RCCL wont match Travel Agencies OBC

[BlueSkySailing]

I made 2 reservations directly with RCCL about 2 weeks ago. Not sailing till October. I know I can transfer my reservations to the Travel Agency and get $150 obc. But I called to see if RCCL wanted to cut out the middle man and give me $150, save them money in the long run. I mean, RCCL will be paying a Travel Agency much more then $150 to sell me the same thing. Could someone explain this logic to me. RCCL is cutting back and charging more for things here and there. Here I am trying to help them and they are saying no Thank You. We'll pay a Travel Agency around $400 in commission instead of giving you the $150obc.

[leaveitallbehind]

I made 2 reservations directly with RCCL about 2 weeks ago. Not sailing till October. I know I can transfer my reservations to the Travel Agency and get $150 obc. But I called to see if RCCL wanted to cut out the middle man and give me $150, save them money in the long run. I mean, RCCL will be paying a Travel Agency much more then $150 to sell me the same thing. Could someone explain this logic to me. RCCL is cutting back and charging more for things here and there. Here I am trying to help them and they are saying no Thank You. We'll pay a Travel Agency around $400 in commission instead of giving you the $150obc.

 

Very simple - the TA is offering his OBC out of his pocket from his commission. This is not an RCI sponsored OBC so they are not obligated to match an independent TA's out of pocket offer. Why should they? You can either book directly with RCI and not get the OBC or book with the TA and get it - which is their enticement for you to book with them. RCI doesn't care either way - nor should they.

 

As about 75% of all cruises are booked through TA's, there is a strong and positive relationship between most cruise lines and TA's - why would they want to "cut out the middle man" that is generating the majority of their business? Your offer would not be helping them at all.

 

Another way to look at it is the commission they pay a TA would essentially be what they would allocate towards the expense of their own reservation staff if a cruise is booked directly. Their payroll has to come from somewhere. I doubt there is any real savings to be had by them to cut a TA's commission out and expect you to book directly. It would only hurt their business in the long run.

Edited March 24, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[DEIx15x8]

Very simple - the TA is offering his OBC out of his pocket from his commission. This is not an RCI sponsored OBC so they are not obligated to match an independent TA's out of pocket offer. Why should they? You can either book directly with RCI and not get the OBC or book with the TA and get it - which is their enticement for you to book with them. RCI doesn't care either way - nor should they.

 

As about 75% of all cruises are booked through TA's, there is a strong and positive relationship between most cruise lines and TA's - why would they want to "cut out the middle man" that is generating the majority of their business? Your offer would not be helping them at all.

 

Another way to look at it is the commission they pay a TA would essentially be what they would allocate towards the expense of their own reservation staff if a cruise is booked directly. Their payroll has to come from somewhere. I doubt there is any real savings to be had by them to cut a TA's commission out and expect you to book directly. It would only hurt their business in the long run.

Exactly what I was going to say.

[BlueSkySailing]

leaveitallbehind- Thank You. Even if I still have a hard time thinking it cost them as much as a commission for me to book directly with RCCL. The answer you have given me makes scents. I didn't realize that around 75% of all sales are from TA's. I don't now why I'm on hold then for 2hrs at a time when I call RCCL :) But this is much better then RCCL just saying, well we just can't and that's just the way it is.

[dacsmom]

RCI encourages the use of TA's and have a good relationship with them. Many TA's add reservations to a group booking and that is why they can offer some of the perks. Either way have a great cruise.

[ehfl]

Obviously, RCL gets a huge amount of its business through travel agents. If they started cutting them out of the loop, the TAs would take their business elsewhere, which would be really bad for RCL. They know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.

[BlueSkySailing]

I guess I had no idea how much business TA's gave Royal. I am glad CC is always here to answer any and all questions :) I feel Royal answer was lame. Thank You all for clearing this up. After 7 RCCL cruises this is the first time I'll be spending a lot more money in a RFS. Getting a great deal but still costing a pretty penny. Never stood to get a decent OBC before so never worried about it. I'm hoping this will be a great Family cruise as it has in past years. Thank You all again.

[cruzincurt]

A cruiseline is not going to undercut the travel agencies. The problem I have with some TAs is they withdraw their offered perks when one tries to apply C&A benefits. So they discriminate against C&A members.

 

Fact, one large online TA withdrew the "free gratuities" when I asked to apply my C&A balcony discount.

 

So, I argued with the supervisor that I was booking a high category balcony for $2,200 and wanted to apply my $200 discount, thus bring the fare down to $2,000. On the other hand, they would provide the free gratuities to a cheaper $1,200 inside cabin fare. It made no sense.

 

They agreed to restore the free gratuities offer to my booking. And please, don't argue that the TA's only make $5 on a booking. Do they want my business or not?

Edited March 24, 2014 by cruzincurt

[silentbob007]

Also realize that there are limits to the "gifts" that TAs can offer ... and these limits have been shrinking in recent years. They are more likely to eliminate this type of OBC altogether than match a price.

[Case1096]

A cruiseline is not going to undercut the travel agencies. The problem I have with some TAs is they withdraw their offered perks when one tries to apply C&A benefits. So they discriminate against C&A members.

 

Fact, one large online TA withdrew the "free gratuities" when I asked to apply my C&A balcony discount.

 

So, I argued with the supervisor that I was booking a high category balcony for $2,200 and wanted to apply my $200 discount, thus bring the fare down to $2,000. On the other hand, they would provide the free gratuities to a cheaper $1,200 inside cabin fare. It made no sense.

 

They agreed to restore the free gratuities offer to my booking. And please, don't argue that the TA's only make $5 on a booking. Do they want my business or not?

 

Carnival is an example of a Cruise line that competes with its Agents. Carnival is moving to the No Travel Agent model. And many of the "better" Agents have even stopped selling Carnival because of the negative relationships. NCL had tried this a few years ago and saw how detrimental it was to their business that they had to win the Agents back.

[travelplus]

I agree with travel agents you can get more OBC. When we booked our cruise for this April we got $100 for both of us in the cabin.

[Mark_K]

They agreed to restore the free gratuities offer to my booking. And please, don't argue that the TA's only make $5 on a booking. Do they want my business or not?

To answer your question, If they actually only made $5 on your booking, no, they wouldn't want your business.

 

 

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[Royalty X]

A cruiseline is not going to undercut the travel agencies. The problem I have with some TAs is they withdraw their offered perks when one tries to apply C&A benefits. So they discriminate against C&A members.

 

Fact, one large online TA withdrew the "free gratuities" when I asked to apply my C&A balcony discount.

 

So, I argued with the supervisor that I was booking a high category balcony for $2,200 and wanted to apply my $200 discount, thus bring the fare down to $2,000. On the other hand, they would provide the free gratuities to a cheaper $1,200 inside cabin fare. It made no sense.

 

They agreed to restore the free gratuities offer to my booking. And please, don't argue that the TA's only make $5 on a booking. Do they want my business or not?

There are lots of different fare types available to agents. The one with the obc was more than likely part of a group that the agency owned for that sailing. When you apply a C&A balcony discount, it actually means we have to use a different fare type, which may not be combinable with the group rate (hence no obc being offered). With regards to RCI paying TA's commission, that's between the agents and RCI. They have a wholesale rate for agents, who then sell the fare at retail pricing (or slightly under so they can be cheaper than going direct to RCI). The difference between what you pay and the nett amount the agent pays to RCI for your fare, is their commission. Trust me, I know! ;)

[cruisnseas]

A few things:

 

When you book directly, Royal pays a commission to their rep, they have to pay reps to handle your calls up to your cruise, they have overhead, etc. It costs about the same to have you book directly as it does to have you book with a mid level TA.

 

In addition, Royal is very specific that they do not bad mouth TAs. They rely on travel agents to bring in the vast majority of business. A few years ago it used to be closer to 90% of their business came from TAs and now its closer to 70%. So one day, maybe, they will compete with the trade but for now it would be shooting themselves in the foot.

[Oppalopa]

There are lots of different fare types available to agents. The one with the obc was more than likely part of a group that the agency owned for that sailing. When you apply a C&A balcony discount, it actually means we have to use a different fare type, which may not be combinable with the group rate (hence no obc being offered). With regards to RCI paying TA's commission, that's between the agents and RCI. They have a wholesale rate for agents, who then sell the fare at retail pricing (or slightly under so they can be cheaper than going direct to RCI). The difference between what you pay and the nett amount the agent pays to RCI for your fare, is their commission. Trust me, I know! ;)

Thank you I am glad to know that :) Just one more reason to love my TA

[cruisnseas]

They have a wholesale rate for agents, who then sell the fare at retail pricing (or slightly under so they can be cheaper than going direct to RCI). The difference between what you pay and the nett amount the agent pays to RCI for your fare, is their commission. Trust me, I know! ;)

 

This isn't exactly true on a couple of levels.

 

First, TAs are absolutely prohibited to offer a price lower than what Royal offers. Sometimes it may seem as if they are doing this but they are really offering group space that was reserved earlier when the price was lower. If a TA is caught underselling Royal (and other TAs) they can lose the ability to book Royal. Been there. Seen that. It gets ugly.

 

Second, their commission is based not on the difference of a wholesale rate and the rate they sell it at but rather a percentage based upon their booking volume.

[mjldvlks]

I wouldn't be surprised if RCI has an agreement with at least some TAs that would prohibit them undercutting the published price in this fashion.

[waterbug123]

leaveitallbehind- Thank You. Even if I still have a hard time thinking it cost them as much as a commission for me to book directly with RCCL. The answer you have given me makes scents. I didn't realize that around 75% of all sales are from TA's. I don't now why I'm on hold then for 2hrs at a time when I call RCCL :) But this is much better then RCCL just saying, well we just can't and that's just the way it is.

 

Even if 75% are booked through TA's, that leaves thousands and thousands of people calling Royal to book a cruise, change something about their cruise, ask a question, gather information before booking, call back to clarify something etc.

 

Obviously, RCL gets a huge amount of its business through travel agents. If they started cutting them out of the loop, the TAs would take their business elsewhere, which would be really bad for RCL. They know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.

 

Bingo.

[croosieloosie]

There are lots of different fare types available to agents. The one with the obc was more than likely part of a group that the agency owned for that sailing. When you apply a C&A balcony discount, it actually means we have to use a different fare type, which may not be combinable with the group rate (hence no obc being offered). With regards to RCI paying TA's commission, that's between the agents and RCI. They have a wholesale rate for agents, who then sell the fare at retail pricing (or slightly under so they can be cheaper than going direct to RCI). The difference between what you pay and the nett amount the agent pays to RCI for your fare, is their commission. Trust me, I know! ;)

 

This is incorrect.

[A2Mich]

Very simple - the TA is offering his OBC out of his pocket from his commission. This is not an RCI sponsored OBC so they are not obligated to match an independent TA's out of pocket offer. Why should they? You can either book directly with RCI and not get the OBC or book with the TA and get it - which is their enticement for you to book with them. RCI doesn't care either way - nor should they.

 

As about 75% of all cruises are booked through TA's, there is a strong and positive relationship between most cruise lines and TA's - why would they want to "cut out the middle man" that is generating the majority of their business? Your offer would not be helping them at all.

 

Another way to look at it is the commission they pay a TA would essentially be what they would allocate towards the expense of their own reservation staff if a cruise is booked directly. Their payroll has to come from somewhere. I doubt there is any real savings to be had by them to cut a TA's commission out and expect you to book directly. It would only hurt their business in the long run.

 

I'd second this as well. I use a franchised TA, and have been told that companies like Carnival were in fact cutting commissions to them, and therefore TA's didn't have the funds to offer incentives. This particular TA is very reluctant to book Carnival cruises anymore, though they did say that Carnival is once again printing brochures again and is trying to rebuild the relationships with TA's as their bookings had decreased. When the TA's commissions are being cut, who could blame them for not wanting to book Carnival? My TA had told me that Carnival booking commissions were down to like $20.00 per person, more for a suite, while other cruise lines were paying much higher commissions, so when they booked a Carnival cruise, they had to hope they had enough bookings with other cruise lines to offset the lost revenue from Carny.

 

Needless to say, I did not book a Carnival cruise, and I even told my TA that if I were to book a Carnival cruise I would likely book directly with the cruise line. Not that I want to take anything away from them, but if my TA wasn't making enough money to offset the time they spent in email correspondence, phone calls, etc., then I don't want to waste their time.

[LSSloves]

There are lots of different fare types available to agents. The one with the obc was more than likely part of a group that the agency owned for that sailing. When you apply a C&A balcony discount, it actually means we have to use a different fare type, which may not be combinable with the group rate (hence no obc being offered). With regards to RCI paying TA's commission, that's between the agents and RCI. They have a wholesale rate for agents, who then sell the fare at retail pricing (or slightly under so they can be cheaper than going direct to RCI). The difference between what you pay and the nett amount the agent pays to RCI for your fare, is their commission. Trust me, I know! ;)

 

This is incorrect.

[Royalty X]

This is incorrect.

 

 

No, it's not. I'm a cruise TA. Maybe we do it differently in Australia...

Edited March 25, 2014 by Royalty X

[Trekker954]

Does anyone know if:

 

I booked a two bedroom suite aka RFS for my October sailing back in January during a wow sale (OBC $400) directly thru RCI. I never got around to transferring this to a TA as I was content with my $400.

 

A couple of weeks ago, RCI cancelled it for me and rebooked it during the kids sail free promotion (lost my OBC but saved $1800).

 

Since this was rebooked (even though they moved all the deposits etc over without refunding and charging my deposit again), can I now move this to a TA for some other perks? The booking date is showing the March date.

[cruzsnooze]

I don't think 75% of cruises are booked with a TA I think 75% are booked directly with the cruise line. I get calls constantly from my personal cruise consultant at RCL, Princess Ncl asking me about booking. Last week i was looking at HAL cruises online. he very next day I got a call from HAL asking if I would like to book a cruise with them. TA's are not available all the hours the cruise lines are available. If you want to make changes to your reservation or change cabins or take advantage of a price drop it's better to be able to call yourself and keep control of your booking. TA's are starting to charge for all changes and cancelling a booking. If I want to change cabins I'm not going to pay a TA $25 Pp ( a typical charge) to do what i can achieve in phone call. another decade. Computers have replaced a lot of service industry jobs and TA's will be another casualty.

[kruzerci]

Does anyone know if:

 

I booked a two bedroom suite aka RFS for my October sailing back in January during a wow sale (OBC $400) directly thru RCI. I never got around to transferring this to a TA as I was content with my $400.

 

A couple of weeks ago, RCI cancelled it for me and rebooked it during the kids sail free promotion (lost my OBC but saved $1800).

 

Since this was rebooked (even though they moved all the deposits etc over without refunding and charging my deposit again), can I now move this to a TA for some other perks? The booking date is showing the March date.

 

I would think so. You have 60 days from the original booking date. If you got a new reservation number in March, you should be good.