No commision for my travel agent ?

Hi Folks,

A few weeks ago, we bought a cruise leaving new York on July 25. We did that online, and thought we had 30 days to have the booking transferred to our AAA travel agent here in Colorado. But that is not their policy, it turns out. Because we paid for the cruise in full, our TA cannot get a commission! Here is their exact wording to my TA:

"Before we transfer this booking over to you and your agency, we need to let you know that commission will not be earned on the booking. Guests booked and paid final on this booking on 02MAY2018, and we are 65 days from sailing. Please let us know if you would like to accept this booking without commission being earned."

I thought the cruise line would be appreciative of our quick paid reservations. Guess not.. Every line has their own policies, apparently.

Dave

Hi Folks,

 

A few weeks ago, we bought a cruise leaving new York on July 25. We did that online, and thought we had 30 days to have the booking transferred to our AAA travel agent here in Colorado. But that is not their policy, it turns out. Because we paid for the cruise in full, our TA cannot get a commission! Here is their exact wording to my TA:

 

"Before we transfer this booking over to you and your agency, we need to let you know that commission will not be earned on the booking. Guests booked and paid final on this booking on 02MAY2018, and we are 65 days from sailing. Please let us know if you would like to accept this booking without commission being earned."

 

I thought the cruise line would be appreciative of our quick paid reservations. Guess not.. Every line has their own policies, apparently.

"Because we paid for the cruise in full," I think it is not directly because you paid the cruise quickly but that it is "paid final"; no commission on a agency transfer after final payment date.

and "the cruise line would be appreciative of our quick paid reservations" Did you have an the choice to not pay in full at that point? Standard CL policy is booking after Final date requires full payment

In your case it sounds like the same thing, i.e. simply paid in full and cannot be transferred because of that but really is "booked and paid in full after final" cannot be transferred.

Good info for those who do book direct and transfer to their agent to use caution when considering a cruise that is after Final Payment date.

Quick question

Why did you not just book through your TA in the first place?

Quick question

Why did you not just book through your TA in the first place?

A number of folks will book themselves onboard O or during an O promotion (e.g., a holiday flash sale) and then shop their cruise around to several TAs to find one who will best sweeten the deal.

A number of folks will book themselves onboard O or during an O promotion (e.g., a holiday flash sale) and then shop their cruise around to several TAs to find one who will best sweeten the deal.

Yes they do, but that is not the point of a commission vis a vis the Cruise Line.

From their perspective, Commissions are paid for the work which the Agent does in booking the trip as well as a thank you for their possibly having recommended the Line.

Times are certainly changing with the Internet, but at a certain point bending the rules becomes breaking the rules :confused:

A number of folks will book themselves onboard O or during an O promotion (e.g., a holiday flash sale) and then shop their cruise around to several TAs to find one who will best sweeten the deal.

OK so I have never booked onboard or online

I was under the impression that when you do book the booking goes to the Agent you used before

Unless you are new to O then it will not

I guess the OP is new to Oceania :confused:

Interesting point. I have booked aboard through the onboard O Ambassador. My TA got immediate credit and notifications. I have never booked direct however. Would a person that went online, did an online booking outside of using the onboard O Ambassador still get the benies for an onboard booking?

Same question, why would one do that, but control freaks often surprise me.

Yes they do, but that is not the point of a commission vis a vis the Cruise Line.

 

From their perspective, Commissions are paid for the work which the Agent does in booking the trip as well as a thank you for their possibly having recommended the Line.

 

Times are certainly changing with the Internet, but at a certain point bending the rules becomes breaking the rules :confused:

Totally agree.

Greetings, Everyone from South Beach. We always book on board when we like the offering, and our TA always gets the booking. There are certain guarantees and bonuses, even though variable in size, that we like. More is better than less in this situation. In our case, the actual booking is the easy part. Our agent takes care of all sorts of issues for us, and she is worth every penny of her commission.

Mary

Somehow this got turned into a booking on board conversation, but I don't believe the op booked on board.

I called Oceania directly to book. It was the O representative that I spoke with who told me that I had 30 days to transfer my booking to a TA if I would like to do that. He had been very helpful so I told him that I wouldn't want him to lose credit for the booking. He assured he would still get credit for the sale and I would probably be able to receive other benefits by transferring my booking.

BTW, I am neither a "control freak" nor was I "breaking the rules".:rolleyes:

I called Oceania directly to book. It was the O representative that I spoke with who told me that I had 30 days to transfer my booking to a TA if I would like to do that. He had been very helpful so I told him that I wouldn't want him to lose credit for the booking. He assured he would still get credit for the sale and I would probably be able to receive other benefits by transferring my booking.

BTW, I am neither a "control freak" nor was I "breaking the rules".:rolleyes:

Did you book prior to the final payment date or after??

The issue may be that the OP booked after final payment date so maybe at that point if they book direct then the new TA does not receive the commission

Unless the OP returns with info it is speculation

Did you book prior to the final payment date or after??

 

The issue may be that the OP booked after final payment date so maybe at that point if they book direct then the new TA does not receive the commission

Unless the OP returns with info it is speculation

I think you are right.

OK so I have never booked onboard or online

 

 

 

I was under the impression that when you do book the booking goes to the Agent you used before

 

 

 

Unless you are new to O then it will not

 

 

 

 

 

I guess the OP is new to Oceania :confused:

You are correct that the "book onboard" cruise goes to the TA who booked the current cruise UNLESS you sign a form booking it to yourself. Then you have the 30 days to shop around for a TA transfer. We always do that (including right now on Insignia). A little competition is a healthy thing and the three regular agents we regularly use all know it. Remember as well that each agent may or may not have some Oceania or TA consortium promotion going on at the exact time you are booking. So never hurts to check.

Yes they do, but that is not the point of a commission vis a vis the Cruise Line.

 

From their perspective, Commissions are paid for the work which the Agent does in booking the trip as well as a thank you for their possibly having recommended the Line.

 

Times are certainly changing with the Internet, but at a certain point bending the rules becomes breaking the rules :confused:

Totally agree.

It's a practice that neither bends nor breaks the rules.

Even before booking via the internet became common cruise lines offered booking incentives for passengers who booked on board, and as long as you wanted to have the booking assigned to your travel agent it was. I've booked a number cruises over the years on different cruise lines this way.

The same holds for transferring a booking the passenger makes directly with the cruise line, not while on board a ship, to their agent of choice. It's permitted within the bounds of each line's rules and procedures, and has been allowed for years. Let's say I want to book a particular cruise on a day or at a time when my travel agent's office is closed. I can call the cruise line or book on the cruise line's website, and then follow their process to have it transferred.

If cruise lines didn't permit these transfers they would be viewed by the travel agency industry as pirating their customers. Given the importance of travel agents to the cruise industry, it would not be in the cruise lines' best interests to be viewed in this light.

It's a practice that neither bends nor breaks the rules.

 

Even before booking via the internet became common cruise lines offered booking incentives for passengers who booked on board, and as long as you wanted to have the booking assigned to your travel agent it was. I've booked a number cruises over the years on different cruise lines this way.

 

The same holds for transferring a booking the passenger makes directly with the cruise line, not while on board a ship, to their agent of choice. It's permitted within the bounds of each line's rules and procedures, and has been allowed for years. Let's say I want to book a particular cruise on a day or at a time when my travel agent's office is closed. I can call the cruise line or book on the cruise line's website, and then follow their process to have it transferred.

 

If cruise lines didn't permit these transfers they would be viewed by the travel agency industry as pirating their customers. Given the importance of travel agents to the cruise industry, it would not be in the cruise lines' best interests to be viewed in this light.

I agree with you completely about being able to transfer bookings in general.

I was referring to the process of using a newly made booking as bait to lure the Agent with the most freebies after the fact.

That has never been OK.

I agree with you completely about being able to transfer bookings in general.

 

I was referring to the process of using a newly made booking as bait to lure the Agent with the most freebies after the fact.

 

That has never been OK.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you regarding "bait."

Are you saying that a passenger onboard a ship is somehow misbehaving if s/he does all the research about itinerary selection, dollar comparisons for items like B2B vs "extended journey" or air vs no air/DIY and sits in line (perhaps several times) waiting their turn to discuss best choices with the O Club Ambassador AND, then, chooses NOT to automatically assign ownership of the new booking to the TA associated with the current cruise?

If so, that would be akin to saying that you should automatically buy a new car (of the same manufacture) from the same salesperson who sold you your trade-in.

IMO (and according to every O Club Ambassador with whom I have conversed), the only reason the onboard bookings are associated with your "current" TA (or yourself) is to avoid any possibility of Ambassadors favoring/recommending particular TAs. Now, THAT would be the truly wrong and unethical issue.

Again, competition for a passenger's hard earned dollars is a good thing. And, from my conversations with many other O regulars, self-assignment of "book onboard" and "shopping" (not "fishing") across TAs (both old and new) for transfer to garner the best add-on TA perks is not uncommon nor is it in any way "wrong."

I called Oceania directly to book. It was the O representative that I spoke with who told me that I had 30 days to transfer my booking to a TA if I would like to do that. He had been very helpful so I told him that I wouldn't want him to lose credit for the booking. He assured he would still get credit for the sale and I would probably be able to receive other benefits by transferring my booking.

BTW, I am neither a "control freak" nor was I "breaking the rules".:rolleyes:

I still don't understand why, if you wanted your TA to get credit for the booking, you didn't book through him/her.

I agree with you completely about being able to transfer bookings in general.

 

I was referring to the process of using a newly made booking as bait to lure the Agent with the most freebies after the fact.

 

That has never been OK.

Nothing wrong with this.

That's the free market; you're auctioning off your booking, and TAs decide whether it's worth bidding on money-for-nothing, and if so, how much.

(If O wasn't in the business of discriminatory pricing it wouldn't happen, so I don't feel sorry for O either...)

I still don't understand why, if you wanted your TA to get credit for the booking, you didn't book through him/her.

Booking on board is one instance to not book with the TA immediately, but transfer while on board the booking to the TA. There are additional incentives available on board which the TA doesn't have access to. This approach does not compromise any of your regular TSA's benefits.

Alternatively, you can book with a TA prior to a sailing, and if the category room that you booked is still available when on board, you can request the on board incentives to be added to the TA's booking.

I still don't understand why, if you wanted your TA to get credit for the booking, you didn't book through him/her.

You may want to reread some of the earlier posts.

Booking yourself has already done the work for potential TAs. All they have to do (initially) is work on what extra perks to provide (since you've done all the research et al.).

You book and then you contact TAs indicating what you've purchased. They take their best shot at sweetening the deal.

Note, however, like with all goods and services, the best financial deal isn't always the best overall deal. Trust, reputation, past experience with particular TAs are all factors to also consider in addition to bottom line $$$.

I agree with you completely about being able to transfer bookings in general.

 

I was referring to the process of using a newly made booking as bait to lure the Agent with the most freebies after the fact.

 

That has never been OK.

Never OK under whose rules? The cruise lines don't have any rules preventing it.

I do all my own research for our cruise vacations. The TA I choose to use has nothing more complicated to do than the simple mechanics of being my intermediary with the cruise line. I've already chosen the cruise line/itinerary/cabin category/often the cabin itself.

I'll pick the agent based on a combination of my prior experience with them and the incentives they offer. It's not uncommon for me to book with the agent I'm most comfortable with rather than the agent with the absolute best incentives as long as the agent I'm most comfortable with is offering something reasonably close to what other agents are.

It's a normal everyday common business practice.

Some years ago one of the businesses I owned and operated was a travel agency. Cruise clients did business with my agency the same way I do business today a client. There were any number of my clients who didn't book with me because I offered the best financial deal. They booked with me because they were happy with the service I provided.

My only $.02 is to please remember the protocols. We regularly get posters here complaining about either lack of direct service from O customer service or being redirected to their TA to handle certain affairs. In their minds they want to deal with Oceania direct in all manners and only use the TA for kickbacks and benefits. Not the protocols Oceania established.

I always, when not aboard, book with my TA. Any and all financial arrangements between us have already been established.

Never OK under whose rules? The cruise lines don't have any rules preventing it.

 

I do all my own research for our cruise vacations. The TA I choose to use has nothing more complicated to do than the simple mechanics of being my intermediary with the cruise line. I've already chosen the cruise line/itinerary/cabin category/often the cabin itself.

 

I'll pick the agent based on a combination of my prior experience with them and the incentives they offer. It's not uncommon for me to book with the agent I'm most comfortable with rather than the agent with the absolute best incentives as long as the agent I'm most comfortable with is offering something reasonably close to what other agents are.

 

It's a normal everyday common business practice.

 

Some years ago one of the businesses I owned and operated was a travel agency. Cruise clients did business with my agency the same way I do business today a client. There were any number of my clients who didn't book with me because I offered the best financial deal. They booked with me because they were happy with the service I provided.

My only $.02 is to please remember the protocols. We regularly get posters here complaining about either lack of direct service from O customer service or being redirected to their TA to handle certain affairs. In their minds they want to deal with Oceania direct in all manners and only use the TA for kickbacks and benefits. Not the protocols Oceania established.

 

I always, when not aboard, book with my TA. Any and all financial arrangements between us have already been established.

This is exactly why travel agents are marginalizing themselves out of existence. In reality they don't "STEER" many customers to a certain cruise line. Like you all, most customers now do all the due diligence on-line and just transfer the booking for a good "Kickback".

OK so I have never booked onboard or online

 

I was under the impression that when you do book the booking goes to the Agent you used

 

I guess the OP is new to Oceania :confused:

I just got caught in this with Celebrity. Booked with them 4 weeks from sailing, then made the mistake of paying in full. When I told the rep I wanted to transfer to my TA I was informed that I couldn't do it after final. And I did have a TA of record with them from past sailings.

So it was a lose/lose deal, my TA didn't get any money from Celebrity, and I didn't get the perks he usually give us on transferring our booking to him. :loudcry::loudcry: Money down the drain. It won't happen again, though.