On The Deck: Paul Beale

There is no doubt that the ultra-luxury sector is going through a renaissance right now. The current economic climate has left many of society’s richest relatively untouched – and the figures are there to prove it. Companies like Crystal, Seabourn and Silversea are all either adding capacity this year or have announced great results. Regent Seven Seas is definitely amongst that group. We spoke to Paul Beale, head of UK sales for the company in order to find out more.

How have you first nine months on the job been?

It’s been very good. In 2012 we grew the business by 25% which is a great achievement when you consider everything that happened early on in the year. There are a lot of cruise lines that are happy to be flat in terms of their percentage growth. A lot of that work was done before I started – the team is fantastic. Proof of that is the fact that we’re going from a price point of around GBP4,500 per person in 2012 to around GBP7,000 in 2013. People are willing to pay it.

What other challenges have arisen for Regent?

Like everyone we’ve had to become more efficient. Travel agents are very important to us – and we’ve looked to increase communication with our travel partners too. They account for about 90% of our business and when you think about what’s included within their commissions – gratuities, shore excursions, food and entertainment – we pay commission on everything. The earning potential is massive.

Who is your typical target market?

We’re not necessarily looking to take customers off the other six star brands, the likes of Silversea and Seabourn – that’s not our target market. We’re looking at the upper premium brands. Or suite bookers in the mass market – if you are booking a suite on a major line then you can afford to sail with us. And you get the added benefit of having your shore excursions etc paid for at the same time.

How does an agent start doing business with Regent?

Either speak to myself or Caroline Moody, our business development executive. We can send you marketing collateral, e-mail distribution, brochures and then we’ll set up an ATOL contract, which is a legal obligation, and once that’s sorted we’ll start proactively marketing together. It’s a very simple process and it’s all about being in a partnership. We work with them, we give them a good rate and then hopefully they will bring the business in.

How can an agent spot a Regent cruiser in your database?

Travel agents need to look at their database and not be restricted to those that spend GBP4,000 on a holiday. We’re looking for those who spend upwards of GBP2,500 and the reason for the difference is that a majority of their spending money is included in the price. A lot of travel agents don’t put that together – or get that message across enough. We’ve seen examples in the past of travel agents doubling their commissions because they’re explaining the all-inclusive concept to their clients and then selling them more expensive voyages – on the basis that they won’t be spending any more once they’re on board.

What is Regent’s unique selling point?

I’ve worked within the cruise industry for eleven years and I’ve seen a majority of the ports in Europe at some point. I went on my first Regent cruise recently and visited Kusadasi to see Ephesus. I’ve had a traditional Turkish shave before and bought the wallets in the port – everything except visit Ephesus because I couldn’t afford the shore excursion! It’s an absolute waste. This time I did everything and it was fully included. I saw more of the region and now have a more in-depth knowledge of the area’s history.

You recently had your most successful day ever in terms of calls received. What do you put that success down to?

The message is out there now. We are in the weekend papers as often as we can. It’s a very consistent message we’re putting across and that’s the all-inclusive message, the great commissions that can be earned and better value. It’s all coming together and resonating with our guests.

What does the next 12 months hold for Regent?

We want to continue working with our travel agent partners and the consortiums we’re currently doing business with. They hold the key to the individual shops we can’t get to. There are too many that are too far away. We’ll also be launching an agents’ quarterly newsletter and a travel agent university for online training. There’s an equivalent on the US site which we’re anglicising. We need to now concentrate on selling as much as possible for 2013. We’ve got some stiff competition but we’re looking good – our January year-on-year results are 32% up and that is without any capacity increase; so it’s looking very positive.