Can’t we all just get along | Travel Research Online

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Can’t we all just get along

There is so much conflict in today’s world. We operate, for the most part, in a very happy industry. You would think that we all could somehow get along.  I am not suggesting we all need to be BFFs with the competitor down the street, but how about some mutual respect for what each of us does.  There was a time when the only channel for travel purchases was…wait for it…the travel agent. You wanted to go somewhere and you called your travel agent.  I might go so far to say that because of travel agents, many suppliers have achieved the level of success that they have today.  And then there is this.

Disney Consumer Products (yes, that Disney) telling their 174,000 followers on twitter to hang up on their travel agent and book directly with them.

Nice…right?

While Disney has morphed into a giant without competition, I wonder what their reaction might be if the travel agency community decided to hang up on Disney and focus on other products?

As an industry, we are used to getting kicked around. Commissions snatched…sales support pulled…but somehow we prevail. Even when partners such as Disney take such a direct swipe at us.

Their message would have been just as effective without dissing the industry that arguably made them what they are today. Why could they not have announced the special Star Wars cruise and simple said “only available through Disney” or have a simple call for consumers to call them directly.

I remember back in the 80s when mentioning another competitor by name was verboten. You could allude and hint, but no one ever crossed the line. C&C Cola shattered that rule with their commercials when they called out Coke and Pepsi by name.

While I cannot say I am surprised, I can say I am a bit disappointed. We are all competitors and will (and should) strive to grow our own businesses; I guess I just did not expect it to be quite so blatant from a vendor.

Thoughts?

PS: If the tweet gets taken down, here is a screen shot of it.

  2 thoughts on “Can’t we all just get along

  1. It is gone, and Disney Cruise Line more than likely did not sanction it … trolling through DisneyLiving’s tweets, they focus on consumer products, and no apparent travel-related tweets in the past (as far as I scrolled before giving up) … why the consumer product line even thought about this tweet befuddles me, and I think is a definite symptom of a corporation that’s gotten too big. :-/

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