Jet2holidays has urged independent travel agents to “not fear the brand” and use joint marketing with the operator to increase sales.
Alan Cross, the company’s head of trade, told delegates at Jet2holidays’ annual conference that it offers a variety of branding options, which can include branded tables and chairs, shop signs and mobile trailers.
He claimed agents who use joint branding have seen “great results”.
Cross told delegates at the conference in Paphos: “It’s a way of making the office feel fresh without spending big money. When you have low footfall, it helps.
“You are not becoming a Jet2holidays shop, you are letting the customer know that if they want to book a Jet2 holiday they can book it through this professional.”
Tony Mann, director of Bradford-based Idle Travel, said his sales had increased in each of the past eight years since starting joint branding with Jet2holidays, which now accounts for more than half his sales.
“People are saying they hadn’t booked through an agency for years, but came back because we sell Jet2,” he said.
“As a small agency, we don’t have big advertising budgets.”
Miles Morgan, owner of regional agency chain Miles Morgan Travel, said brand partnerships can work. But he told Travel Weekly: “To work, it [the other brand] needs to align with your brand – it depends how powerful the brand is. My brand is important to me. I don’t necessarily want a piggyback, but for others it can work.”
Miles Morgan Travel took over a Kuoni partner store, World Market Travel in Bath, in 2015 and has kept the Kuoni name in the shop window.
Nick Harding-McKay, owner of south London-based Kuoni partner store Travel Designers, said: “There’s a fine line. It can bring in a lot of business, but you don’t know what’s going to happen 10 years down the line. They could go direct-only or cut commission.
“You have to be careful not to put all your eggs in one basket.”