To Be or Not to Be: Can Advisors Disclose Their Business without ‘Soliciting?’ | Travel Research Online

Last week’s cautionary tale about travel advisor Debi King, who was put off an Oceania World Cruise in the Seychelles for “soliciting business” onboard the ship, resulted in lots of comments from travel advisors, most of them on Oceania’s side.

“Everyone” knows it’s prohibited, many said; there’s nothing new here (though no one could remember a case of it actually happening). And yet, my email and Facebook pages quickly were flooded with stories from travel advisors who themselves were solicited on board various ships, or who felt their clients were solicited by the cruise lines themselves.

“It’s too bad Oceania declined to comment on what occurred, as it is a missed opportunity for them,” says Sean Mouttet. “Their input could provide further clarification so this doesn’t happen in the future.”

And Virgin Voyages’ recent email blast clearly underscored that it indeed is happening often enough to warrant a reminder of the rules. In late May, Virgin Voyages VP of Northern American Sales John Diorio cautioned his “First Mates” that rebating commissions to customers, soliciting business onboard or soliciting Virgin’s clients on social media are prohibited practices.

“When you sail with Virgin Voyages, you are agreeing to our ticket contract which covers onboard solicitation and expressly prohibits the activity in our terms and conditions,” the email said. “We are actively monitoring these tactics and reserve the right to cancel your First Mate account and, in extreme cases, limit or cancel your ability to sail. We do not think the above actions are in the spirit of a good partnership or fair to your industry colleagues and we just can’t allow them to continue.”

Many travel advisors were quick to step up in support of the cruise companies, citing instances when they themselves were approached. Some said — incorrectly — the rules against soliciting apply only on fam trips or travel advisor rates; others called them “ethical breaches but not contractual breaches” of the rules (also not correct). Others faulted the slew of new travel advisors, particularly from the MLMs, who are not well trained in industry etiquette toward suppliers and peers.

As to the King case, “she solicited, no excuses,” says Adrienne Sasson, who always takes the high road. When asked what she does for a living, she says, “I simply say I work in the travel industry. Then I try to turn the conversation all about them, their business/profession, and their travels. I’m not about poaching anyone’s business. I do not ask their names and do not give them mine.”

“When people ask what I do for a living I’m not going to lie,” says Cheryl Mitchell. “I always ask if they use an agent, and if they do I tell them how smart they are. If they don’t, I suggest they should find a good local agent or get a recommendation from a friend. This frees me from solicitation as first and foremost I only take referrals and I am not looking for a random client. But I also like educating them that they should find and use a good agent. I never give out my info or mention my travel agency name. It’s that simple.”

But clearly that’s not always the case. At Bella Rose Travel in Jacksonville, FL, Corey Determan tells of the time her daughter was handed a plastic duck with a travel advisor’s business card attached; Sara Locke tells of her clients on Virgin Voyages being poached by a fellow agent on a fam; Samantha LeBold shares that one member of a group she was leading invited every other member to dinner and set up a Facebook page for them all—and soon hung out her own travel agency shingle and invited LeBold’s customers to come over.

Suzanne Moore is shocked at the story, though—and a little confused, too. “I’m new to the industry and this story puts the fear of God into me. I have done over 20 cruises in three years BEFORE I ever thought about this business, and I talk to everyone when I cruise. People are always asking me what I think about the various cruise lines and what the differences are. So now if people ask me for my card, I do what? Say no?”

Corina Johnson also is not so quick to judge. “I’m sympathetic to the idea of becoming friends when you are with people on an extended trip; they learn who we are and ask questions. But I do not give out business cards or ask for business in any way. To the contrary, I encourage them to keep working with their travel agent and answer questions why they should find a good agent. It’s a hard tightrope to walk when it is the guests engaging you first.”

“I look at it [the King case] in a few different ways,” says Lainie Melnick. “First of all, she is traveling with her client. It is common for us to act as travel agents when we’re on board with our own clients, booking excursions along the way as our clients request. Our job doesn’t stop because we are on board. That is not soliciting. But I’ve sailed with other agents and have been disgusted by the blatant solicitation done. There’s a big difference between this and someone hanging out at the loyalty desks and stopping people trying to book their next cruise. I feel for her. I often travel with no cash and would be in a terrible situation if it happened to me.”

So we took the question to travel attorney Tom Carpenter, who noted first off that he does not have first-hand information about the case. “I don’t know what she did, and I don’t know the basis for the action that Oceania took, what the conversations were, etc., etc. So, I’m not commenting about this specific situation.”

In general, though, he said, “Even though these days, we’re describing ourselves as Travel Advisors, we’re also Travel Agents — meaning we act as booking agents for the supplier partners we use. Legally, that’s a complicated space to occupy — as a Travel Advisor, you owe a duty of care to your clients. But as a Travel Agent, you also owe a fiduciary duty to the suppliers you sell.

“What that means is that you have to adhere to the suppliers’ rules for how you sell their products to suppliers. You can’t undercut their pricing or rebate commission (though certainly, some get away with that), you’re not allowed to misrepresent their product, and you can’t engage in unethical behavior by trying to poach clients who booked directly or with another travel agency. Most travel advisors are outraged when they find that a supplier has bypassed them and gone directly to the agency with a better deal. The flipside is just as bad.”

As far as what constitutes “solicitation,” he said, “telling someone what you do for a living, if asked, is not soliciting business. Beyond that, however, it gets tricky. It would be wise to cut any conversation short, and to politely decline to have any discussion of any of their future travel plans with them. If another traveler or passenger is persistent, simply say, ‘It would be inappropriate and unethical for me to talk to you about future travel plans on this trip. I hope you can understand.’”

Hope that helps!

Indeed, he noted, “Anything you do to ask for another person’s business, or to encourage them to book future travel with you, would be a form of solicitation.”

Craig Barnett, CEO of Koveli Travel, a DMC in the Maldives, said he understands that the ban has caused concerns and is more than happy to address any questions from travel advisors.

“This is not the first time we have seen such situations in the industry, and we want to make sure that travel agents are informed so clients don’t miss the opportunity to experience this amazing destination,” he said.

Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.