Agents See Increased Cruise Direct Marketing
by Dori SaltzmanCruise lines have always marketed directly to the public, but some travel agents are reporting that recently they’re noticing a more aggressive approach to direct marketing by some cruise lines.
And while agents recognize that cruise lines need to market directly to consumers in order to fill their ships, it’s the how of the direct marketing – specifically to their clients – that bothers most agents.
 |
“I’ve never had an issue with any kind of supplier that has multiple channels of distribution,” Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, told Travel Market Report. “What I do have an issue with is if those multiple channels are not managed appropriately. So that one is pitted against the other.”
“I have friends who run big companies, Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies. They cannot believe the way we are treated because in their companies, the distribution source to the public is treasured,” Donna Johnson, president of Red Bird Travel Plus, told Travel Market Report.
For the most part direct marketing by the cruise lines to clients agents have booked on their ships has been in the form of e-mailed offers and snail mail brochures. However, some of the lines have begun making direct phone calls as well – something agents unanimously agree shouldn’t be done.
Several agents told Travel Market Report that continued and aggressive direct marketing efforts by suppliers, particularly mass market and premium cruise lines, to their clients often speak volumes.
“Certain lines are more aggressive than others. It’s very clear these lines would like to have more direct bookings and circumvent the travel agent all together,” said Nancy F. Yoffe, ECC, of A South Carolina Cruise Planners. “When lines offer rates that travel agents have to book online, but allow clients calling the cruise line directly to speak to a person at the cruise line who can book them the same promotional rates, it’s obvious what the cruise lines are after.”
Colleen Gillette, owner of New Paltz Travel, also agreed the way in which cruise lines approach clients through direct marketing is telling, and she suggested cruise lines find a way to compensate.
“I think that if the cruise lines took the bold step of specifying in their direct marketing that passengers should contact their travel agent since their travel agent has access to offers that the cruise lines do not have; that would go a very long way in showing commitment to their so-called travel partners.”
 |
However, Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager of CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., said the direct marketing efforts of cruise lines is not so much a sign of cruise lines wanting to bypass agents as it is of their frustration with cruise selling agents.
“I do think that there is a level of frustration among some of the cruise lines that some travel agents aren’t as aggressive as the cruise lines would like them to be in doing such things as calling past passengers and creating opportunities,” which Wall admitted many travel agents are not quite comfortable doing.
Not Always Bad
While virtually every travel agent will agree they’ve had a bad experience with a cruise line marketing directly to their client, most will also agree that direct marketing, in theory, isn’t a bad thing.
“Direct marketing by a supplier is not a bad thing as long as it drives the client to book with their travel agent if that is how the supplier got the booking,” Johnson said.
Upchurch added he would tell any cruise line, “If you’re going to do direct marketing, make sure that you strengthen what you do in relation to your agent channel. I don’t expect you to be marketing to the people that I’ve brought to you and not including my information.”
Direct marketing can, in fact, be quite beneficial for agents when done correctly.
“A lot of our customers bring mailed or e-mailed offers in for us to review to see if the offer is worth it or if there is a different offer with more value to take advantage of,” Gillette told Travel Market Report.
Yoffe agreed, telling TMR she has several loyal clients who will get a mailing or an e-mail from a cruise line then call her for more information.
“It’s the ones [cruise lines] that are directly calling clients that I have a problem with.”
Next: How travel sellers deal with direct marketing to their clients, and feedback from the cruise lines.
