By Les Lee Roland

Welcome to the Flips and Flops column. We are able to do what we do here because of your input and information. If you want a supplier or a res agent or DSM to get special recognition, let us know. If there is something amiss with a company’s policies or actions, share them with us, as well. Let us know which booking engines and Web pages are hits and which are misses! E-Mail your suggestions to packagedeals@comcast.net.

A FLIP to Oceania Cruises. When clients return home, they receive a very generous future cruise gift certificate — plus the booking agent gets a bonus commission check if they secure their booking. Agents, when the supplier shows support for you and starts the groundwork, follow through with your clients. When you succeed, you deserve a FLIP.
A FLIP for another luxury liner, Seabourn. It has a selection of cruises that are 50% off for new passengers who have previously sailed on the World’s Leading Cruise Lines .... So, your clients on Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Cunard and Costa can now sail on Seabourn at an affordable price.
A FLOP for a major cruise line which has an inside sales staff that works with Home Based agents. When I received an obligatory call to see how business was and was asked whether I needed anything, I responded that I needed to book some group space. The phone agent said, “Just book it online.” I told her that I prefer to work with an agent and asked her to take the order. She responded that she was too busy making phone calls, but she would certainly send me some brochures.
Heck, if I wanted brochures, I could order them online. The Internet is great, but it does not replace the connection that a human has. First, they want the public to book online, now they want the agents to be serviced totally online. Don’t they realize that soon their jobs will be obsolete if they continue this practice?
I just returned from a mini trade show and was told by one veteran travel agent that Delta is handling their phone calls in a much nicer way. (She had read my previous FLOPS.) She said the last three times she called, she immediately got someone in the U.S. who was pleasant and helpful.
A newer gal who calls herself a travel agent — because she’s part of a card mill — was at the same dinner table and commented that Continental had been very pleasant with her. It only took her 45 minutes to arrange a seat assignment and order wheelchair assistance, and she was delighted. Seems she thought that it would take much longer. Agents on a GDS can do this in 45 seconds.
At this same regional trade show, I talked to the person in charge and asked how they qualify people who are attending their dinner and prize presentation. He said the card mill problem is something hard to monitor and he is turning away people who try to register using the card mill names he knows.
When the prizes were given, at least six names drawn were from card mills. And the grand prizewinner was bragging that his wife joined so they could travel cheap, so this was a big bonus. YUCK! All together now, FLOP!!!!
Advertising can be a make it or break it deal. I just received a solicitation from a very large retail cruise and tour supplier. This company advertises low rates on cruise packages every week. It often bundles things together, as well. So I started reading all the disclaimers, and sure enough I found some interesting items. Under optional features — if you want a cabin assignment, add $35 per person to the rate. So that’s how they do it! A FLOP. Sort of like renting a car for $5 and if you want a steering wheel, add $35. Give me a break.
Another ad had a starting at price of $999. After further review, that rate is only possible as a triple or quad, paying by check in advance. Agents, get out your reading glasses and check the small print.
And speaking of small, or maybe invisible, print, agent Erin Branson from California, reported her FLOP for Oceania Cruises. When clients with premium insurance cancelled their cruise, she assumed her commission was protected. It wasn’t, since the cruise was cancelled outside of 14 days before the sailing. Seems that not all the rules are listed for agents to read beforehand, and not all the res agents know the penalties.
Now wouldn’t it be easier if the insurance companies sent out a reference piece for the agents who explain the dollars and cents?
And speaking of insurance — nice segue — a FLOP to the major company that sent the agent a commission check for $10 a policy instead of the 20-plus percent owed. When she called to check on the discrepancy, she was told that her accreditation in the State of Florida had expired, therefore the lower amount. When the agent pursued it with the state, she was told that she was registered forever but that the insurance company had not done their paperwork and re-registered with Florida.
In Florida, an agent has forms to fill out, fingerprints taken and has to get photo ID. How many agents go through all of that and never check the credentials of the companies they are dealing with?
Hate to be political, but tell me it isn’t true. Tourism to Iran? Yes, the Iran Cultural Heritage Handicrafts and Tourism Organization is sponsoring tourism to Iran. A bonus is paid to Iran’s travel agents who bring in tourists from, are you ready for this, America. Now, let’s say it together — FLOP!
Agents, do you ever check out the boards of tourism Web sites for some of the states? Why are there not more complaints when states, like Maryland, add Travelocity to their Web site? And if your state has one of these booking engines, contact them and ask why registered or licensed agents are not listed as contacts. The agents are the best goodwill ambassadors for their state — not Travelocity. Let me know if you get a FLIP or if your state gets a FLOP.
From Kathy Summers, Designed for You Travel, Naperville, IL, a FLOP for AA Vacations. She booked a $3,000-plus vacation for clients and then found out the consumer online booking engine had a lower rate. She knew her savvy client would check the Internet, so in order to save the sale, she had to forfeit commission. Is that fair?? I wonder how many consumers book these packages compared to how many agents? Who drives in the business? And its Web site isn’t the easiest to maneuver either.
How many of us have set up group space on a cruise line and then found lower rates in regular res? Lots of times! Carnival will now transfer over those regular res bookings into groups and you have the option to buy the amenities for the clients to match the ones booked in the group. Average rate is $12 per person. Is it worth it for chocolates or wine? Your decision. At least your clients are booked together. It may be a FLIP — you have to decide.
But an agent reported that when she booked a honeymoon couple on Carnival and asked for it to be documented in the record, she was told they don’t do that anymore. It was suggested she tell her clients to mention it to the maitre d’ on their own — unless the agent wanted to buy a cake or decorate the cabin. This one again, is your call, do you like it or not?
A FLIP to all the agents who sent me E-mails about their feelings on E-docs. Keep the comments coming, and I will report the results next month.