Freebies Question - Page 2 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

MD11F · 06-29-2008, 09:20 PM

I've never expected a gift from a travel agent. However, at travel seminars I've attended, it has been suggested that travel agents give a gift as an appreciation to their client for their business.
At none of the seminars I've attended has it been mentioned there is a "Rule of Thumb" we follow regarding the giving of gifts to clients, loyal or not.

CruzTravelLady · 07-11-2008, 07:20 PM

Being in the travel industry for almost 20 years I have come across the gamut of what people expect of me as a travel agent. Now that I work for myself I do send thank you gifts to my clients for booking with me. I do not discount my rates or offer things I can not deliver.

I offer my knowledge, customer service and expertise. My way of saying thank you to my clients is to send them cards and small gifts. I see it as part of doing business but I like it when I am told Thank You so I try to extend that in my business as well. It is a personal choice but appreciated by all.

nealberk · 07-11-2008, 08:07 PM

Actually, travel agents CAN'T use part of their commission as a discount. The cruise lines look very askance at that!

djgifford · 07-13-2008, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nealberk

Actually, travel agents CAN'T use part of their commission as a discount. The cruise lines look very askance at that!

Neal, some of the cruiselines still allow it. There are still many discounting agencies out there...

I do try to offer great customer service, and to me that is something that you can't put a price tag on.

Every agent/ agency is different... there is someone for everyones personal likes and expectations.

Dolores

Cruise Planner · 07-13-2008, 11:21 AM

Actually, cruise lines don't allow 'discounting' by directly using the commission. But they will look the other way if an agent were to use their own credit card to pay for some of the cruise thereby allowing the client to pay less for their cruise. In affect, they are discounting the price, but doing it in a manner that is not allowed by some cruise lines and frowned upon by others, but they tend to look the other way.

Even RCCL, who does not allow discounting, allows the agent to provide onboard credit and other items as incentives. For example, an agent can advertise that gratuities will be paid for or travel insurance will be provided free of charge. So while it's not technically considered discounting, an agent is still offering something that will lower the overall costs to the client. Call it what you will, but to me, this is still discounting.

It's a fine line, but as Dolores said, most reputable agents work very hard to insure their clients get the best possible service, which can often save the client alot of money in the long run. For the most part, cruise lines require all of us to advertise the same cruise for the same price, so it boils down to service. Cruise lines, online sites, and discounters cannot afford to spend the extra time looking for specials that will lower your rate because it will lower their commission.

And most reputable agents will not charge a booking fee and/or a cancellation fee for individual reservations. If they do, find another agent. (Most, inlcuding me, will have such fees for groups, especially large groups due to the extra time, effort, and expense involved.) But there should be no 'extra' fees for booking. These extra fees can only be paid for with check/cash or by credit card. And if they agency is charging them by credit card, they are doing the charging, not the cruise lines. This can cause major problems and has resulted in many bad stories in the press because of agencies going bankrupt and not delivering the services. And one other item; if an agent does not sell RCCL, that tells you alot about their agency since RCCL has banned some of the MLM (multi-layer marketing or pyramid) companies from selling their product.

I'm not saying all discounters are bad, I have some good friends who are discounters. But they have to sell more in order to make the same commission, so they tend to be more sells oriented than service oriented.

Pete

nealberk · 07-13-2008, 01:30 PM

Well said, Pete!

djgifford · 07-14-2008, 07:59 AM

I agree with Neal... Well said Pete.

There are currently three agencies that cannot book Royal Caribbean and their sister lines. I use to be with one of them...and was in the process of being completely independent when they lost the right to sell Royal.

But anyway... it appears that Pete and I are on the same page...

Dolores

Laurenb · 07-19-2008, 06:30 PM

I had a conversation about this with my travel agent. She explained that the agency had given me such a deep discount that they were not going to through anything in. Apparently, the cruise line sometimes does when the agent has put a group on and there is wide variation in the generousity of the cruise lines with Holland being the best and Carnival being the worst. This all made a certain amount of sense to me.

nealberk · 07-19-2008, 06:42 PM

It sounds a bit suspicious to me, Lauren. Is the discount that much off the advertised prices?

Cruise Planner · 07-19-2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurenb

I had a conversation about this with my travel agent. She explained that the agency had given me such a deep discount that they were not going to through anything in. Apparently, the cruise line sometimes does when the agent has put a group on and there is wide variation in the generousity of the cruise lines with Holland being the best and Carnival being the worst. This all made a certain amount of sense to me.

I agree with Neal, but then again, I'm not sure I understand what your agent told you about Holland being the best and Carnival being the worst. What are they the best and worst at? If it has to do with generosity, your agent is way off the mark on that one. As for what a cruise line offers, yes, sometimes they do offer amenities for groups that they don't offer to individual reservations. But what they offer will often vary based on the size of the group, the date the group is going, the popularity of that particular cruise, etc. But to make a blanket statement that Holland is best and Carnival is worst is not a valid statement - I've had groups on both of these cruise lines as well as all the rest. And yes, they will differ, but I wouldn't say either is better or worse - just different.

As for 'freebies', every agency basically sells the same cruise for the same price, with some variances. But for an agency to say they are giving you such a deep discount and don't offer anything else is something I would be leary of. As you have seen by the posts on this thread, it has more to do with the agency than the price and more with whether they are past passengers as opposed to first-timers.

Don't mean to sound condescending towards your agent, but it sounds to me they are simply providing excuses than valid reasons and explanations.

Pete