VT-CE-08
8 days · 7 nights
The things that cost you the account
Suppliers rotated per departure
When a ground agent buys each departure separately, guide quality, vehicle condition and service level move with whoever was cheapest that week. Your brochure promised one experience; your clients get a distribution.
A core in-house team and long-term suppliers held to a written standard, with a briefed guide pool assigned to your series rather than drawn at random.
Blocks released too late
Cruise cabins and peak-date hotel stock disappear months before your booking curve peaks. Operators who wait for confirmed numbers end up rebuilding the programme in January for a February departure.
Season allocation with named release deadlines in writing, so you know the exact date the risk transfers and can plan your own selling deadlines around it.
What gets checked, every departure
| Checked | Standard | When |
|---|---|---|
| Guide assignment | From the pool briefed on your programme, language confirmed | At allocation |
| Vehicle condition | Class, age policy and cleanliness against the written standard | Pre-departure |
| Rooming & manifest | Cross-checked against hotel and vessel confirmations | 72h before |
| Timing plan | Pickup windows recalculated for the actual dates and site hours | Pre-departure |
| On-tour cover | Duty officer holding the file, escalation path in place | Throughout |
| Post-tour report | What ran, what slipped, what changes for the next departure | After close |
Fleet detail and guide language availability are confirmed per season — see coverage before you publish a calendar.
The lines this type contracts most
The same contract covers every line. These are simply the ones this kind of buyer opens with.
Nile cruise contracting
Cabin blocks, series allocation and full-vessel charter on 3, 4 and 7-night Luxor–Aswan sailings.
Open line
Groups & series
Weekly and seasonal series run against a written standard, so departure 52 matches departure 1.
Open line
Transfers & transportation
Pickup windows built on real journey times, with buffers, backup routing and a duty officer.
Open lineProgrammes that repeat well
VT-CE-08
8 days · 7 nights
VT-DH-06
6 days · 5 nights
Esna to Aswan Dahabiya Sailing
Esna · Edfu · Gebel el-Silsila · Kom Ombo · Aswan
VT-MC-12
12 days · 11 nights
Egypt & Jordan Combined
Cairo · Nile cruise · Amman · Petra · Wadi RumSend these and we can price it properly
Essential
- Departure calendar or the departure day and season
- Pax band per departure, and your guaranteed minimum
- Service level, and whether you want tiered options
- Guide language per departure
- The programme code, or the routing you have in mind
Helpful
- Last season's actual load factors, even roughly
- Which departures you expect to sell out first
- Your own selling deadlines and payment milestones
- Whether excursions are bundled or sold as options
- What your brochure has already committed to in print
The ones that come up every season
How do you keep departure 52 the same as departure 1?
A written operating standard, a briefed guide pool assigned to your series rather than drawn at random, and a post-tour report after every departure that names what slipped and what changed.
When does the risk on a block transfer to us?
On the release date, which is named in writing when the block is confirmed. You always know the exact date, so you can set your own selling deadlines against it.
Is there a minimum volume to open an account?
No. The account is opened on verification, not on volume. A single FIT file is quoted the same way a season allocation is.
Does the trade account cost anything?
No. There is no joining fee and no annual charge. Verification exists to keep net rates confidential, not to filter by size.
Are there shop stops or commission stops?
No. There are zero shop stops and zero third-party incentives inside the vehicle. Nothing is added to the day that you did not sell.
Open the account, then send the brief
Verification is usually one working day. After that every brief comes back within 24–48 hours with a named contact on it.