TUI Travel is to more than double the number of Travel-mood high-street agencies with the rebrand of Austravel stores in a review that could result in up to 26 job losses.
TUI-owned Travelmood currently has four shops, and will add sister brand Austravel’s six, to be rebranded with an updated Travelmood brand and logo later this year.
Travelmood and Austravel’s Praed Street offices in London will close. The roles, including back office, marketing and product, will move to TUI Travel’s The Atrium offices in Crawley, West Sussex. Product roles in Leeds will also relocate to Crawley.
All 26 staff affected are in consultation, and will be offered relocation or possible redeployment within the group.
The moves follow the closure of two other Austravel shops in May. Staff in the Birmingham shop have been offered relocation to its Solihull branch, while eight staff in Bournemouth are in consultation.
Austravel will now operate as a specialist Australia and New Zealand tour operator, without a high-street presence, while Travelmood will increase the range of group product sold through its shops under managing director Rad Sofronijevic.
The Bristol call centre for Trips Worldwide and Magic of Orient brands – to be dropped and its product integrated into Travelmood – will be maintained under the Travelmood name.
TUI Travel UK specialist long-haul division managing director Clare Tobin is overseeing the review, which is thought to have generated “significant” cost savings.
She admitted cross-over between Austravel and Travelmood had meant the group was operating two brands with similar product.
Tobin said the group would look to expand Travelmood’s shop network over the next two years. “We are looking at expansion, but it’s dependent on the economy and success of the new brand strategy.”
The Travelink selling system is to be rolled out across Austravel and Travelmood in November. It will be rolled out to the group’s flight business FlexiFlights this summer. Agents will be able to book all of Austravel’s product online as a result. Currently only flights can be booked online, but the changes will give agents access to land-based product and self-drive packages.
See next week’s Travel Weekly Market Intelligence for an interview with Clare Tobin