“We have succeeded in educating the public so they know what to expect when they visit Thomas Cook”
It’s very difficult to cater for Observer, Guardian and Holiday Which? type clients. Unfortunately for us, these people know their rights.
However, it is also easier for companies the size of Sunvil, with 28,000 carryings this year, to get it partially right.
I have no doubt that should the smaller specialists, carrying a few hundred or a few thousand in a year, generate enough votes to pass the qualifying threshold of an adequate number of returned coupons, then they would score above Sunvil and the others.
So, it is harder for Chris Mottershead’s Airtours to get it right. But is a holiday value for money if 30% of clients are repeat bookers when the good operators achieve upwards of 60% repeat business, demonstrating even better value? Eurocamp, for instance, is no minnow and performs well.
We can go on for ever and both sides would have valid points to make. Those working for tour operators large and small know the individual culture of their employers and they could speak volumes if they chose to do so.
If Airtours’ product and service is now improving, then they will slowly start to move up the list. The time for consolidation and improvements is now upon us, as growth is no longer possible through acquisition in the UK market.
As Chris Mottershead said in his column last week, it is ‘horses for courses’ and perhaps Guardian and Observer readers should not book their holidays through Airtours.
Sunvil’s problem is how to get even a fraction of that 2% (Observer and Guardian readers who have mistakenly booked with Airtours) of 3.5m customers who travel with Airtours every year by accident.
The public has to be educated as to what to expect from each type of operator. This, of course, has been AITO’s chief task for many years now. When we embarked on our crusade against directional selling, transparency and the like, it wasn’t because we thought we could ever win.
That would have been naive We knew if we could create enough publicity, if we could punch way above our station in the industry, then this would make up for our lack of resources and educate the public into knowing what to expect when visiting Thomas Cook or Lunn Poly compared with an independent.
Have we succeeded? Yes we have, with the result that Thomson has spent millions buying independent brands.
So, there you have it, all you who have made your fortunes by selling out, you have AITO to thank for your good luck and many of you weren’t even members!
Will the industry’s ability to match the client to the right holiday improve in the future? I feel the answer is no. The more the Internet takes over our lives, the more the public will be brainwashed by the computer screen.
Not everything on the Internet is correct. The way a holiday or destination is portrayed on the computer screen is no different to that in a standard brochure. Will it be cheaper? Let’s wait and see.
All these Internet companies will make money soon. Where will that money come from? The Internet is too good to be true. In my view, booking by phone and speaking to a person is the way to book holidays in the future – certainly for Guardian and Observer readers.