10/20/2024
Many 'thorough' Travel Agents advocate for their clients during unexpected itinerary changes. Prior to departure, while in destination and upon their return travel.
VERY few experienced Agents, take the time or make the effort, to share the detailed process of whst they have to handle, to assist with educating clients and/or peers as it can appear to complex and generate questions. Which you don't have time to detail, due to the time constraints you may have to complete the tasks required.
The Best Business Practice, for Travel Agents or ANYONE, who books travel, is to:
1. Tell your clients to document every change in the itinerary. This includes from;
a) departing your home to airport or departure point;
b) time in hotels, cabins, resort rooms - which room or cabin category and fare they received or were offered, compared to what was booked
c) time spent on motorcoaches to travel to and from excursions, compared to what was booked, against what was offered or received.
2. Any extra money spent off resort or off the ship or outside the expected parameters that they would not have normally spent, against what was expected had the booking not been unilaterally changed by the supplier.
3. Any extra time the traveler spent on the ship/ at resort/ at airport, the traveler spent on meals/sleeping/waiting, because the booking had been unilaterally changed by the supplier.
ALL of this information will be used by a highly skilled Travel Agent or an experienced traveler to:
1. write an advocacy email using the provided details plus any information which can be sleuthed about the situation from other Agents, Suppliers, Passengers, social media and news sources, to the resolutions department of the supplier the passengers were booked on.
Providing detailed daily booking breakdown information on what the cost difference was between what they booked, compared to against what was offered or received.
For example, if my clients were booked at the highest room or cabin category, then due to a unilaterall supplier change, they had to spend 40 hours, so not quite 2 days, into a standard, lowest fare accommodation, with no extra amenities, which would have occured if the supplier had not made a unilateral decision to alter the original booking, then there is room for actual, additional compensation, rather than just the differential cost.
Once received by the supplier, their resolution team will calculate the liability they need to compensate tbe client, based on what they could not deliver as contracted.
It is at this point, when this route is taken, where the negotiations shift FROM Travel Agent and Supplier TO Supplier and Travelers.
When the Suppliers speak directly with the Travelers on the incident to resolve it, travelers who with an Agent, are generally compensated an extra 10% more than when the Travelers booked independently.
When those Travelers rebook with an Agent and use the same supplier, this is when the relationships between Travel Agents and Travel Suppliers, shows another decided advantage.
An Agent will reach out to the Suppliers BDM (Business Development Manager), the management at customer care and the administration of Supplier.
They are advised of the Clients current travel itinerary and booking numbers, of the past issue and Travelers attempt to let the Supplier redeem themselves.
The Agent sets the expectations and provides relevent information to the Suppliers, to ensure the clients are shown how they should have been welcomed, the first time .
Clients generally received a more VIP experience. Perhaps cocktails, small gifts in rooms, a few bottles of wine or alcohol, extra offerings onboard ship or at a Spa. Sometimes signed invitations to dinners with Resort Management or Ship Officer's and Captains. Welcome banners on doors or inside rooms.
Besides the extra cash or compensation, which the client would never know about anyway, but WE do! it is those little things that will resound with clients. It is ONLY with the help of the Supplier and their BDM, these guest experiences can be turned around and clients won back; to an Agent or even a Supplier.
It shows there IS an advantage to booking with an Agent and when the Agent has a WORKING relationship with that Supplier.
It shows that Agent clients are visibly important to the Supplier, who regreted what occured and is now making amends.
Clients need to trust their Agent and understand that this whole initial communication reparte, is a process, and there is no expectation of a positive outcome, even when doing everything, right, on the right timeline.
Clients do have to perform their due diligence in this process, with as much factual information and documents, accompanied by written receipts, invoices or photo, proof of everything they expect to be adjucated upon.
There may be unavoidable incidents or reasons rhe Supplier had not relayed, for an application for refunds to be denied the Travelers, in support of the supplier, especially if the Travelers don't have Travel Insurance.
There are certain expectations of risk involved with travel. Traveling WITH Insurance, negates many of the reasons people seek a more difficult recourse, through the suppliers.
Suppliers may justifiably, not feel exactly 'generous' towards clients without Insurance, as many times the Supplier is left paying what a Travelers Insurance would have covered, if that client had chosen to purchase it; things like itinerary changes, severe weather, cancel for any reason.
Of all Insurance types, Travel Insurance is amazingly straightforward, as long as you READ the policy, in an attempt to comprehend the rules.
'Only the Best' Travel Agents advocate for clients to Supplier management for Client compensation, but even the best Supplier/Agent relationships, may not be able to override a Supplier or Legal policy.
