Earlier this week, John Diorio, vice president of sales for North America for Virgin Voyages, sent a strongly worded email to Virgin's first mate (travel advisor) partners, scolding anyone who takes part in the behavior, which he said “is counter to the spirit of partnership that Virgin espouses. We want to engage in.”
Specifically, Diorio was talking about inducements and kickbacks.
I was surprised to see an email pop up in my inbox. In particular, the mention of rebates caught me off guard. I'm not going to lie, I thought rebates were a thing of the past.
It's been years since you've heard a cruise line call on an advisor for kickbacks. It's been years since most cruise lines cracked down on the practice of limiting the amount advisors can give back as gifts rather than cash. (The last time I wrote about rebates was in 2010, when most cruise lines started cracking down on this policy.)
TMR last wrote about rebates in 2018, the same year ASTA changed its name from the American Association of Travel Agents to the American Association of Travel Advisors.
At the time, the advisor community was in the midst of transformation, with only a small fraction of advisors and agents charging fees for their services, and many still feeling the need to compete with OTAs on price, not service.
Eight years later, we thought we were pretty much over all of this.
Apparently, not everyone does that.
We're going to give benefits to advisors who give kickbacks. Perhaps they feel pressured to meet the price tag. Or maybe you're new and don't realize that rebates hurt your bottom line more than they help.
I would not trust an advisor without question who is stealing clients from other advisors.
I've seen discussions about “advertising” on board cruise ships, such as cruise ship advisors leaving ducks with their company logo and contact information printed on them for travelers to find, and I side with the argument that this is unacceptable.
A few weeks ago, I attended Trevello's annual conference. When I asked advisors what they liked about Trevello, the one thing I heard over and over again was the community supporting each other. In general, advisors help each other and aren't in competition with each other.
The great thing about this opinion is that I hear it at every agency meeting I attend.
The travel agency business is one of the least competitive industries, and most advisors realize that there is enough business for everyone, especially if you specialize in a field and don't want just any business.
Even better, you'll hear the same sentiment when you attend industry conferences that aren't consortium-, host-, or franchise-specific.
The more advisors supporting other advisors, the better the industry will do.
But apparently, enough of both actions are happening that John Diorio feels the need to contact Virgin Voyages' travel advisor partners directly.
Maybe I'm naive, but one thing I've learned over the last five years or so is that just because you don't hear about something doesn't mean it's gone.
Maybe that's the case here too.
You tell me. When was the last time you heard about a travel advisor kickback? Do they kickback? Have you had any clients poached in recent years? Have you ever seen an advisor leave flyers or other marketing materials on a cruise ship you visited?
Let us know what you think. Email us at dsaltzman@travelmarketreport.com.
