Ever since the airlines and other travel suppliers started looking
for ways to avoid paying commissions, agents have been telling them
they'll regret it someday.
Events of recent weeks indicate they just may have been
right.
First came Renaissance Cruises, whose advertising blitz aimed at
correcting agent "misunderstandings" about the line's product
already have been addressed at length in these pages.
Now comes the latest overture from Amtrak, which a
year-and-a-half ago cut commissions from 10% to 5%. Last year, the
rail carrier backtracked a bit by raising commissions to 8% on 37
long-distance and selected short-distance leisure routes and
offered agents a chance to earn as much as 16% commission with
volume overrides.
Last week, Amtrak joined forces with ASTA in a promotion that
allows agents once again to earn 10% commission on those routes.
The promotion, good through March 31, involves a special coupon
that gives consumers a 10% discount on tickets when they redeem the
coupon at a travel agency, which in turn entitles the agency to the
10% commission.
Amtrak said if the promotion is a success, it plans to introduce
similar programs to help drive business through retailers.
Though most agents undoubtedly would like to see Amtrak go all
the way and rescind the 1998 commission cut entirely, this latest
initiative can be viewed only as a positive step at a time when so
much negativity abounds.
Much of the credit goes to ASTA and Amtrak's travel agent
advisory board, which helped develop the promotion. Through their
efforts, print ads containing the coupons prominently display the
ASTA logo, along with the question "Who better than your travel
agent to tell you about the 500 destinations we offer?"
Who better indeed.