The Travel Network Group’s in-house cruise operator The Cruise Club took just 2,000 bookings from its 1,200 members last year, but it has ambitious plans to grow this business after hiring former Celebrity Cruises EMEA Sales Director John Wilson
In his new role as TTNG Cruise Sales Director, John’s mission is to get more of the consortium’s agents to book cruises – currently only 20% do so – and encourage them to book with The Cruise Club, which launched about eight years ago.
“Part of my remit is to make sure our in-house cruise operator is world-class, market-leading so there is no need for members to book elsewhere,” said John.
He admitted that, in the past, there had been ‘an issue with inadequate resources’, but he said it now had a ‘superior quoting system’, a direct phone line and a new promise to members to provide a quote on the first call, for all but the most complex itineraries.
Urging members to use The Cruise Club, he pointed out that it offered the advantage of out-of-date-range pricing and it allows members to decide their own commission.
He told delegates at the TTNG conference in Bucharest earlier this month that the brand hasn’t been optimising its ‘enormous buying power’ so far. “We should be taking allocations on ships,” he said, but added that it was too early to give further details.
Later, he told Travel Gossip he has ‘started conversations with a few cruiseline partners’, but he declined to give further details until negotiations are at a more advanced stage.
One TTNG agent agreed that The Cruise Club was ‘fantastic’ for cruises to the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, but they said they didn’t use it for more complicated itineraries in other parts of the world.
“We use it a lot for straightforward cruise bookings, but we don’t for something like a Silversea cruise combined with three weeks in Asia,” they said.
To encourage more agents to use The Cruise Club and increase cruise bookings in general, John is also planning a TTNG cruise conference early next year, probably in March or April.
John said he believes cruising is ‘a big opportunity’ for TTNG members. In the UK, 2.4 million people booked cruises last year, which he said was ‘only scratching the surface of the opportunity available’.
He told members to target multi-generation groups, solo travellers and clients from their 40s to 60s looking for adventure.
“The market is high, capacity is high, customers want to go on a cruise,” he said, pointing out that the average spend is £2.5k to £5k a head, giving agents a healthy commission.
However, they can also work out cheaper than land-based holidays, said John, and they provide customers with ‘a safe way to see multiple destinations’.
To further boost commission, John urged TTNG agents attending his cruise seminar in Bucharest to always quote for a balcony cabin. “Clients rarely downgrade once they have experienced it,” he added.
John also suggested agents encourage clients to re-book onboard their cruise. “Clients get discounts and savings, agents still get the commission,” he said.
However, one agent pointed out to Travel Gossip that if they packaged a cruise using a third-party tour operator, the commission from any repeat bookings went back to the operator. “You have to be careful, the operators don’t always pass the commission back to us,” they said.
John also urged TTNG members not to sell on price, but on value, and to differentiate themselves from online competitors by offering extras such as travel insurance, airport hotels and transfers.
