ALL ABOUT YOU — BUSINESS ADVICE
L CRUISE
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Iain Raeper has returned to If Only as product manager. Raeper spent three years as the operator’s
business development manager, before moving to Amadeus in May 2014.
Ellen Kinnard has joined SuperBreak as sales executive for the southwest. Kinnard has five years’ experience in travel, most recently working for the Thomson Superstore in Broughton, Flintshire.
Air France has promoted Bruno Delile to executive vice-president long- haul operations. He will also sit on the
airline’s executive committee. During his time at Air France, Delile has held several roles, most recently senior vice-president operations in the Americas for Air France Industries KLM Engineering & maintenance.
The Global Business Travel Association has announced six new members for the 2015 board of trustees for its education and research arm, the GBTA Foundation. Douglas Anderson, president and chief executive of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, becomes chairman. The other new members are Ross Hosking, Victor Pynn, Bhart Sarin, Kristen Shovlin and Jim Wilkins.
Agents have long boosted their income by selling ancillary products such as airport car parking, transfers and car hire.
In recent years, thanks to the boom in popularity of cruising, selling cruise excursions has been added to that list as a great commission earner, particularly as 95% of cruisers take at least one excursion. Suggesting to customers who have bought a cruise that they pre-book their excursions before they depart can not only be lucrative but also shows you provide that extra- special level of customer service. It is usually cheaper to pre-book an
HOW
TO SELL CRUISE
EXCURSIONS
excursion rather than buying on board. There will also be a wider choice of shore excursions to be found by shopping around at leisure before departure, with time to peruse the options in detail. It is possible to find excursions
for virtually any cruise itinerary worldwide. They range from traditional sightseeing in cities such as Rome to more adventurous activities, such as a zip-line ride in Saint Lucia. Here,
Cruisingexcursions.com business development manager Graham Chuter has some tips for agents to help them maximise their income.
1. Find the right supplier
First of all, sign up with a shore-excursions company that pays commission. Do your homework and check out the products available. Then request a training visit.
2. Follow up your cruise clients
Once the cruise has been booked, follow up with your customer prior to departure. In some instances, excursions can be booked up to two years in advance. It is possible to make bookings up until the day of departure, or even once clients are on board if they have an internet or phone connection.
54 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 15 January 2015 Advice from Graham Chuter
business development manager
cruisingexcursions.com
3. Do your research
Know your customer, and research excursions that you can offer them.
Provide a tailor-made service by suggesting ideas for each port of call. There are port packages that can help you upsell to your customers. If you have booked a first-time cruiser, keep it simple and traditional. A repeat cruiser may be ready
for something different, especially if they have been to a destination
before. Thanks to the popularity of port packages, the average agent commission
is now about £40 per booking – it can be more than you earn in commission for booking the cruise.
4. Focus on the detail Does the customer have special
requests? If necessary, ensure tours and their transport are wheelchair accessible and that coaches have wheelchair-docking facilities. Also check that an excursion is conducted by English speakers (if that is their first language) or your
clients will miss out on the detail. 5. Check the guarantees
Ensure the excursion company offers guarantees and your customer is fully protected with a money-back guarantee if the ship doesn’t port. In the unlikely event that an excursion return is seriously delayed and the ship departs without the passenger, there must be a guarantee to transport passengers free of charge to the next port of call. Equally, look for flexibility. Does the company offer cancellation refunds and what are the terms and conditions?
6. Try a fam trip
Finally, if you are going on a cruise fam trip, test a few excursions out for yourself. Any reputable shore-excursion company will be delighted to arrange tasters for you.
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