FORT LAUDERDALE — Shore excursions, pre- and post-cruise land trips and travel insurance can increase cruise commissions by 90% or more, according to panelists at the Cruise Plus Challenge session held Thursday during Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld 2011 and Home Based Agent Show.
Moderated by Jennifer Kruse, owner of Journeys Travel in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., the session attracted some 35 conference attendees, who heard representatives from ShoreTrips, ARC MarketPlace and Europe Express suggest various ways to significantly boost commissions.
Each panelist was given a case study — the bare bones of a specific cruise — to embellish with their commissionable products, based on ports of call, the ages of the case study clients and each company’s roster of options.
ShoreTrips co-owner Barry Karp tackled the case of a couple eloping aboard the Celebrity Millennium on an 11-night Hawaii cruise. He added a basic onshore wedding package and several excursions his company offers, such as a helicopter trip over a volcano, surfing lessons and a private tour of Pearl Harbor.
The cruise fare was $5,646 and the basic commission was $494. His choices added $356 in commissions — a 72% percent hike.
Kier Matthews, vice president of sales at Europe Express, created a pre-cruise add on to a seven-day cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic, sailing roundtrip from Barcelona. His case study involved a honeymoon couple looking for a pre-cruise stay in Barcelona.
Matthews recommended the couple arrive two days before the ship departed. His commissionable products included airfare, transfers, two hotel nights and a city tour, all of which added another $150 to the base cruise commission of $222 — a 67% increase. In his case study, the cruise fare was $2,812.
Isaac Cymrot, Travel Insured's director of sales, had been slated to participate in the panel but had to cancel. Kruse, however, noted that travel-protection policies can add up to $60 commissions, depending on the product, pushing total commission increases to upward of 97%.
ARC MarketPlace sells Viator excursions and tours at ArcMarketplace.com. ShoreTrips’ products can be viewed at Shoretrips.com and Europe Express, which sells only through travel agents, has a website at EuropeExpress.com.
Each supplier noted that the commissions they quoted for their respective products are base pay; high-producing retailers can earn more.