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Commission cut by Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean International will cut its base commission to agents from 15% to 10% from January 1.
The drop is not as steep as the one imposed by rival cruise line Complete Cruise Solution, which owns the P&O Cruises, Cunard and Princess Cruises brands. Last year it cut its basic down to 5%, a level which is said by many agents to be unworkable.
Although the trade has not welcomed this latest cut, many agents have breathed a sigh of relief that Royal Caribbean hasn’t got any lower.
Jo Rzymowska, Royal Caribbean associate vice president and general manager, UK and Ireland, reassured agents that it still wanted to work closely with them.
"The trade has always been, and will continue to be, very important to our business. Through these changes our intention is to continue this strong support to those trade partners who work with us to sell our cruises on brand differentiation and the great value they offer to our collective guests," she said.
"Our revised commercial terms will encourage greater focus in this area and allow greater price clarity in the market place. We will continue to boost our investment in trade support allowing both our smaller and larger trade partners to compete on a level playing field. Our aim is that agents’ earning potential is retained as much as possible."
She said the revised commercial terms are designed to push agents to sell via differentiation, rather than on price.
Although the base rate has been cut, Royal Caribbean will continue to pay bonus and incentive payments and have money for key marketing campaigns or specific initiatives.
The changes do not affect Azamara Club Cruises and only apply to Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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