What Cruise Lines Do

For Home Based Agents

By Carol Eannarino

The evidence is everywhere: cruise lines are increasingly recognizing the selling power of home based agents. As a result, some lines have put together programs tailored to the home based, while others offer agent-friendly features from which home based agents can benefit. The common denominator is the respect that cruise lines have for this segment of the distribution system.

Holland America Line launched its @Home With HAL program last year in recognition of the growing impact of home based agents on the distribution system. It currently has over 7,000 agents registered in the program, which is built around the 31 inside sales department members dedicated to working with home based agents who register for the program via HAL’s Web site, www.hollandamerica.com.

A few days after registering, the agent will receive a phone call from an inside sales rep who explains the opportunities available via @Home with HAL and keeps them in the “loop” regarding special deals, group promotions and other offerings, as well as helping them fulfill collateral and supply needs more efficiently.

“When you work at home, you have a different set of needs,” said Richard Meadows, CTC, senior vice president, markeing and sales. “The main part of this program is the relationship between the home based agent and our dedicated inside sales team — one based on communication.”

Royal Caribbean International became aware of the growing impact of home based agents when “we sat down and looked at the distribution system and analyzed trends. We looked at the yields and the growth patterns and determined that, from a business standpoint, this segment was growing. We wanted to be sure we were providing everything home based agents needed,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of sales, North America.

As a result, last December RCI created a channel strategy team, with Cris DeSouza as manager, to strategically provide best practices and create new tools, including a home based portal on CruisingPower.com. DeSouza had already pioneered seminars at sea for home based agents.

“It’s important to sell what you know,” said Bauer.

The home based portal for both RCI brands is being continually enhanced with “new bells and whistles” based on feedback from agency partners, she added.

“It’s kind of a one-stop shop to find out about what’s new, local training, a place to order brochures and what’s happening with organizations such as NACTA and CLIA. In other words, it’s a tool that home based agents can use to interact with our brands.”

Recently, the portal held an E-Town meeting with several hundred agents logged on.

“We were discussing our new group rates and gave a Power Point presentation online. Then home based agents all over the country had the opportunity to dial in and ask questions.”

Bauer added that if a home based agent is planning a cruise night, they can go on the home based portal and find someone locally to come to the event.

She noted that setting up a booth at trade shows — such as Travel Trade’s upcoming CRUISE-A-THON in Seattle — “is a great way to interact with home based agents. The home based market is an area we want to help grow — and we’ll continue to focus on this segment,” said Bauer.

Recognizing that “home based agents are one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry and that they have highly specialized needs,” Oceania Cruise developed the Oceania@Home Agent Suite last spring. An online toolbox promotional builder allows agents to customize brochure content for individual clients and download postcards and other material. Agents can also receive complimentary Web training sessions and have their individual questions answered quickly via the Concierge-style service. According to a spokesperson, agents get the answer — or at least an acknowledgment that their question is being researched — the same business day, generally within an hour and one half.
Oceania also recently unveiled an agents-only booking engine with “major enhancements,” according to the spokesperson.

“They now can book everything a res agent can — from specific staterooms, to air to insurance and shore excursions.” To reach the agent portal, visit oceaniacruises.com or agent.oceaniacruises.com

Vicki Freed, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Carnival Cruise Lines, explained why the line doesn’t need a special program for home based agents.

“We have always treated the home based agent the same as any retail agent, offering the same tools and service that they have come to expect from Carnival,” she said.

“The initiatives that other suppliers are making now are not new for Carnival. Our field sales force has worked with home based agents for many years. In fact, many home based agents are our strongest producer.”

Motivation — and not location — is what it’s really all about, said Freed.

“Many of the home based agents go after the business since they don’t have a retail location — benefiting both the supplier and themselves. Carnival is here to serve all agents. Home based agents have never been a fad or the ‘flavor of the week’ at Carnival. They are professional sellers of cruises and have — and will continue to be — treated extra special from Carnival based on their business,” Freed said.

She added that with Carnival’s level playing field initiative, which ensures that all travel agencies, regardless of size, have access to the same pricing from Carnival, “Agents are able to compete on price and let service be the difference.”

Recognition and respect for “each member of the travel agent community, whether their office is in a storefront or their home,” was stressed by Richard Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA.

“We remain committed to strengthening our TruePartnershiip with agents by doing all we can to help them sell and profit. Our travel agent-dedicated Web site www.msccruisesagent.com, for example, is an electronic resource to a wealth of tools and information — E-cards, customizable ads, flyers, specials and so much more — that are easily accessible to all agents. It makes getting information, marketing materials and sales tips as close as the click of a mouse.”

Deborah Natansohn, president of Seabourn Cruise Line, stressed that selling luxury travel has always been a “high touch selling process that thrives on close relationship marketing.”

As a result, she said, home based agents have long been an integral part of Seabourn’s distribution system. “Traditionally, our top producers have been social agents who work through host agencies to sell to their peers by networking at country clubs, charity groups and other social groups in the community,” said Natansohn.

She noted that Seabourn’s award-winning site, www.seabourn.com, offers a number of sales and marketing tools. Moreover, agents who have an Amadeus Cruise browser can book clients at home, including their passport details and preferences.

Home based agents can benefit from Princess Cruises’ OneSource, giving agents 24/7 access to the Princess reservations system, and the Princess Collateral Customizer, which allows agents to design, produce, print and mail a variety of high-quality, four color personalized marketing materials, according to a Princess spokesperson.