Major cruise lines are luring clients away from travel agents with direct pitches and incentives, an area of growing concern to advisors.
Several industry sources told Travel Weekly they had shared their customer details with cruise lines on the understanding that the details would be used for logistical purposes only. However, after handing over their customer details, they were shocked to learn that their clients had been inundated with marketing calls, emails and event invites from the cruise line.
In some instances, clients had been actively told not to book with their agent so the client could save money on commission. These calls were reportedly made from offshore call centres using aggressive sales techniques. In many instances the client was confused and annoyed about the contact, given they had only shared their details with their agent.
Travel Weekly has decided not to publish the names of those individual cruise lines mentioned, however, the issue has been reported across a wide range of cruise brands and price points. The issue has also been flagged as a matter of concern repeatedly on an exclusive Facebook group for travel agents.
The Cruise & Travel Store owner Belle Goldie told Travel Weekly that direct marketing by cruise lines had always been an issue, however, it has escalated in the past few years since Covid.
Clients spammed
“We have 12 agents in our agency, and I would say it’s almost a daily occurrence,” she said. “I have agents complaining to me that that their clients contact them because they aren’t happy about being spammed. It’s almost daily, I would say, if not, three to four times a week.”
Goldie has direct experience of cruise lines marketing to her clients.
“I had a very high-end VIP client of mine come past my store and say to me, ‘I’m so grateful for that invite. Thank you so much. It was a lovely evening, and the discount they gave me for my next trip was just fantastic’,” Goldie explained.
Confused, she asked the client to tell her more about the event, asking if the hosts had recommended she contact her agent to book the discounted trip.
“She got in her purse and pulled out the card, and it’s just got the direct number on it. Nothing about contacting an agent,” Goldie said.
When she contacted the rep directly to express her frustration, the rep said the client must have signed up for the marketing via Facebook ads. However, Goldie knew this wasn’t true, given her experience working with the client: “She doesn’t even have Facebook. She’s 86 years of age.”
Taking a gamble
On another occasion, unsolicited marketing from cruise lines even lost her a very large group booking.
“I do a gaming cruise, a gambling cruise with a specific cruise line,” she said. The large group requires “lots of cabins, lots of commission,” and “lots of hard work”.
After introducing the group – estimated to be around 100 cabins – to a cruise line, Goldie was shocked to learn that the group organiser had been contacted and offered “a free cruise, free suite, free drinks on board and $1,000 to spend.”
The client was, understandably, “miffed” with Goldie as she had previously quoted him $4,000 for a cabin.
When she contacted the cruise line to understand why she hadn’t been contacted directly with the free offer, she was told that the offer was made through the Miami head office and that the Australian office had nothing to do with it.
“The procedure here in Australia is that you can’t direct market to the customer without my consent because I’m the one sharing the information from the customer to you,” Goldie said.
Data laws stipulate that client data can’t be passed on without the client’s consent.
“I’ve spoken to the ACCC, I’ve spoken to the data protection agencies, and there is a rule that if we pass the client’s information to the supplier without the customer knowing, we can be in breach because we have shared their information without their consent.”
This is why all contracts issued by Goldie’s agency stipulate that the details will be passed on to suppliers to book the trips for logistical purposes, however, this consent does not extend to direct marketing.
Unfortunately, Goldie has now been forced to stop working with several suppliers.
“We will blacklist any supplier who is not agent friendly. This is really disappointing because our customers should have a wide range of products. We are less inclined to work with those companies who will not work with agents moving forward,” she said.
” I think it’s because they see us as competition. Now, post COVID, more than ever, people are booking with travel agents.”
Travel Weekly contacted CLIA for comment but it said it was unable to comment on commercial matters but provided background on cruise lines activities in the travel trade:
- Cruise lines invest heavily in supporting their travel agent partners as the primary distribution channel for cruise sales.
- This includes their investment in CLIA which has actively grown its travel agent membership to more than 6000 agents in Australia and New Zealand.
- Cruise lines directly invest in extensive travel agent training and support programs conducted by CLIA, and fund CLIA’s large-scale travel agent events, in addition to their own travel agent investments and initiatives.
- The vast majority of cruise bookings in Australia and New Zealand are made via travel agents, and this has remained consistent.
- Australasia has long had among the world’s highest rates of cruise bookings via travel agents. Some cruise lines have stated that as much as 80% of their bookings are made via travel agents.
- Cruise lines consistently provide commissions and renumeration far in excess of that provided by other areas of the travel industry.
- Major travel agency groups in Australia and New Zealand have been dedicating increasing levels of investment and resources to cruise, in recognition of the growing opportunities presented by cruise lines.
If you would like to share any information on any of the issues included in this article, please contact sofia@travelweekly.com.au.
