.

2. Elite Traveler Delivers Again: Another Testimonial

The Right Reader. An Engaged Reader. A Reader Who Has Money to Be a Good Customer for You…

Dear Doug,

From the Ranch:

We just got this great booking (for The Ranch at Rock Creek) out of Elite Traveler. A couple flying in their personal jet saw the ad and decided to make a pit stop in Montana to check us out. He is a CEO of a large corporation and will book us for a buddy trip, another trip with his girlfriend as well as an executive retreat. They also ended up spending a great deal on reserve wines and in our Mercantile

See you next week!

JoAnn Kurtz-Ahlers President Kurtz-Ahlers & Assoc., L.L.C.

Spotting Fakes: How can you be sure that a publisher is really sending out the number of copies he or she says? How can you make sure they are actually putting copies on private jets? Ask for the BPA or ABC audit statement. You can find our BPA statement here.

3. The $53,000 Bottle of Dom (and $16,000 Tip)

The U.K. is the second largest market for Elite Traveler in terms of circulation, so this recent news item from the London press caught my eye:

“What is an enviable annual salary for most was a bar tab for six on a recent evening at The Westbury Hotel’s Polo Bar when a mystery ‘Russian billionaire’ plunked down $53,000 for a Methuselah of Dom Perignon Rose Gold 1996 and then rewarded the barman for the bubbly with a $16,000 tip, on top of the obligatory service charge of more than $6600! The total tab was in excess of $76,000, a whopping more than $2,375 per glass (a Methuselah is the equivalent of 8 regular bottles of Champagne).

“While some other rare bottles of Champagne have sold at auction for higher amounts, the $53,000 bottle of Dom is the most expensive ever sold in a British bar. In fact, the posh Polo Bar is one of only three in Britain that carries the pricey iteration, known as the ‘King of Champagnes,’ appropriately housed in a rose gold plated metal casing. Only 35 bottles are produced annually, made with grapes from specially selected vineyards from the best Grand Crus and stored for 12 years before being bottled. And the 1996 is considered especially fine, noted for its maturity and richness of character.”

With BPA audited circulation aboard private jets and in private jet terminals in over 100 countries, I think the above once again shows that you never know where your next best customer will be, but you can be sure Elite Traveler will be with him or her!

Would you buy a diamond without a certificate? Would you fly on a plane that hadn’t been certified as safe to fly? Would you buy milk in the supermarket that didn’t have a ‘sell by’ date? Before you buy advertising, next time a publisher says they have distribution on private jets or in private jet terminals, ask for their Circulation statement from ABC or BPA. Ask for them to show you the number of copies going to private jet travelers. You can find our BPA statement here.

4. Private Jet Travel Sees Strong Growth In New York

A story last week in The Wall Street Journal noted “private jets are taking off again.” Specifically, the piece reported, “Traffic at Greater New York’s two main hubs for private-jet travel is surging in recent months.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, “Takeoffs and landings at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey rose 17% in March compared with the same month last year. . . Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., also reported brisker business. The airport uses fuel sales to track traffic trends. In March, fuel sales to corporate planes rose 9% compared with last March.”

The piece continued, “Nationally, private-jet traffic was up 8.5% year-over-year in March, according to data provided by Aviation Research Group/U.S. “The pace of business is faster than the airlines move these days,” said Jeff Lee, director of the Westchester Aviation Association. Mr. Lee referred to route cuts by commercial airlines that have left many small airports with few or no regular flights in and out.

Steve Brown, a senior vice president at the National Business Aviation Association who sits on a Teterboro advisory board, said the airport first started seeing traffic increase in September thanks to two big events: tennis’s U.S. Open and Fashion Week.

In a final note that shows we probably won’t run into many auto executives at commercial airline terminals, the Journal noted, “Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. announced plans to sell their fleets-though Ford said in a filing last month that it has yet to do so.”

With 41 trips per year, including 11 intercontinental trips and 3+ principal residences, we know where you’ll find elite travelers: in their private jets and in private jet terminals. It’s why we’ve invested in providing BPA audited circulation to private jets and private jet terminals in over 100 countries.

All the best,

Douglas D. Gollan Group President and Editor-in-Chief Elite Traveler