OPODO has launched a dynamic packaging facility in Europe but has vowed to retain its ATOL bonding.
The online giant’s head of tours Chris Roe said it remains the law for operators to be in the ATOL scheme and that it still means something to the consumer.
But Roe supported a £1 charge to protect customers, an idea the Government and the House of Lords has rejected. He said the charge was “a great way to protect the consumer and easier, technically, to implement”.
He conceded Opodo’s dynamic packaging facility was a threat to traditional agents, who are increasingly moving into dynamic packaging, but insisted the sector was not in decline, with increases in call centres and homeworking.
Opodo’s dynamic packaging system offers a price guarantee that a holiday created from individual components will be cheaper than if those components are bought separately elsewhere. It will also compare the price with package deals.
“Consumers are going to compare anyway. This is a way of giving them what they want, of making the site stickier.
“In the UK and Germany, the traditional package is still key. Rather than us losing a sale because the customer has not found our traditional package deal, we are saying ‘Okay, here it is – look for yourself’.”
Data from Opodo’s dynamic bookings will be used to research the behaviour of consumers. Roe expects the system to increase sales of ancillary products, particularly insurance, seen as a “necessary evil”.