Insights on Luxury Travel, Sustainability, and Marketing

This is the travel marketing podcast brought to you by Propellac, bringing you the news and insights and what's working and not working in today's competitive transportation and tourism landscape. From emerging brands to the most established professionals, these lessons of intelligent marketing will help your marketing plan travel further. 

Brennen Bliss:
All right, Fernando, thank you so much for joining me today.

Fernando Diez:
Well thank you for having me, Brennen.

Brennen Bliss:
I'm really excited, Fernando. So you've been at Quasar Expeditions for 20 years?

Fernando Diez:
Yes. I started, yeah, next year is going to be 20 years. It's a family business, but basically I graduated from college and went straight to work for Quasar. I've had different roles throughout all this time, all in the commercial side of things. But I've been doing sales and marketing for almost 20 years at Quasar.

Brennen Bliss:
Wow. So I see on your LinkedIn that you went from marketing manager to marketing director. Were there any other roles in between those? I'm curious just to hear about the different things you've done there.

Fernando Diez:
Yeah. So I started serving coffee, or almost, right? Very basic roles in the sales department, really to get an understanding. I always knew, and I think my parents knew as well, I had studied marketing in college, but the commercial part was my strong point out of my two brothers who were also in the business. I've always been the one more oriented towards sales, a little bit more outgoing and things like that. And my mother's role in the business was always on the commercial side. So I think she saw from an early stage that I could potentially fill that role sometime in the future. I started in sales, doing some basic clerical stuff, helping the sales manager at the time. Then I transitioned into actually being a sales consultant for Quasar. That was probably the best role I had in the company in terms of learning the ins and outs of marketing. To market to an audience, you really have to understand them, and nobody understands your audience like the people on the front line. So the fact that I had the chance for over a year to be there in the front line talking to people and listening to their hopes, dreams, wants, desires, and pain points made a lot of sense. Then I transitioned into marketing about 10 years ago and into the marketing director role recently.

Brennen Bliss:
I'm really curious. Before we get into the overall narrative and the questions I was really hoping to ask, I'm curious to hear, you mentioned you were customer-facing 10 years ago. Obviously, the things that you learned in that process about what people are looking for, what their hopes and dreams are, as you described it, were important, but I'd imagine that changes somewhat over time. How do you stay on top of that? How do you keep your ear close to the customer?

Fernando Diez:
Yeah, that's a great question. It definitely changes over time, especially with technology and changing habits and consumer behavior. With all the technology that consumers have, we stay up to date by meeting regularly once a week with the sales team to talk about customer insights. What's been going on in the week? What type of questions people are asking? The thing with us is we have a high-ticket, low-volume business and speak personally on the phone with every single person who travels with us. It's an awesome opportunity for us to learn about them. I have a really good relationship with our sales team, and they know they are extremely valuable to the marketing department. As much as they can gather marketing insights for me without seeming like they're actually interviewing the candidates or deviating from their regular conversation, they provide a ton of intel that is extremely useful. We stay up to date with messaging, like we did during the recent US elections where we adjusted our marketing messaging. So, to answer your question, we stay on top of customer conversations by keeping in touch with our sales team. From time to time, I also do market research myself and call some of our best customers to learn about them.

Brennen Bliss:
Very cool. Yeah, for the context for anybody listening, just things that I know from Fernando and my speaking, bookings are about $10k per person in the US, right?

Fernando Diez:
Exactly.

Brennen Bliss:
Got it. So, it's really a considered purchase. It's more on the luxury side without a doubt. How long is the average journey?

Fernando Diez:
The average trip is seven nights, eight days.

Brennen Bliss:
Okay, got it. So, we're talking about an expensive product, something that people have to think about or consider before pulling the trigger. Obviously, having brand equity and a strong brand contributes to that. I'm always curious to hear how marketers, particularly experienced ones like yourself, balance brand versus performance marketing. What's your philosophy around that?

Fernando Diez:
We'd love to think that we are a brand like Coca-Cola or Apple, very recognized and top of mind, but the truth is very few people know who we are. I do compete with brands like Celebrity Cruises or Silver Sea that are much better known than Quasar. For us, we always work on brand marketing, but performance marketing really dominates. People walk in the door, and we have to take the time to educate them on who we are. So we focus on performance marketing 80% of the time. But we also realize that brand marketing is super important. As a small brand, we need to grow in respect and nurture past guests. We definitely do a lot of brand marketing, but the reality for us is that we constantly need to acquire new customers who have no idea who we are. So, we spend most of our time in PPC, SEO, and PR, getting articles and our name out there.

Brennen Bliss:
Yes, I'm curious, you mentioned PR. I kind of put that in the brand side a little bit. When you look at brands, is that maybe 20% of your marketing mix? What are examples of campaigns you've done from a brand standpoint that's not purely focused on conversion?

Fernando Diez:
We do a lot of that through our PR company in New York. The family component of our story, the fact that we are locals competing against huge companies in the Galapagos, is very attractive to media. We often start with the fact that we're one of the few family-owned companies in Ecuador with 38 years of experience. We've been doing this long before it was a profitable business. We’re really doing it because we believe in sustainable tourism to preserve these destinations. When we communicate that messaging, whether through articles in different publications or social media, it plays a big part in our brand positioning.

Brennen Bliss:
So it's aligning with news about the destinations or sustainability concepts and getting your name integrated into those stories. Makes sense. On the brand side, before we move to performance, which I'll be honest, most people listening are probably most interested in performance because that's where a lot of the money is made, and that's a marketer's job, right?

Fernando Diez:
Exactly, yeah.

Brennen Bliss:
Before we get to that juicy part, I'm curious, how do you measure whether your brand marketing or PR is working?

Fernando Diez:
That's a tricky one. On social media, we look at following and engagement. As I mentioned before, because we have the ability to talk to most of our guests, we ask them how they found out about us so we can track whether it was through a referral or a publication. Because we have a strong pulse on that side of the conversation, we can determine that. It’s harder for businesses that don’t have direct contact with the consumer. Our PR team also reports on how attention from publications is driving traffic to our site. As much as we can, whether through online forums or talking to people, we ask how they heard about us.

Brennen Bliss:
I love how marketers answer the question, “How did you hear about us?” with a multi-touch attribution model and give a breakdown of their entire customer journey. Okay, very cool. You mentioned SEO and paid, right? PPC specifically. On the PPC strategy, is that more brand-focused? Is it broad like "Galapagos tours"? What's your targeting approach on the paid media and advertising side?

Fernando Diez:
There's a little bit of both. We have an advantage where when you search for terms like “Galapagos Cruise Reviews” or “Galapagos Luxury Cruise Reviews,” we're extremely well-positioned. So people who search these generic terms hear about Quasar and then do a brand search. PPC helps cover us there by making sure we appear in the top results for brand searches, both paid and organic. We also focus on top keywords. For us, luxury keywords like “Galapagos Luxury Cruise” or “Galapagos Luxury Tours” perform well because they filter out customers who won’t buy our product. Price is always the number one objection for luxury brands, so these keywords help us capture the right audience.

Brennen Bliss:
You're targeting people who have the budget, essentially. How many rooms do you have on a ship?

Fernando Diez:
One of the ships has 16 rooms, and the other has eight. We're adding a new one.

Brennen Bliss:
Okay. It makes perfect sense. I mean, why expand your net when you don't really need to capture a large volume of traffic? It’s really about, you're almost doing account-based marketing, even in B2C. It's very specific and narrowed down.

Fernando Diez:
Exactly.

Brennen Bliss:
So, I'm curious, what are your primary source markets for travelers?

Fernando Diez:
About 85% of our customers are from North America—US and Canada. From that 85%, about 90% are from the US, and 10% are from Canada. The remaining 15% is from English-speaking countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Brennen Bliss:
Okay. So, you're really focused on North America, particularly the US.

Fernando Diez:
Yes.

Brennen Bliss:
Got it. What do you see as some of the biggest marketing challenges in your space?

Fernando Diez:
A major challenge is how competitive it’s become to acquire customers through paid media, especially in the luxury space. When we started marketing in the early 2000s, paid search was extremely cost-effective. But now, the luxury travel market is crowded, and many competitors are bidding on the same keywords, raising prices significantly. Additionally, the direct-to-consumer model for these types of products is complicated, as you’re selling an experience and not just a product.

Brennen Bliss:
That's a challenge I think a lot of people face. What's the solution there? How do you combat that?

Fernando Diez:
It’s about continuing to refine our targeting and messaging. We also rely heavily on data and past customer insights to optimize ad spend. When you know what works, you can double down on it and reduce waste in areas that aren't bringing in the right customers.

Brennen Bliss:
Got it. Anything you’re doing specifically to work around this challenge?

Fernando Diez:
We’ve leaned into remarketing and retention, focusing on keeping the customer relationship strong, nurturing repeat business, and gaining referrals. We're always looking at ways to improve lifetime value.

‍

Brennen Bliss:
You recently promoted family travel to the Galapagos through a YouTube campaign. Can you share more about that?

Fernando Diez:
Yes, the campaign was focused on addressing the pain points and benefits of a family cruise with Quasar. The audience on YouTube is different from Google, and the sales cycle is longer, but these videos have helped us capture contact information from a much wider pool. We're also targeting seniors, who have the flexibility to travel during the low season. We educate them on the benefits, and video has been really effective for this. That’s why we also post longer videos on social media to educate potential clients.

Brennen Bliss:
So, this is a paid YouTube campaign?

Fernando Diez:
Yes, it's paid YouTube.

Brennen Bliss:
Got it. You mentioned differentiating from larger cruise lines. What sets Quasar apart?

Fernando Diez:
Being family-owned is a big differentiator. When guests board our yachts, it feels like a home away from home. Some people love that intimate experience, while others prefer the luxury of brands like Silversea. For us, it's all about offering one-of-a-kind encounters in the Galapagos, similar to Darwin's adventures. We focus on small groups and highly experienced naturalist guides, handpicked by my family, some of whom have been with us for decades. These guides make a huge difference—they’re real experts who bring the experience to life.

Brennen Bliss:
That personal touch sounds incredible. How do you communicate these unique experiences in your marketing?

Fernando Diez:
It’s challenging to convey this in marketing. We emphasize experiential aspects like small group sizes and flexible dining. If you spot orcas on the way to lunch, the chef will pause cooking for 16 guests and join the experience. Larger cruise lines have more rigid operations. Long-form content like blogs and videos work well for us, especially since our audience is more likely to engage with detailed content.

Brennen Bliss:
It’s great that your audience is engaged with longer content. And I see you’re focused on sustainability initiatives. Could you elaborate on that?

Fernando Diez:
Sustainability is important, especially for younger travelers. We're committed to supporting conservation projects in the Galapagos, but we also focus on addressing social issues in the region. A lot of our sustainability efforts go towards working with local communities, particularly children, to create a lasting impact. We share these initiatives through our marketing channels, and our audience is very receptive to it.

Brennen Bliss:
That’s impressive. Can you share what tools or platforms you use for your marketing?

Fernando Diez:
We use HighLevel for automation and Peak 15 for our database, though I’m not completely satisfied with Peak 15. HighLevel has been a solid solution for us, handling workflows, SMS, and appointment scheduling. It’s a comprehensive platform that’s affordable compared to others like HubSpot. For internal team management, we use Asana, and we also rely on various tools for website optimization.

Brennen Bliss:
I’m not familiar with HighLevel, but it sounds like a powerful tool at a good price point.

Fernando Diez:
It’s been great for us. Their support is decent, though you often have to figure things out on your own with tutorial videos. But it’s a very user-friendly platform, and the cost savings have been significant.

Brennen Bliss:
Got it. And before we wrap up, where are you traveling next?

Fernando Diez:
I’m heading to Japan for leisure. I’m a huge fan of Japanese food, and there’s so much adventure travel to explore there. It’s not just about food and cherry blossoms; you can ski, hike, and do so much more depending on the season.

Brennen Bliss:
That sounds amazing! I was in Japan recently and had an incredible time. If you’re interested, I can connect you with an architect who does unique tours of Tokyo.

Fernando Diez:
That sounds awesome! I’m all about exploring a destination in a different way. Japan has so many great experiences to offer.

Brennen Bliss:
I’ll send you the info. Thanks again for your time today, Fernando—it was a pleasure!

Fernando Diez:
Thank you, Brennen! It was a pleasure talking with you.

For more empowering ideas, visit propelic.com. We're on a mission to create more diversity and thought for the planet and dedicated to helping brands both large and small increase their reach through intelligent travel, transportation, and tourism marketing. Propellic.com.

‍