Tag Archives: travel counsellors

Norwegian Cruise Line pulls out of CruiseCompete

Posted on by
Reply

Norwegian Cruise Line pulls out of CruiseCompete

By Tom Stieghorst

This article has been clarified.
Norwegian Cruise Line has asked CruiseCompete to stop using its proprietary materials and wants its contracted agents to refrain from submitting bids on Norwegian voyages to the Des Moines, Iowa-based company.

In a memo sent to some travel outlets the week of March 18, Norwegian Vice President of Sales Camille Olivere said Norwegian would not sign new contracts with agencies that use CruiseCompete.

Further, under some circumstances Norwegian said it could cancel existing contracts with agents found to be submitting bids on Norwegian cruises to CruiseCompete.

“I very much appreciate your willingness to support our decision as it relates to CrusieCompete,” the memo said.

Olivere could not be reached to elaborate. A Norwegian spokeswoman said she was traveling and unavailable.

Account holders at CruiseCompete can request bids on cruises on a particular itinerary or ship, specifying dates and cabin preferences. The company tells consumers that more than 300 agencies are available to bid on the cruises. Consumers are notified of the bids and can contact the agencies when and if they want.

Olivere’s memo cited several frustrations with the way agents interact with CruiseCompete. In particular, she said, contracted accounts have access to higher commissions than smaller retail accounts, can use group discounts and get marketing funds from Norwegian.

She said a contract partner’s ability to sell its own “packaged product” during periodic timeframes is disrupted by having Norwegian cruises on a “facilitated site” like CruiseCompete. She also said rebating can’t be monitored in such an environment.

In addition, some Norwegian travel partners have bid down commissions or have offered net rates intended for packaging purposes.

“Not only is this activity a breach of the sales and marketing agreement that travel partners like you have signed with Norwegian, it is also negatively impacting the great progress we have made with the Norwegian brand and business,” Olivere’s memo said.

Olivere said Norwegian officials would “avail ourselves of all contractual remedies” up to and including the cancellation of accounts found to have bid on the site.

In a statement, CruiseCompete CEO Bob Levinstein said, “We have reached out to Norwegian Cruise Line to address their concerns. The door is still open, as far as we are concerned, to find a solution.”

Levinstein said 55% of cruises booked through CruiseCompete are not with the lowest bidder.

“We are all about providing the consumer with choices and fair competition in the marketplace, as mandated by ethics and the law.”
 

Clarification: Norwegian Cruise Line has asked CruiseCompete to stop using its proprietary materials and wants its contracted agents to refrain from bidding Norwegian cruises on the site. A previous version of this report said that Norwegian was asking retailers to stop working with CruiseCompete, but it didn’t specify that the action was limited to bidding Norwegian’s product, and to agencies with a Norwegian contract.

Correction: The article misspelled the name of CruiseCompete CEO Bob Levinstein.

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with ‘discovery days’

Posted on by
Reply

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with ‘discovery days’

By Phil Davies

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with 'discovery days'Travel Counsellors today reported an “unprecedented” rise in job seekers following Thomas Cook announcing the closure of 195 agency branches and 2,500 redundancies.

The homeworking agency says there is a future for “talented travel professsionals” and is organising a number of recruitment initiatives including ‘discovery days’ across the UK.

These will offer an insight to the future of travel and show retail agents that there is an alternative to life on the high street.

Cook staff facing job losses are being invited to annual mini-conferences being held in Manchester, Birmingham and London on April 15-27. A special webcast will also be held.

Travel Counsellors who have previously worked on the high street, and for Cook in particular, will be attending the discovery days and will host the webcast.

Some existing Travel Counsellors have offered to open their homes to those interested in joining so they can see how the company works and answer questions.

“This will give potential recruits the chance to speak directly with people who have been in their position before, and hear why they took the leap to run their own business,” Travel Counsellors said.

The company believes its impressive sales for the start of the year is proving a “compelling reason” for Cook employees to express interest in joining Travel Counsellors.

Average earnings for UK Travel Counsellors are up to £21,000 in the past year, with the top 100 earning £59,871.

Head of global recruitment Simon Burke said: “We have had to reprint a new batch of our information packs as the demand has outstripped our normal supply.

“We are mindful that this is very difficult time for Thomas Cook employees and we want to give them as much support as possible, so this is why we’re going to lengths to ensure they see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Travel Counsellors quoted former Cook employee Donna Horner who said the idea of working from home had worried her but “it really has been the best thing I’ve ever done”.

“I’ve never known support like it, not in all the years I worked on the high street. I feel far from isolated, in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth – I felt more isolated when I was working on the high street.

“Importantly, I do earn decent money. I can understand why some Thomas Cook employees may feel anxious about taking the leap and may want to try to find a job on the high street, but all I can say is taking the step to work for Travel Counsellors have allowed me to truly enjoy working in travel again.”