Harvey World Travel parent company S8 UK is on the verge of agreeing a top rate 10% commission deal with Thomson Holidays.
The deal makes the Aussie organisation one of few buying groups on the highest commission rate Thomson offers third parties following last year’s cuts.
Triton – which includes Advantage, Global Travel Group and Worldchoice – along with Midconsort and the Co-operative Travel Trading Group, do not have deals with Thomson.
Thomson retail and commercial director Derek Jones said: “We are talking to Harvey World Travel about commercial terms. There’s a deal to be done and if the ink’s not on the paper yet, it soon will be.”
Jones refused to reveal the name of other third parties on 10%, but admitted 15 agencies and independent groups
receive its top deal.
He denied the deal with S8, which launched a new independent agency group last week, was a sign direct distribution strategies are faltering.
Last week First Choice backtracked on its commission cutting by signing an improved deal with the CTTG.
“The fact that vocal independent groups have set out to fall out with Thomson does not indicate the strategy isn’t working,” Jones said.
In May Thomson predicted it will sell more than 50% of product online in 2006 and 74% through its own distribution channels.
Harvey World Travel managing director John Donnelly admitted a deal was imminent. “We work closely with Thomson,” he said. “With the launch of the independent network we can take that relationship forward.”