When the UK’s largest independent OTA, On the Beach, bought Classic Collection this week, more than a few eyebrows were raised, as it had previously only ever bought another established OTA, Sunshine Holidays. So what does it want with a traditional, high-touch luxury operator?
The move gives On the Beach access to the retail network built up by Classic Collection, so it can offer them mainstream, short-haul product, as a package with an opaque price, and pay them commission to sell it.
This should appeal to those agents who previously wouldn’t have been happy selling On the Beach’s components without taking on the liabilities of a tour operator or travel organiser (Toms etc).
So the new business, Classic Online, harnessing On the Beach’s slick technology, will become the ‘safe’ package organiser for these loyal Classic Collection agents.
Quite clever, really.
Meanwhile, it was reported this week that travel agency insolvencies had fallen in the past year. It’s a claim endorsed by a leading accountant, who said there were three reasons for fewer failures.
First, regulations have toughened up dramatically, with the CAA and Abta now monitoring agencies far more closely.
Second, by extension, it has become so expensive to set up in travel, there are fewer entrants, and those that do try, do so through accredited bodies that vet and do more-stringent checks before taking people on.
And third, by virtue of points one and two, there are far fewer ‘Wild West cowboys’ operating in travel these days, which slowly but surely, means the number of collapses is dropping.