Travel Agents Say Carnival Is Back in Their Good Graces
by Donna Tunney /Carnival Cruise Line's efforts to restore a good working relationship with the trade appear to be paying off. More agents are embracing the line and have positive things to say about it.
“It has absolutely redeemed itself,” says Geoff Cox, vendor relations director at KHM Travel Group, a 4,000-agent host agency in Brunswick, Ohio.
It took some doing on Carnival's part to bridge the divide with retailers. In recent years many were angry that Carnival put significant resources behind direct marketing, that its individual and group reservations departments were often found to lack flexibility regarding agent requests, that co-op funds had dwindled, and that commissions, hobbled by low fares and NCFs, were hardly worth the trouble of a sales pitch.
Add to that the public-relations nightmares following the fires onboard Carnival Splendor in 2010 and Carnival Triumph in 2013, both of which could make pitching a Carnival cruise to customers a non-starter. The line and the trade, it seemed, were seriously estranged.
But the Fun Ship line has taken several steps to boost its image with travel agents. It launched Carnival Conversations two years ago, and set about having heart-to-heart talks with retailers across the country. Parent company Carnival Corp. brought Bob Dickinson, who spent decades as president of Carnival Cruise Line and who was very well liked by agents, out of retirement as a consultant.
A year ago it named Christine Duffy, a former agent, as president following the resignation of Gerry Cahill. Then in recent months it put its money where its mouth is: It reduced the number of sailed cabins required for each commission tier effective Jan. 1, 2016, which creates greater earnings opportunities for agents – mainly smaller mom-and-pop businesses that don't have the booking volume of big networks or host agencies behind them. The sailed-cabin requirement to reach each tier was reduced, on average, by 32%.
“This change positions our commission program as one of the most competitive in the industry and is a demonstration of our commitment to travel agents and how much we value their support,” Adolfo Perez, vice president of trade sales, declared when the new pay plan was announced a few weeks ago.
Carnival also moved to assuage agents' concerns about bypass by returning to a policy that references travel agents on marketing materials, including print ads and TV commercials. These and other relationship fixes appear to have done the trick with agents who had all but given up on the line.
“Two or three years ago Carnival took a step back from us. They took away co-op funds, there were lots of problems with the back end,” says KHM's Cox, who formerly worked for the line as a sales rep.
“I left in 2010 because I was stuck in a corporate culture that was steering away from the trade, and my accounts, who were agents, were getting beat up. They'd say to me 'What the heck is your company doing?' But now, I see a 180-degree turnaround.”
Cox says that Carnival Conversations was a great idea that allowed the line's trade liaison staff to talk frankly with agents about how to restore credibility.
“Now, I see Carnival going out of its way to work well with agents,” he said.
Cox also credits the line with bringing in a president whose roots are planted in the trade. “I was very happy to see [Christine] Duffy, with her background, in that position. One person at the top can change the whole atmosphere. I don't know her personally, but the fact she has an agency background speaks volumes.”
Cox said he thinks Carnival “sees us as a true partner now. They can't live without us and we can't live without them. We are back on the right path.”
Sam Stamps, owner of The Cruise Corner, in Simpsonville, SC, agreed: “I'm as pleased with CCL as I have ever been, and I've been in business for 19 years.”
Stamps said he has seen big improvements when working with the line's individual and group reservations departments: “They used to be very limited in what they could do for you. And even the business development managers used to have their hands tied when it came to support. But all of these departments are extremely helpful now.”
Waiving deposits on group bookings, for example, is a show of support for the booking agent that never happened in the past, but is happening now.
He credits current management and notes “they have kept some of their key people in place, who I think have always supported the travel agent community, but had their hands tied. I feel like Carnival is onboard with agents now.”
RaeAnn Ryan, who, with her husband Phil Ryan owns Travel Affiliates, in Gulfport, MS, said Carnival's online support staff for agents at Goccl.com has become “extremely helpful” of late.
“When you reach out now and say 'I need two cabins together, one double, one triple,' for instance, they are very willing to help make it happen,” she said. And the line has acknowledged other agent requests, such as bringing back printed brochures, which it had discontinued a few years ago – a policy that outraged retailers.
“The management team seems very focused and I like the way they have made changes that are helpful to agents in the field. They're offering the right categories at the right price. But they still have a lot of different fares out there. We had hoped there would be fewer,” Ryan noted.
Overall, she said, Carnival's policy changes after reaching out to the trade are on the mark.
Pic: U.S. Navy