A travel agent is celebrating a 20% increase in holiday sales in July and August following his decision to start charging customers for brochures.
Funevents.com managing director Harv Sethi said the first time a customer asks to take home a brochure they are charged £1 and given a receipt.
They can then swap the brochure for a different one for free whenever they wish, before finally receiving a £5 discount when they book through the agency.
The scheme was introduced four months ago at Hackney Travel in London, which is owned by funevents.com.
Sethi said: “The price is more than a symbolic gesture: if someone owes you £1 you will go to the ends of the earth to get it back, which they can do by booking with us.
“It breeds loyalty for customers in the area and we get better clientele, fewer time-wasters and no more homeworkers coming in and taking brochures for their own purposes.”
He added the scheme has left the agency better stocked with brochures than rivals, which give them away for free. It has also improved the shop’s green credentials by cutting down on brochure waste.
Sethi said the scheme has improved sales because it acts as an icebreaker for staff, who are required to explain the benefits of the scheme to customers.
He said: “It was a leap of faith, but what you’ve got to be able to do is sell your personality people want to buy from people and they always will.”