Carnival: Real Change or Window Dressing? Jul 15th 2013, 23:45
As you might expect, reaction varies to Carnival Cruise Lines’ new travel agent outreach program. Some travel agents are suspicious that Carnival is only reaching out now because it needs help after a series of unfortunate incidents onboard its ships that have dampened demand.
These agents wonder if the new “Carnival Conversations” program is for real or just “window dressing.” But others welcome any program that seeks to improve the relationship between the cruise line and agents, whatever the impetus for creating it in the first place.
Carnival Conversations officially launched July 1 with a schedule of road shows, webinars, trade advertising and places for agent input at the line’s travel agent portal. Carnival’s top two sales executives -- Lynn Torrent, executive vice president of sales and guest services, and Joni Rein, vice president of worldwide sales -- are remarkably frank in admitting that Carnival’s relationship with agents has deteriorated, especially last year when a number of policy changes angered many in the trade.
For example, agents did not like Carnival’s restructuring of the commission tiers that determine overrides. They also believed that the line has eliminated or drastically reduced co-op marketing assistance and changed the fare code system in a way some found confusing. They also believed Carnival was aggressively working to increase direct consumer bookings.
Torrent and Rein gauged the relationship over the past few months in a series of meetings with agents. “Many travel agents we talked to believed that Carnival doesn’t value them or need them,” Torrent told Travel Pulse on June 25 Travel Pulse article. “I would say that was, unfortunately, a pervasive theme.”
Rein added that “there wasn’t really a two-way dialogue. We weren’t letting agents express a lot of the thoughts they had about Carnival.” That’s why the new program will include more road shows that will be “more of a fireside chat” than a product presentation, she explained.
Torrent and Rein say changes are already being made, and a major one is in the works. For example, they pledged to simplify the fare structure by this fall. “Travel agents are telling us that Carnival used to be the easiest cruise line to book with and now we’re the most difficult,” Torrent says. “Simply put, we want to be easy to book with again.”
Steve Cousino, owner of Journeys by Steve near Madison, Wis., wants that too. He’s glad Carnival opened the dialogue with the trade, but says he can’t help but be “a little wary” of the program.
“I think the Carnival Conversations scheme is a good one, but to me, it smacks of posturing -- the ‘tell them what they want to hear’ kind of thing,” Cousino says. “If Carnival truly cared how the agent community felt about their relationship, this would have been an ongoing program years in the running, rather than something launched in the wake of several PR disasters and lowered earnings and so on.
Since 2008 or so, it seems that most company-wide polices or changes Carnival Cruise Lines instituted were making it more difficult to do business with them, and now that their biscuit’s cooked it’s difficult to not be a little wary of this program,” Cousino adds. “Having said that, I’m happy to see they recognize the need to revisit things and improve on the supplier-agent relationship. Contrary to what some other agents may feel, I do want Carnival to be successful. They have decent ships that provide a lot of amenities and features that some people like, and they are the right cruise line for some.
“Agents like myself are in a position to help Carnival be successful, but we need them to help us be successful too, Cousino says. “It should be a symbiotic relationship rather than the parasitic one that has been in place for the last few years. While I am wary about Carnival’s motives behind the Carnival Conversations program, I am a little hopeful that this means they’re moving back towards a more healthy place in the industry.”
Bill Knight, owner of All Cruise Travel in San Jose, Calif., has criticized several of Carnival’s policy changes over the past year and began actively booking away from the Fun Ship line. Now, he’s taking “a wait-and-see attitude” toward the new program, he says.
Knight says many consumers have a negative attitude about Carnival that has been fueled by incidents on its cruises, especially the Carnival Triumph, which lost power in the Gulf of Mexico in mid-February. “Clients are saying do not quote me a Carnival cruise because they see them on the news,” Knight says. “But Carnival made it so difficult for agents to sell the product to earn just a nominal commission, so why should we make the effort to change the client’s mind?”
Drew Daly, vice president of sales performance at CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., says he’s focused on the positive. “The new program will further open up the lines of dialogue between travel agents and Carnival,” he says. “The new campaign is just one way that Carnival recognizes the importance of reaching out and engaging with the travel industry.
“Open dialogue and communication is an important part to any healthy business relationship,” Daly continues. “We think it is a strong move on their part to show their continued support for agents and for the industry growth. It is always good to engage with the trade and have the necessary conversations that will help foster future growth and productivity.”
Indeed, time will tell what results Carnival Conversations will bring for the cruise line, but it sounds like Torrent and Rein understand what they need to do. Listening and re-engaging with the trade is certainly a good place to start.
Theresa Norton Masek, editor in chief of Vacation Agent magazine, covers the cruise industry for TravelPulse.com.
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