On Location Experiences, a wholesale and hospitality supplier for major sports and entertainment events, is on a mission to make big-ticket events more financially accessible to travelers this year. Tasked with overseeing that effort is Kier Matthews, On Location's vice president of global luxury sales, who recently spoke with senior editor Nicole Edenedo about the company's strategy to revive its trade partnerships in hopes of bringing these blockbuster events to more diverse audiences.
Kier Matthews
Q: What is On Location's involvement with the 2024 Paris Olympics and other major events, like the Super Bowl?
A: We are the officially licensed hospitality partner of the 2024 Summer Olympics. We provide tickets. We then build out our programs around accommodations, transportation to and from events and on-site hospitality, meaning a venue that we've reimagined with food and beverage, entertainment, athlete appearances, etc. We're a supplier, closest to a wholesaler business model. We have the next three Olympics (Paris, the Milan Winter Games and the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028). We have the NFL portfolio, so the Pro Bowl (the NFL's all-star event), the NFL draft, the Super Bowl and other games played in Europe. Also UFC and NCAA.
Q: Where do travel advisors fit in?
A: We believe that we can transform and change the world through live events. That's the foundation of what we're doing. And the best way to bring that into fruition is through travel advisors. When you look at the travel advisor distribution system, there's really no central place where advisors can go to get sporting and live event tickets. There are very few options for them to pick up the phone and say, "I need Olympics or Super Bowl or NCAA Final Four tickets this week." There is no single supplier for that. As the official license partner for these events, advisors are getting the cleanest price they can get. We have spent a significant amount of time making sure our infrastructure is in place, as in making sure that our document process aligns with the way travel advisors are accustomed to receiving documents, invoices, commission structure, all of those things, in order to market to advisors and support them. We have expanded our network since the new year, actively marketing to over 6,200 travel advisors, and we continue to expand our preferred partnerships, like our most recent one with Cruise Planners (ranked no. 20 on Travel Weekly's 2023 Power List).
Q: Why is it important to On Location to showcase the affordability of attending these high-profile events and providing access to wider, more diverse audiences?
A: There is a perception you have to be significantly wealthy to attend these events, but you really don't. Some of the leading packages for the Olympics are no more expensive than taking your family to Paris for vacation. All of these events that we are hospitality partners for are approachable, from three-star hotels to five-star palaces. You can afford to take your family to the Olympics. You can afford to go to the NCAA Final Four. I want to make sure we demystify that.
Q: What are some of the experiences advisors can expect to sell to clients?
A: We're constantly working with advisors to create bespoke packages for their clients, new, exciting packages like our On the Finish Line package at the Paris Olympics that puts track and field fans as close to that finish line mark as people can get, to be a part of history and feel the excitement of the finish line moment. With the opening ceremony happening on the Seine, we have unique hospitality venues for viewing, such as Ducasse sur Seine, private boats, bridge seating and dockside pop-up venues. We will also have Team USA House, a hospitality venue geared toward travelers from the U.S. with unique ways to engage with the history of the Olympic Games.