Avalon Waterways is planning to forge stronger ties with high-street agents and homeworkers to avoid becoming dependent on online travel agents (OTAs).
Phil Shipman, UK Sales Director of Avalon parent company Globus, said the cruise line didn’t want to work with ‘just a few’ large agencies.
“We want to diversify to balance the risk. It makes sense,” he said.
“Also, the events of the past couple of weeks have been a great reminder to people to book through their local travel agent,” said Avalon UK and Ireland Managing Director Lesley Taylor.
To make it easier for agents to book, the cruise line has promised to answer their calls within two minutes, after growing its contact centre by 10% in the past couple of years.
“We were the first travel company to gain a distinction from the Institute of Customer Service, we know that is our USP and we apply it to travel agents as well as to our customers,” said Lesley.
“For agents, the commission potential is so good because everything, such as excursions, is included in the price and agents receive commission on the whole booking. Our lead in is £1,999 and a typical booking is about £5,000 for two, which is a nice earner, and we have a 30% repeat booking rate, also great for agents.
“With ocean cruises, customers can get a good deal, but agents don’t earn commission on everything they go on to book on board.
“Plus, at Avalon, we offer price parity. Agents have been fantastic for us, so we make sure it’s a fair partnership. The trade also does a great job of supporting late sales and filling empty capacity.”
The cruise line reintroduced fam trips last year, hosting nearly 50 UK agents, and also organised its first VIP trip to thank a dozen of its key partners for their business. “We will do that again this year and possibly expand it to add two more partners,” said Phil.
This week, it hosted 450 agents on Avalon View during the CLIA RiverView conference in Amsterdam, with 280 on overnight stays and the rest taken on tours of the ship.
The line’s President, Pam Hoffee, told the conference that 2026 bookings from the UK are up 61% year on year, which is partly due to the early launch of its programme with flight-inclusive prices, she said.
“Getting a really good inclusive price out early has made a big difference,” added Pam. “The market has become known for late deals, but there are customers who want to make plans early.”
When asked what the next innovation for the cruise line might be, Pam said it was looking at adding triple connecting rooms to create bigger suites. “What we hear loud and clear is don’t change [the cabins],” she said. “Guests love our ‘panoramic’ suites. We are looking at creating triple connecting rooms.”
Pam said the 15-ship cruise line would continue its steady rate of expansion. “For us, we think one per year is right,” she added.
Aside from supply chain issues – including a lack of slots at shipyards, a limited number of interior designers and ‘not an abundance’ of ship captains – Pam said there was concern about over-capacity.
“We were in that position in 2014/15 and that is not good for any of us,” she added, warning that it could lead to lower prices and less commission.
However, Giles Hawke, Vice-President International of Celebrity Cruises, which has 10 river ships in the pipeline, with the first due to launch next year, dismissed the danger of over-capacity.
Pointing out that river cruising is ‘tiny’ compared to ocean cruising, Giles said: “Adding some more river capacity is not going to make a dent.”
