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 classy FLIP to Sita World Tours. Months ago, I gave them a FLIP for providing documents that are among the best that I have seen. Their new FLIP is that this company sells only through travel agents. When a consumer contacts them directly, they offer to send two brochures, one for the consumer and the other to be taken to a travel agent. So for agents out there who don’t deal with Sita, this is a company trying to send business your way. That’s class.
A similar FLIP to Partners in Travel, a Host agency that is starting a consumer advertising campaign. They will not take bookings and in their ads they will encourage consumers to book with a travel agent. They will even provide the names of agents in their area.
In my article this month, “The Stuggle With Suppliers Over Customer Service,” I mention the growing problem of agents not getting final docs far in advance. More companies are sending them out only two weeks in advance or less. These companies must think that all our clients can just come into our offices the same day we get the docs. Guess they don’t realize that especially Home Based agents may deal with Host agencies that get the docs first, send them to the agents and the agents have to get them to the clients. This can be an additional seven- to 10-day delay. We have to check everything out, sometimes repackage and mail, far too close to the travel date.
When I spend thousands of dollars on a final payment — for any purchase or service — I would want something in hand very quickly, other than just an invoice. Guess the suppliers don’t look at it that way. Maybe suppliers should note which companies are the Host agencies or consortia and send those docs out earlier. Hey agents, make that suggestion to your Host.
On the same note, I really don’t understand the attitude of certain tour operators charging for sending out the docs. One company adds $5 to the invoice per person. Another company offers a choice to pay for express or wait....wait....wait... for docs to arrive only two weeks prior to travel. Do we have a choice?
Come on. If these companies charge beaucoup bucks for the tour — add the doc expense into the cost of the tour. Stop nickel and five dollaring us.
Southwest Vacations turned a potential FLOP into a FLIP. Their group docs arrived awfully close to the travel dates. The res agent said he had been too busy to send them out sooner. Lo and behold, there was a mistake on the legal name for one passenger and airline tickets were — get this — paper tickets. Relics from BC (before commissions were eliminated).
When the agent called to report this, the only solution offered was for the client to buy a new ticket at the airport at a cost of over $565. The total 3-night Vegas package was less than that.
When the agent asked for a new paper ticket to be overnighted to the office, she was told that Southwest only tickets at night, therefore she couldn’t do it in time. Hmm — what kind of excuse is that?
The agent hung up, counted to 50, did a quick yoga exercise and called Southwest Vacations again and talked to the original booking agent, Enoch. He remembers saying that he had been too busy to send out docs early, and recognized the seriousness. In less than five minutes, he had arranged a new ticket, E-mailed the copy to the agent for her records — and no penalty.
So, if at first if you don’t succeed, just do some yoga and keep dialing back.
A FLIP to Royal Caribbean in getting so much hype on TV shows about its newest, Freedom of the Seas. Every time the marketing departments of these companies get a lot of press and media, it helps all agents. It promotes travel and cruising.
When Norwegian Cruise Line was featured for one week on “Regis and Kelly,” or Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice,” interest increased. When the Queen Mary made its debut, it rivaled the coverage of Brangelina.
If your clients like what they see, they book. If they make comments that the ship is too big for them, that’s your opening to offer something else. Either way, win win, win, sell, sell, sell. Hype is good — just like greed is good!
A FLIP to Cancun. This great destination is coming back strong, and the rates are phenomenally low. For agents who want to offer some deals to their clients, talk about Cancun.