CLIA: New Structure ‘For Agents, by Agents’

CLIA’s new membership structure is aimed at developing individual relationships with travel agents.

But what was the process behind developing the new membership structure, and how did the association consult with agents for their input?

Travel Market Report asked Dwain Wall to answer that question. Wall, earlier this year, joined CLIA as senior vice president of industry and trade relations from his former position with World Travel Holdings.

He said asking agents for their ideas gave CLIA a “very different” perspective on what the association’s members want to accomplish—and that was key to the changes.

When you joined CLIA earlier this year, had they already been working on these changes?
Wall: They had been working on it, but they hadn’t made a great amount of progress. We took a fresh look at it.

We went out and talked to the heads of the cruise lines, and the execs of the travel agency groups, to find out what they want; that was the part CLIA had not done. Talking to agents gave us a very different perspective of what the CLIA members are trying to accomplish.

How did you approach the changes in these meetings?
Wall: This was a collaborative plan at first, to see what the different groups wanted in a CLIA membership program. In the end, they were really all trying to go for the same thing.

The cruise lines and agency groups wanted increased educational opportunities and agents with better professional cruise planning skills. And in order for us to get those agents, we needed to find a different way to engage with them as a membership program.

If you look at this all from a 20,000 foot level, the changes are aligned with the economics of selling travel today.

Were agents unanimous in what they wanted from CLIA?
Wall: The new program was really designed for agents, by agents. That’s the headline here. They told us what they wanted and we made it happen.

Was the plan always to make drastic changes in the membership structure?
Wall: CLIA was originally trying to massage or make modifications to the existing program, but it was becoming very difficult to make small changes and still achieve overall success.

The premium programs now allow us to engage with executives and thought leaders in the travel agency world more effectively by offering invites to the annual congressional cruise caucus and other events. We have a lot more opportunities to be engaged with those folks.

If what we put in place isn’t working, we may need to change it. These things are never one and done because things move fast in this industry.

What specifically did agents want that became part of  the new membership rules?
Wall: They wanted a minimum requirement of commissions to make sure we have professional people in the business. They wanted to make sure we have an annual course and test—even if it was a simple test—to make sure agents are engaged.

What is the next stage of CLIA’s plan?
Wall: This all folds in together with the new learning management system we’re putting together in the spring. There are a lot of moving parts to the entire program that all need to come together.

This membership redesign was the first part. After that the rest of it moves forward. The next step will probably be announced at cruise3sixty in 2015.