TravelMole Interview: Christopher Elliott about online cruise sales

TravelMole Interview: Christopher Elliott, travel commentator Online cruise sales sites are getting more user-friendly all the time, but the common suggestion that agents should sell harder is not a real solution, according to well-known travel commentator Christopher Elliott. He discussed some alternatives with TravelMole. “The traditional wisdom used to be that booking cruises was too complex for the Web,” he said. “Travel agents also touted the ‘personal touch’ since they’re often cruise veterans. Mr Elliott makes the point that the cruise selling field is fairly level. “That is, the big cruise lines haven’t allowed online sellers to move to a merchant model, which would give them an unfair advantage over cruise agents,” he said. At the same time, however, it’s clear online sales are becoming much more sophisticated and user-friendly. Mr Elliott also points out that two major online travel agencies – Expedia and Travel city – have also launched cruise sites. As it gets easier to buy tickets, he said, nearly one in ten cruise passengers now book on-line – up from just 6% a year ago. “Agents can’t just try to ‘sell harder,’ which I keep reading in the trades,” he said. Mr Elliott’s suggestion:” Why shouldn’t agents leverage some of these technologies to their advantage as well? Cruise buyers like to see the 360-views of the ships. Why shouldn’t a brick-and-mortar retailers also offer that type of technology?” Mr Elliott’s prediction is that despite more competitors, traditional agents will continue to be important sellers of cruises in the future. One major reason he cited is that despite a trend towards self-booking, some travelers find nasty surprises such as discovering a “discount” rate did not include fees, or taxes or surcharges, of all of those.