InterContinental Hotels Group and Sandals | Travel Research Online

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InterContinental Hotels Group and Sandals

Let’s start with some kudos before dishing out the karma. We would like to heap a large pile of kudos on InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Travel agents are quick to complain when something goes wrong, especially if it involves non-payment of their commission. We rarely hear when things go right, or when wrongs are fixed.

To summarize, I recently booked a client for six nights at a hotel in London. It was booked in late September for travel in early November. I called IHG a week before Christmas to track down the outstanding commission. They accessed the booking, and confirmed that I had accidentally booked the reservation under my old (lapsed) TRUE number, so commission was coming. This was obviously my fault entirely with no one else to blame. So what did they do? They took my valid IATA number, added it to the booking (some 6 weeks after travel mind you), and they will be issuing the check on January 9th. As far as commission-chasing goes, this was painless, and a happy ending to a situation which was not their fault.

Now, onto some karma. When we first heard of this situation, we chalked up to a one-time mistake. But a couple of months later, it happened again, and we couldn’t ignore it a second time around.

First, we will start with saying that we fully understand and agree that a supplier has every right to fill their beds, berths, or motor coach seats however they see fit. Some work exclusively with travel agents, while others do accept direct consumer bookings. But we do expect suppliers to back their own policies.

Karma is being dished because a supplier, Sandals (Unique Vacations) said one thing, and did another. Twice. Sandals has always said they are a strong advocate of the travel agent distribution channel. They have also been upfront about booking consumers direct. But they have also been clear that they strongly believe in price equality. No one can under sell Sandals. The price they set is the price every one quotes, with no exceptions, across all distribution channels. Undercutting or rebating Sandals has led to agencies being suspended from selling Sandals. At every training, webinar, etc. Sandals reinforces this policy of equal pricing across all channels at all times.

So you can imagine our surprise in August 2013 when a website (www.zulily.com) promoted a special price for Beaches Negril. The price offered was a 71% discount off the full price. And the fine print was disturbing:

Voucher must be booked directly with the Interline Department at Unique Vacations Inc. (1-855-222-7060), cannot be booked through a travel agent.

Travel agents contacted Sandals directly, and the only answer received was that this was a “specialized offer” and “no discounting was involved.” They confirmed that the special offer was only available to Zulily customers and it was not available to travel agents or wholesalers.

When this happened, we chalked it up to a one-time mistake. Sandals was still saying in workshops that prices are equal across the board with no deals given to any one agency (or website) over the rest of us. Unfortunately, another Zulily offer popped up months later. This time, buy a $500 voucher for $199 (60% discount) to be redeemed towards accommodations with Beaches. The fine print included the same “no travel agents” verbiage:

Voucher must be booked directly with the Interline Department at Unique Vacations Inc. (1-855-222-7060), cannot be booked through a travel agent.

This time around, the one voucher per booking limitation won’t save clients a great deal, but it is still the principle of the situation that is earning Sandals some karma. If you are going to claim that price parity across all channels is a foundation of your policies, then don’t go out TWICE with a “special offer” that favors one of those distribution channels over all others.

Do you have a supplier situation that you would like highlighted in Kudos & Karma? Shoot us an email with the details.

(Susan Schaefer is the owner of Ships ‘N’ Trips Travel located in Tennessee, and specializes in leisure travel with a focus on group travel and charity fundraisers. Through their division Kick Butt Vacations she focuses on travel for 18 to 23 year olds. Susan can be reached by email at susan@shipsntripstravel.com or by phone at (888) 221-1209).

  One thought on “InterContinental Hotels Group and Sandals

  1. John Frenaye says:

    On the Sandals…the interline thing is puzzling, but I know that suppliers that maintain parity in pricing will often offer a special deal to a specific agency (or group) with the caveat that it cannot be advertised outside the agency. So if this was the case, Zulify might have had special rates and advertised it on their website, email, in house, etc. But as long as they did not do radio, television, or print, they may be ok. But still the interline verbiage is odd.

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