A leading travel agency boss has warned the health and effectiveness of supplier business development managers are being threatened by increasingly arduous workloads.
Phil Nuttall, chief executive of Travel Village Group, said demands including the need to deliver and attend trade conferences were taking BDMs away from core agent support duties.
He warned many were facing burnout as he called for a “reboot of conference season” to prevent them “being put under enormous strain to the detriment of their health and family life”.
More: Comment: We are at risk of losing the people we need the most
Nuttall hailed 2024 as largely positive for his business and the wider industry but insisted the sector must “take a step back and evaluate” its approach to conferences or face “losing the people we need the most”.
“Business development managers are the people we rely on to build relationships with suppliers, but we are finding it increasingly difficult to speak to them at certain times of the year,” he said.
“That’s because they are out and about overseas at conferences, which for many involves tens of flights over a period of possibly three months; a period where they are away from their families, partners, husbands and wives.
“It’s a time when they constantly share out-of-office email replies, which inevitably end up backing up and, for some, result in frustrated and curt responses.”
Nuttall said the problem is at its worst in the three months leading up to Christmas, which is when many travel companies decide to hold their annual conferences.
He said many BDMs are “dead on their feet, struggling mentally and physically shattered” due to their busy schedules, adding they are “inevitably picking up bugs and viruses as a thank you for taking three months out of their lives”.
In a bid to ease the burden, Nuttall suggested travel firms should host their major conference every two years, instead of annually.
“I do not understand why our industry feels the need to have a conference every year – surely it is far better to alternate and reduce the costs incurred?” said Nuttall, who stages his own company’s conference biannually.
He also suggested suppliers could reallocate funds saved by putting on fewer large-scale events and bolster year-round support for partner agencies.
“I for one would welcome a percentage of the funds tour operators are expected to put up to support annual conferences being used for targeted marketing campaigns and driving sales,” he said.
A move to a biannual approach and fewer events overall would also create more time for agents to spend with suppliers to plan and invest in business development, suggested Nuttall, with the added benefit that conferences are “something to look forward to and celebrate rather than something taken for granted”.
“Also, let’s not forget the people within our businesses challenged with arranging a conference – it consumes your life and no sooner have you finished one, the next is around the corner,” he added.
“Whether you agree or not about the number of conferences in a calendar year, you cannot argue about the effect it is having on the people we need the most and their families, who support them and are asked to be understanding of our industry.”
More: Comment: We are at risk of losing the people we need the most
- Tell us what you think. Are you an agent who feels BDMs are being put under too much pressure? Or are you a BDM considering your future as a result of your workload? Tell us on the record or in confidence by emailing robin.murray@travelweekly.co.uk.