There will be £400 million in cruise commission up for grabs by agents who want to make money by 2012, Complete Cruise Solution (CCS) sales director Giles Hawke said.
In a no-holds-barred presentation targeted at agents who complain about CCS’s commission and discounting tactics at the Association of Cruise Experts UK Cruise Convention last week, he said no one owes anyone a living and agents have to work hard against their competitors if they want to earn well.
He calculated there is a commission pot of £270 million a year now, which will rise to £400 million by 2012 as new ships launch, adding more capacity for agents to sell.
He said: “It’s up to agents. How much of that do you want? No one said it would be easy. Life isn’t fair, get used to it. The opportunities are massive but you need to have the right attitude.”
He said he had undertaken his own mystery shopping exercises and found agents giving away commission without even being asked. He added that too many agents just sit back and complain.
He admitted converting people to cruise is difficult, but said clients who have cruised once will be back again and again if agents sell the right holiday and deliver excellent service.
He said: “The more you do to differentiate yourselves from your rivals the better. Dynamically package, take group allocations to get the benefits, focus on unusual destinations. There are people out there spending money. They are looking for value for money, service, inspiration and expertise.”