Like everybody, I’ve been counting the pennies in the supermarket recently. It’s plain to see that the credit crunch and rising cost of oil are playing their part in forcing up my weekly food bill.
But as I handed over a few extra quid and looked at my receipt last week, I was struck by one thing – the fact that the price shown was the one I paid.
It’s quite a refreshing change for someone who works in travel, where surcharging and stripping out compulsory extras are a way of life.
As a consumer, I know the price I pay for every item is determined by many things. When I buy bananas, for instance, I’m paying for the fertiliser and water used to produce them, the wages of the person who picked them, and for flying them halfway around the world – and that’s before the retailer’s profit.
The holiday industry seems to think it deserves special treatment. For too long, no-frills airlines and tour operators have got away with the ‘breaking the cost down’ trick, in the hope of convincing clients the price they are paying is lower than it really is.
Selling holidays is an increasingly onerous task for agents. As well as dealing with clients who think you are out to fleece them, it is particularly galling to collect surcharges which are non-commissionable on behalf of suppliers.
These can easily top £100 per person – quite a chunk not to earn any profit on.
And then operators wonder why dynamic packaging has taken off the way it has. Frankly, they have been the architects of their own fate.
Stripping out features such as resort transfers has given rise to a new breed of ancillary suppliers, many of which offer a better and more bespoke service and who are keen to work with retailers.
Mix that up with the growth of bed banks and hugely expanded range of flight options and agents are doing it for themselves. And guess what? In most cases, they are presenting it (including mark-up) as one price to the customer.
Refreshingly, we are having some honest conversations with forward-thinking suppliers prepared to be transparent and fair with agents and clients alike.
Prices without the banana skins… now there’s an idea.
