As Viking Grows, Agents Remain Focus

For Viking Cruises, introducing a dramatically redesigned river cruise vessel in 2012 has not been enough. By the end of this year the cruise line will have launched 30 of its new longships over just three years.

And next year the company will launch Viking Ocean Cruises, with a total of four ocean-going ships on order so far.

No NCFs
Viking is also the only major river cruise line to make its entire cruise fare commissionable to travel agents, including no NCFs, or non-commissionable fees, in its pricing.

Viking pays agent commissions on all components of a client’s booking – including government taxes, port fees, air upgrades, beverage packages, gift orders, shore excursions and travel protection plans.

And the cruise line has extended the same commission policy to its new ocean cruise brand.

Travel Market Report spoke with Michele Saegesser, Viking’s vice president of sales for the Americas, to learn more about Viking’s thinking regarding travel agent – for both its river and ocean cruise brands.

Why did you decide to stay away from NCFs for both your river and ocean cruise products? How important is this in your relationship with agents?
Saegesser:  It’s definitely something agents pay attention to.

As a major river line, and now with our ocean line product, it’s important we show agents we want to pay them.

We’re the only river line with no NCFs. It’s a really good message to agents. We have a recipe for success, why change it?

If agents are so important to river cruising, why don’t other river lines do away with NCFs? Is it just about the money?
Saegesser: Yes, I think so. I’m really surprised the other river lines haven’t followed suit, and for the sake of agents I hope they do. On other lines, the NCFs change and agents don’t know what the charges are for. It’s hard.

We’re not looking to pinch people when they get on board, either. We make up that money by selling suites on our new Longships, for instance. It’s a very different philosophy; you need to have a creative, open-minded approach.

Will any of your policies toward agents change when you launch Viking Ocean Cruises?
Saegesser: We’ve shifted all our policies from river over to our ocean product, although there are still some little things we have to define.

All our marketing and coop teams are in the same department; we’re one company despite the two brands. It would make no sense to split it up, since the infrastructure is already paid for. We’re not adding a whole new sales team.

Viking is growing across two different sectors of cruising. Are you prioritizing the sales of one over the other?
Saegesser: One big thing we focus on is not dividing our attention from river cruising [but] ocean is the new toy, and it gets a lot of attention. We’re about 90% sold out on our ocean product for 2015, and we’ve had to open up space in 2016 because of the demand.

You launched new training tools for agents recently. How important is agent education, especially with your new ocean cruise product?
Saegesser: We launched a new travel agent academy, totaling eight different certifications. The first one is up and running now. We’ll be rolling out new components every couple months for the next few years.

Six years ago I took a look at our program and it was nowhere near the level I wanted it to be. I wanted something similar to Princess’ program, where they really teach agents how to sell their product. We will also be running boot camps across the country, to educate agents in person.

What advice do you have for agents who may be overwhelmed by all the new information they have to learn with Viking’s new offerings?
Saegesser: Get educated, and get in touch with your local salesperson.

What sales advice do you have for agents?
Saegesser: One thing that surprises me is how little agents actually talk to their clients. My best advice is to keep touching your accounts, even if it’s just once a month.

At Viking we’re trying really hard to bring back the good old days, and we do that by eliminating NCFs and really trying to give agents everything they need to succeed. Don’t be afraid of making those calls!