Princess Cruises is to prioritise simplifying its online booking tool after agents voted it as the most important focus point in a recent poll.
The line recently ran a survey asking agents to Vote For Change and give feedback on technology, support, communications and booking tools.
Alex White, head of sales at Princess Cruises, said he was pleased to see that responses signalled strong and successful ties with the trade.
He said: “We were really pleased with the results and the engagement levels because a lot of agents took the time to complete the survey. The results show we’re on the right track when it comes to the way we already do things.
“We had a great spectrum of agents complete the survey – 50% worked for high street retailers, 33% worked as cruise specialists and 7% were from a tour operator background.
“We have been overwhelmed with the level of passion that came across for the Princess brand.”
Explaining some of the survey results, White said 65% of respondents rated the support from the Princess team as excellent, with all other voters rating it as good or above.
He said agents highlighted a number of priorities for the team to work on, including simplifying online booking tools and increasing opportunities to visit ships.
“These are priorities for agents, and therefore they are priorities for us,” he said. “The booking tool came in as the number one priority and we are looking at ways to improve that system.
“We have to be easy to do business with – that’s one of the most important things for our team.”
White said 63% of those polled rated the Princess Academy as excellent. He said 28% of people hadn’t used the training programme, but he saw that as a big opportunity to get more people using the material available.
When it comes to rewarding agents, 43% said they wanted shopping vouchers, 24% preferred fam trips, 21% would like bonus commission and 6% would want a loyalty scheme introduced.