Cruise Profits Sinking? Here’s How to Make More Money on Each Sale
by Robin AmsterCruise agents today face an uphill road to profitability. Even with this year’s healthier pricing, non-commissionable fares continue to cut into net revenues. So it’s more important than ever for agents to maximize returns on every sale.
Travel Market Report spoke with cruise agent specialists for their ideas on how to boost the profitability of cruise sales. Here are their tips.
Sell travel insurance
“About 20% of my income comes from selling travel insurance,” said Bob Zweig, ACC, a Hollywood, Fla.-based member of Cruise Planners, a home-based travel agent network. That’s a significant amount given that Zweig is a member of Cruise Planners’ Millionaire’s Club for top producers.
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Zweig offers insurance to every client. If they say no, “I say, ‘God forbid something should happen.’ Nothing sells insurance like the fear of God.”
He hastened to add that selling insurance isn’t solely a financial matter. “It’s in the client’s best interest.”
Book third-party shore excursions
Booking shore excursions through third party vendors is another win-win for agents and clients. Unlike the cruise lines, these independent companies pay commissions.
“Rather than zero, I can make from 8% to 10% on shore excursions by booking with a third party company,” said Lisa Silvestri, CTA, ECC, and owner of Silvestri Travel in Sarasota, Fla, a TRAVELSAVERS agency.
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“I’m also giving my clients the benefit of my expertise in various ports and setting them up for remarkable experiences you don’t get with a big coach-full of people. Many clients say it’s the highlight of their trip.”
Booking third-party excursions are even more lucrative for groups, said Michael Consoli, ECC, a Roswell, Ga.-based Cruise Planners agent who specializes in groups.
“We buy them at net and get an override,” said Consoli, another member of Cruise Planners’ Millionaires Club.
“And my clients are with their own group instead of a group of strangers.”
It pays to upsell
“When asking for peoples’ money, we tend to think about our own wallets,” Silvestri said. “When I’ve listened to clients that were all about the money, they often came back from the trip not happy about what they missed. The moral is: Always offer more.”
That means suggesting a higher-level cabin or a higher-end cruise line.
“Sell them what they are prepared to pay,” Zweig advised. “Then tell them what a minimal price it is to upgrade, compared to the total cost of the cruise. If they’re spending $5,000, what’s another $500?”
Product knowledge helps
For the same money spent on a suite on a mid-range line, the client can get a cabin on a luxury line, Zweig added. “The cabin may not be quite as big, but the overall product is 10 times nicer.”
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It’s essential to gain firsthand knowledge of the wide variety of cabin levels, according to Consoli. “I try out the different suites when I cruise myself.
“Sharing with clients the value of a suite helps me upsell. You’re not going to take them from an inside cabin to a suite, but you can go from an inside cabin to an ocean view.”
So what are the signs that a client is open to moving up? “Listen for comments like, ‘I don’t like big ships; I want a nice cabin; I’m willing to pay a little more for something good,’” Zweig said.
Sell pre- and post-land packages . . .
Land packages, booked either through the cruise line or an independent vendor, are a major revenue booster, agents said.
They’re ideal for clients who want to broaden their vacation to include a more in-depth look at a destination. They’re also an opportunity to acclimate before the cruise or relax after it.
And for the agent, that seven-day cruise becomes a more lucrative 12-day package, said Zweig.
. . . and don’t forget other travel components
It also pays to sweat the small stuff.
At the end of the year, the relatively small amounts earned by booking every component of a cruise vacation add up. That includes hotel stays for the night before and/or after the cruise, airfare and transfers as well as the cruise itself, shore excursions and travel insurance.
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“The whole package nets more,” said Paul Seiferth, owner of Signature Travel Network member Terra Travel in Phoenix, Ariz.
Seiferth often books air for clients independently of the cruise line and charges a service fee for these bookings. Cruise lines’ air arrangements are non-commissionable, “always more expensive and less convenient for the client,” he said.
Boost group sales
The advantages to increasing group sales are obvious: higher commissions. Consoli, who specializes in group business, asks clients about their membership in organizations or other groups to generate leads.
But there are other more subtle benefits to group business. Consoli designs theme cruises based on special interests for groups of 50 to 100. These bring in additional revenue through an “upcharge,” or event fee, for the on-board programs.
Seiferth noted that cruise lines’ group amenity points can be used for stateroom upgrades, shipboard credits and other amenities for clients. But agents can also apply them to bonus commissions.
