Virtuoso no longer eligible rate plan? (Mistake)
Jul 12, 2015, 9:12 am
#76
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 3,317
To be 100% honest, I've been ignoring this thread for a few weeks, mainly for the (obvious) reason that: people are going to do what they want, and any argument back & forth is a race to the bottom (becoming quite uncivil in the process)...
That said, the adversarial attorney I am, I'll definitely bite to the above comments.
There are a LOT of rumors about 'why' Classic gets to do this and others don't. From what I understand, Classic made a contractual agreement to publish rates BEFORE the "Virtuoso doesn't publish rates" rule went into effect. From then on out, Virtuoso left it up to Classic to deal with particular hotels (this is why you won't find but 3 Mandarin Orientals on CT). The # of participating hotels on CT is dwindling, and large swaths of Virtuoso hotels are NOT represented here.
Secondly, there is a strong possibility that, in the VERY near future, John Doe will be able to reserve X nights at X Virtuoso hotel online (same kind of interface that CT has). Each agency will have it's own interface. The catch here is that - from what I understand - Virtuoso is going to have you 'pick an agent' to work with so that, when you DO make that online booking, the commission goes to the agent you normally work with. (The alternative may be that your booking commission goes into a common pot and is split among agents.) Details are still being worked out, but this should go 'live' within the next 12 months.
I hear this all the time: "I don't want to chitchat with an agent"... who said you have to? I (and other agents) get emails ALL the time (and texts) that simply say: "book HR Kyoto Nov 14-16 on a BAR rate".....to which I get that done in 60 seconds. No chit chat, no nothing. You may not realize this, but ever think the agent doesn't want to chitchat either?!
And this: "I don't need anyone to negotiate on my behalf"...ok, great, your 2 night stay at the PH NYC is quite simple. We get that. But when you book on CT, whose going to tell you to avoid floors 12-14 due to loud construction noise. Or that the pool is closed. Or that the lobby restaurant is .... and you're better off asking for a F&B credit.
The bottom line is when you use a CT, there's nothing different than using an Expedia (and all the pitfalls that come with that). What happens when there's an error? Who do you contact? Which agent 'has your back'?
There was a time when I was NOT an agent, and I too used CT. If that works for you, fine...but it sure as hell didn't work for me (too many mistakes, not enough interaction to separate it from Kayak...etc). To each his/her own, right?
A million more points to touch on but I'm WAYYY lazy on this Sunday morning.
That said, the adversarial attorney I am, I'll definitely bite to the above comments.
Onto a side note. I do realize that Virtuoso rates are not supposed to be be accessible online. But clearly, Classic Travel have these published rates online. I read somewhere on FT that they individually negotiate with each property to allow them to publish Virtuoso rates online, so they avoid breaking the official Virtuoso terms and conditions. But then, why aren't we seeing other Virtuoso TAs going this direction? Perhaps a Virtuoso affiliated TA can chime in? I am genuinely interested in this.
Secondly, there is a strong possibility that, in the VERY near future, John Doe will be able to reserve X nights at X Virtuoso hotel online (same kind of interface that CT has). Each agency will have it's own interface. The catch here is that - from what I understand - Virtuoso is going to have you 'pick an agent' to work with so that, when you DO make that online booking, the commission goes to the agent you normally work with. (The alternative may be that your booking commission goes into a common pot and is split among agents.) Details are still being worked out, but this should go 'live' within the next 12 months.
I hear this all the time: "I don't want to chitchat with an agent"... who said you have to? I (and other agents) get emails ALL the time (and texts) that simply say: "book HR Kyoto Nov 14-16 on a BAR rate".....to which I get that done in 60 seconds. No chit chat, no nothing. You may not realize this, but ever think the agent doesn't want to chitchat either?!
And this: "I don't need anyone to negotiate on my behalf"...ok, great, your 2 night stay at the PH NYC is quite simple. We get that. But when you book on CT, whose going to tell you to avoid floors 12-14 due to loud construction noise. Or that the pool is closed. Or that the lobby restaurant is .... and you're better off asking for a F&B credit.
The bottom line is when you use a CT, there's nothing different than using an Expedia (and all the pitfalls that come with that). What happens when there's an error? Who do you contact? Which agent 'has your back'?
There was a time when I was NOT an agent, and I too used CT. If that works for you, fine...but it sure as hell didn't work for me (too many mistakes, not enough interaction to separate it from Kayak...etc). To each his/her own, right?
A million more points to touch on but I'm WAYYY lazy on this Sunday morning.
