Some suppliers treat travel agents according to how their business
is doing on any given day. Business is good, who needs them?
Business is bad, we need them.
You can tell who these suppliers are because they usually make
big splashes when they need help. They run a lot of ads, raise
commissions, offer incentives, do whatever it takes to get agency
business.
Winning agents' hearts isn't that easy, as Renaissance Cruises
is likely to find out now that it is on a kick to reverse the
negative feelings many agents have about them.
Renaissance says it is replacing its CEO and boosting agent
commissions to 10%. But based on the immediate reaction of agents,
it will take a lot more to win agent acceptance.
Take a look at the tone of some of the messages on the Cruise
message boards in the Forum section of this site. You'll get the idea
right away that Renaissance has alienated agents to the point where
it will take more than management changes and higher commissions to
fix the problem.
Commission levels are important, but they are often secondary to
other considerations.
In the case of Renaissance, the line's deposit and final payment
policies are a major sticking point, so burdensome that travel
insurers refuse to cover passengers booking the line because the
insurance companies think the risk of high upfront payment and
onerous cancellation terms is too great.
Moreover, the line has taken a punitive stance on what
constitutes the commissionable portion of a cruise, eliminating
from commissionability the air and land arrangements associated
with the trips.
In many cases, agents selling big-ticket cruises have received
commissions that fell well below the already minimal levels because
portions of the price were ruled out of bounds for agent
payment.
If the new regime at Renaissance is serious about wooing travel
agents, it should do as many agent-friendly suppliers have and
create an agency advisory board. It should listen to the many
complaints agencies have about the way the line does business and
take corrective measures.
Even then, it will take a while for the line to generate lasting
support. But it will be a beginning of what could one day be a
business relationship.