Travel Agent or Not

[LHT28]

Just now, ak1004 said:

 

Can you please elaborate what is "quite sales"? How does it work and how your agent knows what exactly you are interested in in order to let you know about those sales?

Quiet sales  are usually sent to TA's  where they can pass on the saving/upgrades to their clients

 

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Well if you are not happy with your TA  why would you stay with them

So your current TA gives  you  a good deal  with discounts or cash back  but you want more?

 

 

As I mentioned in my first post:

 

Our current TA never provided us any perks beyond what the cruise lines provide, and also Virtuoso perks (which are usually minimal, like $150-200 OBC or pre paid gratuities).

 

To summarize: 

Current TA: very responsive and reliable, but very little knowledge or experience about lines like Oceania and almost no perks.

New TA: about 10% rebate, belongs to a big agency that is supposed to be very knowledgeable and have high volume with Oceania. 

[PhD-iva]

59 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We just booked a cruise on Silversea and are getting $1,400 USD in rebates. Would you refuse to get such a generous gift?

Never.

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

We did 3 bookings recently with our new TA, along with another couple. I just double checked the numbers:

 

Booking #1: we booked OV and got 9.7% rebate, the other couple booked B3 and got 10.3% rebate. In addition we both got pre paid gratuities.

 

Booking #2: we booked French veranda and got 9.0% rebate.

 

Booking #3: we we booked OV and got 9.8% rebate, the other couple booked B3 and got 9.5% rebate.

 

All percentages are of the total fare.

Yipes! I had the impression that commissions were on a sliding scale based on category of state room booked. I’m not getting a very generous rebate from my TA, but since she’s a friend and I really like her, I am very hesitant to shop around. I’m not really money motivated, except when I am……..

 

[pinotlover]

Quiet Sales:  Are unpublished fares for specific cruises offered via the TA. They rarely include air, and may or may not include O Life.

 

The fares are “ quiet” and unpublished thus not making the fares inclusive for those having best price guarantees. 
 

My TA knows me, and talks with me regularly. She therefore knows whether I’d be interested generally, with ( for example) flying to Athens in early June for a 12 day cruise on Marina B3 or B4 for $1200 each. Or show up in Miami in a week for a 7 day Carribean cruise for $525 each.Sometimes people are flexible, others are never so. A good TA knows their customers.
 

Not everyone gets the calls.

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

Can you please elaborate what is "quite sales"? How does it work and how your agent knows what exactly you are interested in in order to let you know about those sales?

Quiet sales are discounts given to a  specific  agency or agencies  as a perk for their business volume.

 

How do you let your agent know your interests?      Well you build a relationship with an agent. They know, over the years,  who you are, you interests  your buget and values.    Based on that they can let you know when things come along that you might like.   (  Another reason for maintaining a good long term relation)

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Yipes! I had the impression that commissions were on a sliding scale based on category of state room booked. I’m not getting a very generous rebate from my TA, but since she’s a friend and I really like her, I am very hesitant to shop around. I’m not really money motivated, except when I am……..

 

Doing business with friends and relatives is not  in the best interest of the client.      It's a business relationship with no emotional ties... 

 Sort of akin to not lending friends or relatives money or property

.  More ways for you to  end up  loosing both.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Yipes! I had the impression that commissions were on a sliding scale based on category of state room booked. I’m not getting a very generous rebate from my TA, but since she’s a friend and I really like her, I am very hesitant to shop around. I’m not really money motivated, except when I am……..

 

I got quite the chuckle out of your post.

FWIW: When we were selling one of our former homes, we interviewed several realtors. One of them reminded us of one of our close friends. Another didn’t quite “fit that bill.”

In any case, when it came down to picking an agent, one of our first questions was “would we want one of our friends selling our house?” The next question was “which one had the best sales record in our neighborhood.”
 

Easy to figure out who sold our house (BTW - had three offers above asking price during the first “open house”).

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Quiet Sales:  Are unpublished fares for specific cruises offered via the TA. They rarely include air, and may or may not include O Life.

 

The fares are “ quiet” and unpublished thus not making the fares inclusive for those having best price guarantees. 
 

My TA knows me, and talks with me regularly. She therefore knows whether I’d be interested generally, with ( for example) flying to Athens in early June for a 12 day cruise on Marina B3 or B4 for $1200 each. Or show up in Miami in a week for a 7 day Carribean cruise for $525 each.Sometimes people are flexible, others are never so. A good TA knows their customers.
 

Not everyone gets the calls.

 

Wow!! 12 days on Marina balcony is usually around $4000+ and you got it for $1,200??

[MarkWiltonM]

19 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We did 3 bookings recently with our new TA, along with another couple. I just double checked the numbers:

 

Booking #1: we booked OV and got 9.7% rebate, the other couple booked B3 and got 10.3% rebate. In addition we both got pre paid gratuities.

 

Booking #2: we booked French veranda and got 9.0% rebate.

 

Booking #3: we we booked OV and got 9.8% rebate, the other couple booked B3 and got 9.5% rebate.

 

All percentages are of the total fare.

 

Good for you. With those rebates it's surprising the TAs make anything. My TA just has to book the cruise and the cabin class I ask him for. I rarely need anything else. So I wonder how much he makes, and why Oceania would give an agent so much of the fare, assuming it's upwards of 20 percent based on those rebates.

Edited May 9, 2022 by MarkWiltonM

[Flatbush Flyer]

27 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

 

Good for you. With those rebates it's surprising the TAs make anything. My TA just has to book the cruise and the cabin class I ask him for. I rarely need anything else. So I wonder how much he makes, and why Oceania would give an agent so much of the fare, assuming it's upwards of 20 percent based on those rebates.

Interesting that some folks ask why O should use TAs and have to pay them a commission. 

When one considers the time, energy and cost of manpower to deal with many many “window shoppers” as well as booked clients needing significant handholding AND the cost of advertising/marketing beyond O’s print and e-brochures (plus the occasional O ads you’ll see in lux oriented publications) AND, of course, the salary, benefits and facilities expenses necessary to maintain the sales force that would be necessary to replace the TAs, it’s a “no brainer” that paying TA commissions saves O a significant amount of expense.

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Interesting that some folks ask why O should use TAs and have to pay them a commission. 

When one considers the time, energy and cost of manpower to deal with many many “window shoppers” as well as booked clients needing significant handholding AND the cost of advertising/marketing beyond O’s print and e-brochures (plus the occasional O ads you’ll see in lux oriented publications) AND, of course, the salary, benefits and facilities expenses necessary to maintain the sales force that would be necessary to replace the TAs, it’s a “no brainer” that paying TA commissions saves O a significant amount of expense.

Of course TA's  do not have any of those expenses  so they can offer  big rebates  🙄

[ak1004]

10 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Interesting that some folks ask why O should use TAs and have to pay them a commission. 

When one considers the time, energy and cost of manpower to deal with many many “window shoppers” as well as booked clients needing significant handholding AND the cost of advertising/marketing beyond O’s print and e-brochures (plus the occasional O ads you’ll see in lux oriented publications) AND, of course, the salary, benefits and facilities expenses necessary to maintain the sales force that would be necessary to replace the TAs, it’s a “no brainer” that paying TA commissions saves O a significant amount of expense.

 

And the question still remains how some of the TAs are able to pay those rebates? I mean, on a $3,000 USD booking, even if they get 15% from O, and give a 10% rebate, they are left with $150? This is split between the TA and the agency, plus all the extra expenses they have?

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

And the question still remains how some of the TAs are able to pay those rebates? I mean, on a $3,000 USD booking, even if they get 15% from O, and give a 10% rebate, they are left with $150? This is split between the TA and the agency, plus all the extra expenses they have?

Those size of rebates don’t go people buying $3000 cruises. Things must be kept in perspective. 
 

On a separate note, talked to my TA this morning about payment for both an upcoming cruise and for reservation charges for two newly booked cruises. Ask her about quiet sales. Silence, then “ I don’t think Oceania does that anymore. Haven’t seen one in maybe 5 years.”  So perhaps quiet sales are like the  OCCC, relics of the past whose legacy holds on more in story than fact.

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Those size of rebates don’t go people buying $3000 cruises. Things must be kept in perspective. 
 

On a separate note, talked to my TA this morning about payment for both an upcoming cruise and for reservation charges for two newly booked cruises. Ask her about quiet sales. Silence, then “ I don’t think Oceania does that anymore. Haven’t seen one in maybe 5 years.”  So perhaps quiet sales are like the  OCCC, relics of the past whose legacy holds on more in story than fact.

 

Our last 3 bookings:
1) OV at $4,145 CAD ($3,300 USD)

2) FV at $4,445 CAD ($3,550 USD)
3) OV at $2,899 CAD ($2,300 USD)

Got around 9.5% of the full fair rebates.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

And the question still remains how some of the TAs are able to pay those rebates? I mean, on a $3,000 USD booking, even if they get 15% from O, and give a 10% rebate, they are left with $150? This is split between the TA and the agency, plus all the extra expenses they have?

A $3000 booking? I think you’ve erroneously left out a “0.” 👀

 

As I have posted previously, we’ll occasionally do a shortie CA coast cruise with one of our favorite TAs who is not a big fan of rebates. Her OCAPP coverage of gratuities gets us $250 “in lieu” from O (for not using the O Club grats perk). Add Platinum SBC $ and the TA’s onboard events and we’re fine with the deal.

But, a $30k cruise is a different animal altogether.  Blah Blah Blah.

[ak1004]

7 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

A $3000 booking? I think you’ve erroneously left out a “0.” 👀

 

 

 

Not really.

 

 

 

 

Those are all 10 nights sailings in OV or French veranda. Got around 9.5% rebate on all of them.

Don't really need a bigger room or a veranda as we rarely spend time in the room. And cannot do longer cruises at this point due to elderly parents.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Not really.

 

 

 

 

Those are all 10 nights sailings in OV or French veranda. Got around 9.5% rebate on all of them.

Don't really need a bigger room or a veranda as we rarely spend time in the room. And cannot do longer cruises at this point due to elderly parents.  

Per “person” is vastly different than per “booking” (your earlier post).

In any case, still a different ball game than our usual booking, which (while B cabins) would add that extra zero because of cruise length.

[Hawaiidan]

4 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Our last 3 bookings:
1) OV at $4,145 CAD ($3,300 USD)

2) FV at $4,445 CAD ($3,550 USD)
3) OV at $2,899 CAD ($2,300 USD)

Got around 9.5% of the full fair rebates.

I  think your quoting PP rates not gross.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Hawaiidan said:

I  think your quoting PP rates not gross.

Correct. Sorry for the confusion.

 

But even with $6k total booking their net commission after the rebate is still pretty low. Even considering that we are very low maintenance and the TA probably won’t spend any time beyond the booking and sending the invoice.

[pinotlover]

Rather abusive. I was calculating how many cruises the TA must manage just to pay health insurance! 🥺 Hope no kids are involved! I’m not a bleeding heart liberal by any measure, but participation in that gets to close to the edge! I wonder if the Agency is also running a sweatshop seamstress shop in conjunction with the Travel Agency? 🥺

[Flatbush Flyer]

10 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Rather abusive. I was calculating how many cruises the TA must manage just to pay health insurance! 🥺 Hope no kids are involved! I’m not a bleeding heart liberal by any measure, but participation in that gets to close to the edge! I wonder if the Agency is also running a sweatshop seamstress shop in conjunction with the Travel Agency? 🥺

And IMO, herein lies the crux of the issue.

Shorter or less expensive cruise? As I mentioned previously, I wouldn’t even ask for a rebate. Longer or more expensive cruise (particularly if client is doing most of the work)? No problem with wanting to share commissions.

 

After all, there are some TAs who won’t book certain cruises on certain lines because they would make so little for what can often be so much work.

 

Nonetheless, I could certainly understand the reluctance of any TA to share too much with a new customer whose service expectations/needs may be unknown/untested. On the other hand, if there’s been a long and consistent relationship of substantial bookings between client and TA,   you’d think the TA would want to keep that connection strong.

[ak1004]

Well, I didn’t ask for those rebates. The TA was the one who offered them, after a CC member referred me to her. I don’t think it’s appropriate to call it abusive.

 

I can understand if a TA doesn’t want to share commissions. There are plenty who would love to do it to get new clients or keep existing ones. 
 

When you go to buy a new car, don’t you want the lowest price? When you offer to a dealer $500 above invoice, is it abusive?

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Well, I didn’t ask for those rebates. The TA was the one who offered them, after a CC member referred me to her. I don’t think it’s appropriate to call it abusive.

 

I can understand if a TA doesn’t want to share commissions. There are plenty who would love to do it to get new clients or keep existing ones. 
 

When you go to buy a new car, don’t you want the lowest price? When you offer to a dealer $500 above invoice, is it abusive?

Agreed. Our situation is, perhaps, unusual. Big cruises - want rebate. Small cruises - not a deal breaker.

[gilew]

On 4/21/2022 at 6:14 PM, Hawaiidan said:

Search the topic....  It is leg work.....   ask questions of agents...   Do not confine your search to Marin or the bay

   I am in so cal   I use people in Texas,     Some in NM.     Some in Fla.       ASK  O direct  who their agents... ask the question on google !     .      You only have 30 days from booking to transfer...........     Even People in Gurneville    or  Tacoloma  dont book direct.... at the very minimum you blew off  5% cash back or discount off the price + God knows how many additional perks....   

 

77 days lets say at $650 a day, ok    thats $2500.00 to$ 5000.00 bucks,,,    you lost out on............