Scenic Group unveils ‘no poach guarantee’ as part of new trade promise

Scenic Group has unveiled a “no poach guarantee” as part of a “bold new trade promise” aimed at boosting agent partnerships.

The pledge comes six weeks after former Titan Travel trade boss Shane Lewis-Riley joined the luxury operator as head of trade and partnerships.

Speaking during a Travel Weekly webcast onboard Scenic Eclipse II during the brand’s first ship visit to London, Lewis-Riley said he wanted to “turn up the volume” for the group’s luxury ocean, river and land touring brands while ensuring trade partners grow alongside the business.

Outlining the Scenic By Your Side campaign, Lewis-Riley said: “It is our commitment to trade partners to help them understand they can trust us as a loyal partner and that we are here for the long term, not a quick win.

“We have lots of new ships coming and we want partners to join us on that journey. Our commitment is that Scenic is side-by-side with them.”

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Calling the no-poach guarantee an “industry-first promise”, he added: “We are guaranteeing we will never actively poach your guests. We want our partners to win, and we will only win if we are heading in the same direction.”

As part of the initiative, Scenic Group is launching a “co-pilot marketing” scheme. The opt-in programme allows Scenic to market directly to an agency’s past passengers while ensuring any resulting bookings are attributed back to the original agent.

Following a successful trial with a select group of partners, Lewis-Riley stressed the operator “respects” agent-client relationships “more than anything else”.

“Currently, we would not ever target a past passenger who booked through a trade partner,” he said. “We want to make sure we are leveraging that opportunity so trade partners can focus on acquiring new customers.”

Agents will also be invited to participate in a series of nationwide “travel lounge” roadshows designed to target consumers who have never considered the brand before.

“We want agents to send their customers to us, knowing we are not going to target them,” Lewis-Riley said. “We are being really vocal that we have no interest in trying to steal your customers.”

Additionally, Scenic Group plans to segment its agent database to deliver more tailored product focus.

“If you try to tell everybody everything, it can feel daunting because there is such a broad spectrum of product,” Lewis-Riley explained, noting that for some partners 90% of conversations might focus on Emerald Cruises, while for others Scenic Eclipse should be the hero product.

“We will work with our partners on which product to focus on first, nail that, and then move on to the next.”

To support the push, Scenic Group’s UK sales team will be bolstered in the coming months with two new appointments: a graduate and a strategic account manager.