This article is intended to put particular aspects of the affinity group business into perspective and to show Home Based agents how to have cruise line DSMs/BDMs fighting to gain your business.
In the mainstream cruise market, group business has an overall conversion rate (actual group passengers as a percentage of group beds blocked per sailing) of around 10% to 15%. So let’s imagine a cruise ship with 1,000 cabins. The revenue management department would like 300 group cabins on a particular sailing. This means that the company, through its group department and sales force, would have to block a whopping 2,000 cabins at group rates to materialize the 300 cabins for that one sailing, using a 15% conversion. Similar requirements for a full year would call for 104,000 group cabins blocked for that one ship!
You get the picture. The larger lines are processing MILLIONS of group cabin block requests because the conversion rate is so relatively low. That’s because the majority of groups blocked are speculative and NOT of an affinity group nature. On the other hand, affinity groups generally convert anywhere from 40%-90%, which is why cruise lines will be very accommodating to agents who develop a consistently high track record of converting affinity groups. It completely changes how they manage a particular sailing or series of sailings because they are better equipped to project how much group business is coming because of the stronger conversion ratio.
For Home Based agents in particular this represents a significant opportunity. I would like to offer two suggestions for both creating and broadening the reach of your affinity business.
First, there are what I refer to as traditional “social” affinity groups that include a variety of organizations from Rotarians, Knights of Columbus, to religious (churches and temples), the PTA, soccer teams, Little League, etc. These are all great for Home Based agents who are immersed in their local communities. They should be easy to target via your own participation and that of family, friends, clients etc. However, because they are “local” community groups, with the primary tie being membership or social involvement, their size can be somewhat limited by virtue of the population of the community itself.
The other affinity group type, which I call “Interactive Activity” groups, has no geographic boundaries. And these groups can be much larger. The Internet has enabled people across the country to communicate about special interests, hobbies and activities in which they participate. Ten years ago there was basically no such thing as scrapbooking groups. Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry. If you go to Google and search for scrapbooking clubs, you will see 7 million hits! And the same goes for quilting, photography, cooking, wine tasting, various types of dancing, etc. By communicating across the Internet, you can achieve sizable groups, which convert at high percentages — making you VERY popular with your preferred suppliers.
The key to ensuring that your affinity business grows is knowing two things about all of the clients and prospects who contact your agency, What social/civic organizations do they belong to and what special interests/activities/hobbies do they have? A client who quilts may have a sister who quilts in another city. They both have friends and family who quilt, and so on and so on. It doesn’t matter where they live. They can be attracted to come together to share their passion for this activity.
The final step is crucial to making sure any affinity group you put together is successful and puts the seal on how much you can make your preferred suppliers appreciate you. It concerns notifying and pre-planning the group activities with the preferred supplier in advance to ensure that your groups are well taken care of onboard.
Cruise lines have a grid for every sailing that outlines all the activities they have planned across the public rooms during the course of the cruise, many of which are revenue generating. These are very important to the cruise line for obvious reasons, so your need of one of these public rooms, meeting room, etc., for your group requires them to reorganize their schedule. Remember that you are not the only agent booking a group on this sailing. The sooner the cruise line knows about your group, the better. It enables them to make sure that there are not multiple groups competing for the same public rooms, all of which interferes with their scheduled events and those that you are planning.

So here are some DOs and DON’Ts for affinity group handling with your preferred suppliers:
1. DO make every effort to book your affinity groups at least 15 months in advance of the sailing. Why? You will probably get a less restrictive deposit policy for the first several months.
2. DO advise the cruise line as specifically as possible what the group’s needs will be during the cruise immediately upon booking the group. This facilitates several important factors:
• If it is a large group requiring use of public space on multiple occasions, the cruise line can reorganize its schedule of activities accordingly.
• If the needs are complicated (electrical outlets, extension cords, lots of tables, etc.), it gives you and the line plenty of time to pre-plan.
• If the group department is organized, they won’t book a large group with similar space needs on the same sailing. In essence, it is a race for space and if you notify the line first, they should work with you to ensure your group gets what it needs.
3. DO send the cruise line an activity grid for the week as soon as you finalize one, so that if necessary, it can be shared with the hotel department and the group services manager on the ship.
4. DO focus your affinity group business with your preferred suppliers as often as possible in order to further strengthen your relationship.
5. DON’T schedule your activities smack in the middle of port days. To you, this may appear to give you more room on the ship, but to the line, it prevents guests from purchasing shore excursions.
6. DON’T schedule onboard events in places which should generate revenue, but with your group, won’t. A group activity held in a lounge where there will be no beverage consumption is seen as counterproductive to the cruise line.
7. DON’T wait to advise the line about your group. Advising the line at final payment that you have 300 quilters coming is a recipe for disaster.
If you develop a consistent track record as an “affinity group producer,” one that produces multiple groups per year that convert at very high percentages, and you pre-plan well, you are going to become VERY popular with your preferred suppliers and receive special attention from them. There is a direct relationship between the number of affinity groups you produce, the conversion levels, how well you pre-plan with your preferred suppliers and the ultimate success of each group.
In the end, these do’s and don’ts will make your affinity group business more successful and more profitable. And your understanding of how your cruise partners view this process will significantly strengthen your relationship with them.

Mitchell Schlesinger, a cruise industry veteran, can be reached at mjschlesinger@bellsouth.net