Thomas Cook has said it has no plans to make its new agent-only online bedbank direct sell.
Head of sales and distribution Stephen Vaughan said the new site, thomascookhotels.com, offers thousands of properties currently featured by Thomas Cook’s main charter brands which will also be available during the peak season. The operator will also adopt full principal status on any bookings made.
Agents will be offered per-night pricing, which will sometimes differ from the equivalent package price. They will also have unique access to the site.
Vaughan said: “Third party agents are really excited that someone like Thomas Cook is coming into this market and there are no thoughts at the moment to take the site direct.
“Room-only bookings are very big business, and as Thomas Cook is a very well known consumer brand with a strong position in the market we are sure we can make it work.”
He added that work is underway to integrate MyTravel charter brands into the service which will also be backed by an XML accommodation feed linked into the internal tour operating systems of travel agents. Commission will be paid on all bookings in line with current agent agreements.