ASTA Asks Disney To Reconsider Commission Cut

Photo: Mike Burton

Even as 500 journalists gathered at Walt Disney World in Orlando for a huge Disney Summer Awakening press event, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) formally asked the company to reconsider its recent commission cut on repeat cruises booked on board a Disney Cruise Line ship.

In October, Disney dismayed many travel agents with the policy change, which lowered the maximum commission payment on future cruises from a maximum of 16% to 10%.

In a survey conducted by ASTA in April, after five months of the new policy, 93% of agents said they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned by the new policy, and 70% said they are recommending or will recommend another cruise line whenever possible.

“Our agents will book what their clients specifically request, whether that is Disney or any other cruise line,” said ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby. “However, travelers often rely on their trusted travel agent to guide them through their vacation choices, and because of the breadth and quality of cruise inventory available, agents have many alternatives to suggest.”

Kirby said Virtuoso dropped Disney as a preferred supplier after 14 years due to the policy change.  

“We encourage Disney Cruise executives to reconsider this commission policy and reward their strongest sales representatives accordingly,” he said. 

Almost 7 in 10 travel professionals (68%) said their customers are open to booking with cruise lines other than Disney, and only 2.5% said their customers would not consider another cruise line at all. 

Linda Rawlings, president of Travel Advocate, Inc., in Denver, CO, told TMR she is concerned both with the commission cap and with ASTA’s response to it. 

“In this industry, when a supplier floats a trial balloon, particularly one capping or reducing commission, every supplier pays attention to what happens and to the travel agency community’s response,” she said. “If the response is non-existent, disjointed, slow to show, or in any way less than outraged, the Board of Directors and stockholders of every similar supplier will be calling on their company to follow suit.”

When the commission cap was announced, Rawlings noted, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line senior vice president Vicki Freed said RCCL would not be matching the policy.  

“She clearly understands the value a travel agent brings to a cruise sale and also the importance of a repeat client both to the cruise line and to the agent,” Rawlings said. “While ASTA’s recent move is a good step, why did it take five months to do it? Although I applaud ASTA’s action, I just wish it had been more timely and that ASTA had laid out clearly the value that a travel agent brings to the cruise industry.” 

That’s something the press is sure to mention to Disney during the three-day press event, one of Disney’s largest ever, which begins today. It is designed to highlight the many new attractions coming to Disney World this summer, including extended evening hours and light shows on the plains at Animal Kingdom, a Frozen ride in EPCOT’s Norway, and Star Wars attractions.

Disney declined to comment on this story.