Teletext Holidays is to at least halve the number of travel advertisers on the most popular sections of its TV pages.
The drastic action will mean only allow 15 companies will be able to advertise on its key Spain, Majorca, all inclusive and Canaries sections. In most cases this means ditching half or more than half of the suppliers currently advertising.
Sales director Victoria Sanders admitted some suppliers, particularly small agencies, would no longer be able to advertise.
The company has set out new criteria advertisers must meet to continue working with it. These will cover pricing and call answering levels at peak times.
Advertisers will also be asked to commit to a nine month deal and will have to pay more for the privilege of being one of fewer companies advertising on the company’s peak TV pages.
“We were losing 35% of calls in the summer. I am looking for commitment,” she said. “Some of them will not be able to fufil the criteria. We have to change our model, the way we are working now is not necessarily working.”
Last year the company delivered 10 million calls to the travel trade.