Travel Agents: A cruise lines’ wise investment in the future | Travel Research Online

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Travel Agents: A cruise lines’ wise investment in the future

As if the ongoing uncertainty in our topsy-turvy economy weren’t enough to make hard-working travel professionals a little queasy about the future, the ongoing battle over the various non-commissionable portions of the cruise fares is making them downright seasick.

Imagine selling a cruise for which your client pays nearly $450, but you only receive $16. Sound far-fetched?

Ask any travel professional who’s booking cruises these days, and they’ll tell you it is part of a new reality, even when – as in the actual case above – the travel agent was supposed to be earning 16% commissions because of her longstanding “partnership” with the cruise line, cultivated and won from her ability to move market share to it. The breakdown on that $450 cruise included over $69 in “taxes and fees” and $80 in “fuel surcharges” on a “cruise fare” of only $100.

While it’s hard to believe that a cruise fare of just $100 could render taxes of over two-thirds that amount or a fuel surcharge that’s exactly four-fifths, the $450 price tag’s most incredible component – as in too improbable to be believed – is what’s become the most dreaded and reviled charge cruise lines are blithely disguising as a way to reduce what they’re paying to travel agents: the “non-commissionable fee” or NCF.

In the case I outlined, the cruise line charged the consumer a staggering $198 in NCFs – a sum nearly 100% more than the actual cruise fare itself.

It used to be that NCFs were called port charges – that is, a crazy quilt of non-government-related fees incurred by the cruise lines to cover such port services as ground labor, piloting, shore power and stevedoring. It’s beyond comprehension how these costs have skyrocketed in recent years, particularly when the so-called fixed costs on board the ship, including crew, maintenance and food have not.

What’s more, the cruise lines have essentially been free to change these fees at whim to reflect their “costs.” That’s akin to mail order companies hiding profits in “shipping and handling” fees that routinely blindside consumers. When it comes to NCFs, there’s a complete lack of oversight or accountability to anyone other than their stockholders.

Speaking of which, stockholders in general, let alone those owning shares in cruise lines, are currently nervous, particularly in the wake of the giant sell-off during the first full week of October. As of this writing, Carnival has seen its stock fall over the past year from a high of $50.30 to just $29.10, while Royal Caribbean has fallen from a high of $43.89 to only $15.29. In just the last month, Carnival lost upwards of 30% of its value, while Royal Caribbean lost around 45%.

But while Wall Street began to rally again this week, the latest Gallup poll is showing a severe crisis of confidence on Main Street, the place where our prospective cruise clients live. In fact, early this week, a Gallup poll showed 59% of Americans now rate our economy as “poor” – that’s not only up 21% from just one month ago, it’s also set a new, downright frightening record. To say the least, that crisis of confidence does not bode well for travel sales of any kind.

Without a doubt, a tougher economic climate is always more pronounced in the travel industry. The ripples that other economic sectors typically feel always crash like waves within ours. The waves now crashing through the rest of the economy have hit our industry like a tsunami.

There’s now a greater propensity for consumers to closely scrutinize every discretionary dollar. It doesn’t help that the incessant media preoccupation with all things negative is fueling this behavior even further. You can bet that instead of merely considering whether to take a land-based vacation over a cruise, habitual cruisers are now second-guessing the idea of taking vacations altogether. Like other consumers, they’re rethinking whether those discretionary dollars may be better used toward a new refrigerator or other necessities or saved in the event of a rainy day. And with storm clouds fast approaching, if not already here, fewer vacations will be booked.

Certainly, there is going to be increasing pressure from Wall Street on cruise lines to lower the boom even further on travel agents. However, Wall Street has increasingly demonstrated a naïveté on how the 85% of all cruises now booked by travel agents not only make the difference in prequalifying each consumer for the right cruise experience, but especially make the difference in booking a cruise over a land vacation.

Cruise lines would do well to understand that paying commissions is actually investing in the future. They’ll get what they pay for. They should want to support a well-paid, well-trained and highly motivated sales force. If they want travel professionals out there doing a good job, they need to be paid well and not worrying about paying their rent every week or cutting back their businesses because they don’t get paid enough. This is one proven investment that pays dividends where it matters: in customers.

Because of the economic concerns of Main Street, coupled with the fixed costs associated with the cruise lines adding another 4% capacity to the Caribbean and another 12% annually to Europe, the cruise lines need to double down on their partnerships with the travel agency community in order to fill those berths. Only through an increased commitment to agents – the cruise lines’ truly cost-effective sales force – can cruise lines ensure that travel agents are not only motivated to steer clients toward cruise vacations, but sufficiently incentified to make the difference in making the sale at all.

Today, cruise lines have a rare opportunity to navigate toward smoother waters. For starters, let’s hope other cruise lines follow Carnival’s lead by eliminating the fuel surcharges on 2010 sailings, now that the price of oil has dropped dramatically. Given that the price of fuel has plunged by as much as 50%, cruise lines should reimburse the fuel surcharges already charged for 2009 sailings.

But equally important is for all cruise lines to pay agents on the actual cost of a cruise, rather than a piecemeal basis. By doing so, cruise lines can ensure an unparalleled commitment on the part of their partners to enthusiastically counsel their clients on the advantages and value of a cruise experience when consumers are finally ready to book a vacation. Short of that, cruise lines may be stuck in the doldrums for a long, long time.

Roger E. Block, CTC, CFE, is president of Travel Leaders and The Travel Franchise Group, part of Travel Acquisitions Group (TAG), a new North American travel company that includes over 1,700 company-owned and franchised travel agencies in Canada and the United States. Mr. Block reports directly to the CEO of TAG, which is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  3 thoughts on “Travel Agents: A cruise lines’ wise investment in the future

  1. deangreenhoe says:

    Excellent commentary, Roger. I sincerely hope the column finds its way into the sales offices of every major cruise line.

    And personally I would like to roll up a printed copy of the column and whack those who still practice cruise commission rebating in the forehead with it. It’s certainly not the only reason for cruise lines creating a commission vacuum, but I fear it may have sent a signal to them that many in the agency community have devalued the compensation side of the transaction, giving them implied license to react in like kind.

    By not cracking down harder on that side of the equation, the mass market cruise lines have enlisted a sales force that often handles their product like a cheap commodity. I think that has resulted in a great disservice equally to the consumer, the full service travel agent and the cruise lines themselves.

    And on a personal note, good to see you contributing here.

    Deano/Travel Planet

  2. Steve Cousino says:

    Roger, great read! I found myself nodding along with every point you made.

    Like Deano, I believe that rebating commissions has “devalued the compensation side of the transaction”, as he so aptly put it. I believe that cruises are a great vacation value (for the right client) and also believe that travel professionals are the #1 selling force for those cruises. That’s a responsibility I do not take lightly. There are many serious professionals out there who share that responsibility, and collectively we certainly join with you and Deano and whapping them in the head!

  3. On the commission rebating part of this, I couldn’t agree any more with the commenter’s above. I personally would like to see the suppliers require full gross payment via client credit card. This would make rebating much harder, as it would need to be an after-the-fact transaction, rather than just an upfront discount. I truly can’t understand why the luxury lines put up with this at all. All the discounters are doing is telling their clientele that the luxury lines are no different than the mass market lines. I really don’t think that is the message the luxury lines want presented.

    As for the NCF’s, they have really gotten out of line as the author notes. When the NCF’s are more than the cruise fare, or even more than a significant portion of the cruise fare, then there is something wrong. The policies of the cruiselines are to quote a single price to the customer, consisting of at least the cruise fare and NCF, so why can’t they do the same for us? Make it a single item, and pay commission on it. If the amount needs to be jacked up a few dollars to cover the commission costs, so be it.

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