As a travel agent, are there things a tour operator does that make you want to bang your head against a wall? Or are you a tour operator who’d love to see an agent to sit at your desk for a day?
AITO Specialist Travel Agents chairman Barry Moxley is following on from AITO’s Closer Ties scheme, where agents and operators set joint customer service standards, and is talking to operators to try to find better ways of working.
He said: “Some things are done a certain way because they always have been, but it might not be the best way. Different operators have different ways of working and it would be easier if some best practice could be agreed.”
Travel Weekly asked agents what frustrates them about operators, and vice-versa…
Agents on operators
1. Introduce more 0800 or low-cost phone numbers.
“It’s frustrating when you’re waiting to get through to reservations. However, it does help if it’s a free call, otherwise it can be £2 before you even get through, and you can end up spending £4 or £5 on the initial call,” said Andy Tomlinson, Sutton Travel (Twitter: @suttontravel).
2. Stop undercutting and give agents the best price in the first place.
“Why do those companies who claim to be agent friendly undercut us on their websites? Furthermore, those who claim they will price match are fantastic, but they ask for all their competitors’ quotes to be faxed through. Shouldn’t they have the right price in the first place?” said Paul Dayson, Spa Travel, Boston Spa.
3. Send through quotes in a format that we can forward straight on to the client.
And include the agents’ logo and contact details. Quotes in PDF form aren’t easy to edit or add in agents’ details.
“When you are sending us a quote or a confirmation via email, check the formatting. Sometimes it comes through looking tatty, with the original formatting lost. PDFs look smarter,” said Nick Lee, Broadland Travel, Norfolk (Twitter: @broadlandtravel).
4. Make every element of the package commissionable at the same level.
It’s a lot easier to calculate what you will earn that way. Some operators pay commission on everything, others exclude elements such as taxes.
“If an agent is supposed to be getting 15% commission, but the taxes aren’t commissionable, then the net commission is around 12%, so why not just pay 12% across the board?” said David Hoyle, Personal Travel Advisor, Future Travel.
5. Don’t stick to red tape when it isn’t appropriate.
“We’ve put a huge amount of effort into managing brochures, but what annoys us is when we have a shortfall. If we are selling a holiday for a tour operator, who hasn’t even provided us with brochures, then when we request one we are informed we cannot have a supply till we have made a booking!” said Broadland Travel’s Lee.
Operators on agents
6. Get basic information from the client before you call.
Name, number in party and ages of children, budget and destination. “So many agents call us with no information and they seem really scared about asking clients the right questions. We can only put something together if we know what the client is looking for,” said a tour operator who asked for her name to be withheld.
7. Check whether the operator can meet clients’ needs.
“It is important for the agent to have some knowledge of the type of product the tour operator sells.
“For example, if the client has a budget of £500 per person and wants Europe, Kuoni does sell Europe, but it is part of our five-star luxury World Class programme, so we wouldn’t be the best people to call in that instance.” Olivia Gonzalez, Virtual Support, Kuoni.
8. Welcome operators’ help.
Cosmos head of sales Gordon McCreadie said: “Feedback from our sales team is that agents can be a bit defensive when we visit them. Our guys have lots of knowledge about the market and agents should use that.
The sales team wants to drive trade to the agent. Ask us for help and support. We will look at providing you with exclusive offers, and help you drive more sales.”
9. Be upfront about quotes you’ve already got.
“This can save time being wasted on both sides,” said Kuoni’s Gonzalez.
10. Use the marketing materials we provide.
“We do joint branding at our own expense and produce newsletters with the agents’ logos on it. Agents should make sure they use these resources,” said Kirker Holidays sales and marketing director Ted Wake.