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Unique Cruise Solutions The news you need to know |
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Cruise News for the Corporate Travel Professional |
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Silversea Tightens Anti-Rebating Policy Effective Oct. 15 | ||||||||||||||||
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.Silversea Cruises became the latest line to tighten its
anti-rebating policy in an attempt to prevent agents from “poaching” clients
from other retailers with discounts. “Once you have invested all your expertise,
energy and resources in designing and selling a luxury vacation that is
perfectly tailored to your client, nothing can be more frustrating than for you
to discover that he or she has been talking with another agent who is offering a
better deal, either by rebating their commission or through value-adds,” Ellen
Bettridge, Silversea’s president of the Americas, write in an Oct. 10 memo to
travel agents. “We feel this type of situation is tantamount to poaching and is basically a disservice to the travel agent profession. To curb this practice, we established a policy in 2005 of requiring travel agents to charge the gross amount when payment is made by the client’s credit card. However, based on feedback from many of our travel agent partners, we believe it is now necessary to further tighten our policy against rebating.” Effective Oct. 15, Silversea is prohibiting agencies from advertising its cruises at a price below those published on the luxury line’s website unless it has been authorized. Also, travel agents can only promote amenities beyond approved group amenities if their total value does not exceed 5 percent of the cruise fare being advertised. If a booking is transferred to another travel agency or is cancelled and rebooked by another travel agency within 30 days of the initial booking date and before final payment, the originating travel agency will not be paid a commission while the new agency will be paid a 10 percent commission. If a booking is transferred to a travel agency or is cancelled and rebooked by another travel agency more than 30 days after the initial booking was made or anytime inside the final payment window, a 10 percent commission will be paid to the originating travel agency and no commission will be paid to the new travel agency of record. Bookings originating onboard through Silversea’s cruise consultants will be subject to the same policy. Silversea said it reserves the right to reduce commissions and/or marketing funds, cancel or deny group contracts or take other actions if a travel agency violates the policy. “The steps we are taking may not be the perfect solution to this problem, but we believe they will help to discourage rebating, create a level playing field, and ultimately strengthen the agency distribution system,” Bettridge wrote. Earlier this summer, both Crystal Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines also similarly tightened their anti-rebating policies. |
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Worldwide Travel & Cruise Assoc., Inc. 150 S. University Dr. Ste E, Plantation, FL 33324 - USA Tel: +1 954 452 8800 Fax: +1 954 252 3945 EMail: sales@cruiseco.com |
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