Agent Diary: The crises of recent years have made agents more hardy

It seems I’ve added time travel to my skill set, because I’m sure I went to bed in February 2026 and woke up in March 2020!

Here we are again with clients stranded all over the world needing rearranged flights to get home, and the inevitable scramble by agents and operators to secure eye-wateringly expensive alternatives as availability changes by the second. The vibe when speaking to operators is different from Covid though – less shock and panic, more a sense of resignation. It seems we have now learnt to become more hardy than my January-flowering rhododendron.

Above and beyond

Speaking of tour operators covering package holidays, as with Covid I found a range of responses in their policies and it was a reminder to support those operators who have best supported my clients.

So, just because they deserve it, a huge thank you to Africa and Beyond, whose reaction was exemplary. Not only speedy and proactive, but a great example of honouring the concept of a protected holiday by putting the customer first, regardless of the potential financial implication to themselves.

Calls answered within five minutes, decisions made quickly, and callbacks exactly when promised meant I could also do the same for my customer, who was waiting by her phone in South Africa for news. She could then relax and enjoy the last few days of her holiday knowing her agent and operator had her back.

So, thank you Jamie and Molly of Africa and Beyond – I suspect you have helped me secure a client for life. You certainly made a difficult day so much easier.

Perhaps we can look forward to another migration back to using agents by some of those who got caught out this time.

So, what lessons will we learn? My admin team’s feedback was that a clear strategy and policy from each operator, communicated rapidly and perhaps utilising social media, could have saved everyone time in those first few hours of the conflict.

They suggested that perhaps every operator could have a standing policy, declaring a named crisis co-ordinator with their dedicated contact number and email. Agencies too could have a named point of contact for operators to cascade information through regarding prioritised bookings, as well as changes as they occur.

Clients before cash

And here’s a radical thought: could airlines not have a unilaterally agreed policy to suspend or cap dynamic pricing on flight seats over a crisis period? Because, with availability so tight, airlines know those seats are going to sell.

Is it not enough to be content with the price you were happy to accept just before the disaster unfolded? Is any other action not simply profiteering off the backs of desperate tour operators, forced to cover package holidays, and independent travellers, whose insurance these days seems increasingly unwilling to cover anything but lost luggage?

Maybe it’s time that agents and tour operators weren’t the only ones to show loyalty to their customers.