MSC Cruises’ new UK managing director, Giles Hawke, took up his role last week. Here, he and new chief executive Gianni Onorato talk to Hollie-Rae Merrick and Lucy Huxley.
A new job at a growing company means a new outlook and new way of working. That is the view of Giles Hawke (pictured right) as he takes up his new role as UK managing director at MSC Cruises.
Mindful that cruise agents up and down the country are keen to hear his plans for the Italian line, he insists he hasn’t “come in with a mindset to repeat everything I did at Carnival UK”.
It’s little surprise that Hawke wants to reassure agents. During his time as sales and customer services director at Carnival UK, he riled the trade by cutting commission to 5% and demanding direct payments from customers.
But he says: “You do different things at different companies.
“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. You don’t move from one company to another and decide to repeat everything that you did before. Different companies have different needs.”
Hawke describes MSC as a “challenger brand” with a different model to that of market leaders.
Hawke on… commission
When he first spoke out about his new role in July, he insisted agents would be key to MSC’s success in the UK, a message he is still keen to reinforce.
“Our relationship with agents is very strong,” he says. “The sales they make are strong and make up a large percentage of our business and we intend to keep it that way. MSC is a trade-focused brand and will remain like that.”
Hawke says he is aware some companies have modified their commission structure after making “bigger moves” in cutting commission, and says: “Sometimes we have to take a big step and then move backwards rather than take lots of small steps.”
Hawke believes the cruise market has stabilised and that the “big commission changes” have already been made. “MSC Cruises is in a good place and well positioned, and I don’t see us slashing commission,” he says.
Hawke on… agents
Hawke says his short-term plan is to understand the business and product, and help establish brand clarity for agents and consumers.
He is also keen to educate agents about what MSC offers, adding: “I think, currently, if you ask 10 agents to tell you about MSC Cruises you would get 10 different answers. I would like to get 10 answers that are the same.
“There will be some who have just sold on price and say MSC were cheaper at the time of sale. It’s a good selling point for agents to be able to earn commission on shore excursions with MSC.
“For me, I’m in the listening, learning and understanding
mode for the next few months – then working out how we market to give clarity.
“I want to get people’s minds more on the brand than they
have ever been before.
“We will be doing ship visits and fam trips and making sure agents aren’t just told about a product but get to go onboard and understand it.”
He says it is important to bring in a new booking system that makes it easier for agents.
Onorato on… UK market
Onorato (pictured left) says the addition of Hawke to MSC’s 51-strong team in the UK is a sign of the company’s commitment and dedication to the growing market, along with a doubling of capacity out of Southampton.
“Our strategy is that we want to be a reference cruise line for the UK guests who want to travel,” he says. “To do that we need to be present out of Southampton, where there is good access to show agents the product.”
Onorato says the UK has always been important to MSC, but the line is now taking the market more seriously than ever. And he says the appointment of Hawke, growing relationships with the travel agent community and more marketing investment will help to open doors in the UK.
“We know it will take years to get to a certain level of brand awareness, especially given the busy marketplace,” he adds.
“I think one of the tasks we have is to educate agents more. The most important thing we are doing for all of our markets in Europe is to clearly define and communicate what is MSC.”
Onorato says the company will be producing pamphlets for both agents and customers to highlight the attractions of an MSC cruise.