29 September 2008

Agents complain to cruise lines about discounting

Cruise lines came under fire from independent agents angry about the levels of discounting in the sector, at the Advantage Travel Conference.

At a session designed to encourage agents to boost their cruise sales, agents complained that they could not compete with group discounts.

Bryony Hordern from Tickets Anywhere said her agency had lost regular customers because it was not able to compete with prices as low as Ã&#pound;300 below net price.

ââ¬ÅâœThere is no way we can build up our cruise business when there are discounts like those. Itââ¬â¢s not viable for us to get on the bandwagon,ââ¬~ she said.

Another Advantage member, Paul Stowe from Stowaway Travel, said some of his customers had even been poached while on their cruise holiday by rival agents offering discounts.

Giles Hawke, sales director for Complete Cruise Solution, said it could not stop people discounting but if it came across agents trying to poach customers it would throw them off the ships.

Jo Rzymowska, Royal Caribbean associate vice president and general manager for the UK and Ireland, said agents need to sell cruises on added value, not on price.

ââ¬ÅâœYou need to be looking at what excursions there are and putting together welcome packs with information so the customer sees there is added value in booking with you,ââ¬~ she explained.

Advantage chief executive John McEwan said the consortium was planning to take allocations with certain cruise lines in order to secure discounts for its members.

ââ¬ÅâœAs part of our Cruise Specialist initiative, we are going down the route of allocation so we can use our buying power to help members be more competitive in the marketplace.ââ¬~

By Bev Fearis

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