Revitalizing Luxury Travel: How Heritage Clubs International is Shaping the Future of Bank Travel Clubs

The innovative leadership of the Ziegler brothers is helping drive Heritage Clubs International into a new era of exclusive travel experiences

When it comes to luxury travel, few can rival what bank travel clubs have to offer. Bank travel clubs are specialized programs or memberships offered by banks or financial institutions that provide travel-related benefits and services to their members. These clubs are often aimed at frequent travelers or those seeking a more luxurious and convenient travel experience. Heritage Clubs International is one of the leading bank travel club organizations in North America.

Founded in 1980, Heritage Clubs International has grown to become a leading network of community banks dedicated to providing high-end travel experiences to their customers. Today, HCI, which is based in Smithfield, Rhode Island, boasts a vibrant membership that spans the financial and travel sectors. It represents more than 200 unique community banks across 33 U.S. states. Based on membership data, HCI community bank members serve more than 400,000 customers, coordinate 1,000 regional and day trips each year, facilitate more than 700 extended trips (three days or longer), and have more than 40,000 passengers who explore diverse destinations.

Clearly, HCI provides the utmost in customer service. The company is led by an enterprising group including Executive Director Ted Nelson, Vice President Andy Ziegler, and President (and Andy’s brother) Michael Ziegler. This new generation of leadership is committed to enriching the travel club experience, ensuring each member bank can provide exceptional travel opportunities to its customers.

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‘A Perfect Match’

The Ziegler brothers each sport a special set of skills that make them perfect candidates to help lead Heritage Clubs International. Michael began his career working for Collette, one of the major tour operators in the travel industry. “I’ve been in the travel industry for close to 15 years,” Michael said. “Collette is one of the preferred tour operators of Heritage Clubs, so I have known of (HCI) for a long time. After leaving Collette, I did a lot in bank group travel. I then ran into Ted, and he mentioned he was looking to bring on some help revitalizing and rebuilding what Heritage Clubs could be,” Michael added. “Given my background, and knowing what I knew about Heritage Clubs, I said I’d love to work with the Heritage Club steam.” It turns out, the Zieglers were a package deal.

Andy worked for a variety of banks over the years, where he held titles as a lending services risk detector, business operational risk manager and external staff auditor. Which, along with Michael, made him an optimal choice to bring on board. “I told Ted I know just the guy who’s spent his whole career in banking and seeing as how this isa banking travel club, it’s a perfect match. And that’s my brother Andy. It just so happens that our talent matches exactly what Heritage Clubs was looking for in terms of knowledge, education and experience.”

“Michael and I have always been entrepreneurial at heart,” Andy said. “We were born for this. I’ve been in the banking industry for about two decades, so my banking background in large and mid-sized banks, along with Michael’s travel experience felt like the perfect match for what HCI was looking for. It has honestly been a match made in heaven.”

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Looking Toward the Future

Bank travel clubs, sometimes referred to as affinity programs or loyalty programs, were conceptualized in the early 1970s when financial institutions were moving away from ad-specialty items (such as free toasters for opening new accounts) and looking for unique ways to attract new customers and to retain their mature market customer base. Affinity programs commonly functioned as an expense line item within the overall marketing budget. The marketing dollars were designated to cover any operating expenses. The early successes of affinity programs evolved from enhancing customer relationships that had already been established.

Membership was generated from customer relationships that these new coordinators had been nurturing. In recent years, some banks have discontinued their programs, but the Zieglers believe there is a bright future for bank travel clubs, with HCI at the forefront. “One of our key strategic initiatives incoming on board is to help work with Ted and the team at Heritage Clubs to expand that network,” Michael said. “We want to expand it outside of the Midwest and reach more clubs across the country. Our membership is comprised of three types of members: partners, tour operators and banks,” Michael added. “We serve as an association to help ensure bank club directors have the tools, the network and the knowledge they need to be successful. Due to the fact that there are a lot of pieces that go into planning the perfect tour, whether it’s choosing the right itinerary or finding the right destination, these bank club directors rely on us to bring them that information.”

“We have community banks all over the country working with Heritage Clubs to grow their clubs. A lot of our bank club travel directors, when they’re planning those longer extended vacations, rely on our preferred tour operators, and our expertise, to create successful trips. We’re coming on the precipice of an unprecedented time,” Andy said. “We’re coming out of a COVID era where travel had stopped and people were foaming at the mouth to travel.

“Not only that, we’re also coming into unprecedented times with interest rate hikes and financial institutions striving to grow deposit balances and create stronger bank relationships with their clients. Relationships with customers and bank travel clubs, especially for community banks, is such a strong way of having a competitive edge against those midsize and large banks,” Andy added. “With the growth of travel and the banks looking to grow deposits, it’s the perfect opportunity where I feel we’ll see (the bank travel industry) increase going forward, trying to drive those deposit balances and make that customer relationship stronger.”

HCI Peer Group 2025

Heritage Clubs International will host a celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary in 2025 with its annual Peer Group conference. The conference will take place in Sioux City, Iowa, from February 24-28 with a Pre-Fam for bankers only from February 21-24. One of the more popular aspects of the Peer Group conferences is the ratio of buyers to sellers is small, thus, every partner can meet with every banker.

These partnerships ensure Peer Group 2025 will not only be full of enriching sessions, workshops and networking events, but build connections, gain new perspectives and enjoy the atmosphere that Sioux City has to offer. “We are thrilled to host the Heritage Clubs International Peer Group Conference,” said Explore Siouxland CVB. “Siouxland is not just a location; it’s a vibrant community rich in history and culture. From our historic landmarks to breathtaking scenic vistas, we offer an immersive experience that perfectly complements the spirit of the conference.” It sounds like the perfect destination for another successful Peer Group conference.