While ferry tickets may not offer a huge amount of commission, agents can build up the booking by offering extras such as insurance, entry tickets to attractions and additional nights at a hotel.
Stamp said: “We offer three nights in Paris with a ferry crossing from just £86. But if you add on personal and vehicle insurance, it will add around £50 to the booking.
“If you then add two adult tickets for Disneyland Paris, that will add almost another £50. So the value of the booking has increased by almost £100.”
And people are venturing further afield for slightly longer breaks. Travelscene managing director John Harding said:”In the past, a short hop across the Channel to Boulogne and Calais formed the bulk of the French self-drive short-breaks market. More recently we have seen an explosion in demand for Normandy, Brittany and Ile de France as the road network has improved and holidaymakers have felt greater confidence in driving on mainland Europe.”
The first step to improving knowledge of the self-drive market could be a refresher course in geography.
“If a francophile comes in, for example, the poor agent is often left wondering where in France they’re talking about. Training is critical to give agents the knowledge and confidence to sell self-drive product,” said Stamp.
European Life has just brought out a self-study programme designed to fit into an agency’s daily half-hour meeting. The pack spells out the key selling points, describes who the product suits and gives geographical pointers.
Agents also need to know typical driving times and distances so they can inform customers how far it is realistic to drive in a day. Many travellers also expect agents to suggest itineraries, although tour operators can often step in at this point.
Bridge Travel Self-Drive Holidays general manager Jackie Willcocks said: “We have a tailor-made section in our brochure, with a spread suggesting itineraries.
“Alternatively, for independent travellers, we can put together itineraries and recommend a couple of hotels. If, for example, Mr Smith wants to travel from A to B in a day, we will suggest a couple of stops along the way and give him a route itinerary as well,” she said.
To help customers who expect agents to know every little detail, DFDS Seaways, which operates a self-drive programme to Scandinavia, offers a fact-sheet for travellers, including information on the nearest restaurants, supermarkets, banks, markets and taxis.
While the ease of heading off from home in one’s own car cannot be denied, agents should also look at promoting the fly-drive option.
While prices of flydrive holidays may initially appear higher than self-drive, camping specialist EuroSites points out that savings will be made on petrol, ferry supplements, road tolls and stopovers and the total cost of the holiday is likely to be little more than the traditional self-drive option.
Head of EuroSites Richard Allen said: “We see the flydrive option as attracting two types of holidaymakers. The first are those who enjoy the freedom of a camp-site lifestyle but prefer a shorter journey time and the second are those who are new to continental camp-site holidays, having previously been deterred by driving abroad, especially to those destinations which are further afield,” he said.
PUTTINGtogether a complicated driving itinerary with ferry bookings, car insurance and hotel stopovers to consider is not the easiest way to earn a commission.
David Stamp, group business development manager of short-break specialist European Life, said: “It’s a real challenge for agents to sell motoring holidays because they’re so used to selling packages with flights where everything’s included. With self-drive, the concept’s different. You are selling to an independent-minded traveller who knows a lot about the product. And there is a wider choice of accommodation, with many smaller properties that agents are unfamiliar with.”
With rising numbers of holidaymakers taking to their cars for a short break across the channel and only a small proportion of travel booked through the trade, Stamp thinks agents are missing out on potential earnings.
“The volume of people travelling to mainland Europe is rising because ferries have become so cheap over the last couple of years. With so many people travelling, the commission-earning potential for agents is huge,” he said.
While ferry tickets may not offer a huge amount of commission, agents can build up the booking by offering extras such as insurance, entry tickets to attractions and additional nights at a hotel.
Stamp said: “We offer three nights in Paris with a ferry crossing from just £86. But if you add on personal and vehicle insurance, it will add around £50 to the booking.
“If you then add two adult tickets for Disneyland Paris, that will add almost another £50. So the value of the booking has increased by almost £100.”
And people are venturing further afield for slightly longer breaks. Travelscene managing director John Harding said:”In the past, a short hop across the Channel to Boulogne and Calais formed the bulk of the French self-drive short-breaks market. More recently we have seen an explosion in demand for Normandy, Brittany and Ile de France as the road network has improved and holidaymakers have felt greater confidence in driving on mainland Europe.”
The first step to improving knowledge of the self-drive market could be a refresher course in geography.
“If a francophile comes in, for example, the poor agent is often left wondering where in France they’re talking about. Training is critical to give agents the knowledge and confidence to sell self-drive product,” said Stamp.
European Life has just brought out a self-study programme designed to fit into an agency’s daily half-hour meeting. The pack spells out the key selling points, describes who the product suits and gives geographical pointers.
Agents also need to know typical driving times and distances so they can inform customers how far it is realistic to drive in a day. Many travellers also expect agents to suggest itineraries, although tour operators can often step in at this point.
Bridge Travel Self-Drive Holidays general manager Jackie Willcocks said: “We have a tailor-made section in our brochure, with a spread suggesting itineraries.
“Alternatively, for independent travellers, we can put together itineraries and recommend a couple of hotels. If, for example, Mr Smith wants to travel from A to B in a day, we will suggest a couple of stops along the way and give him a route itinerary as well,” she said.
To help customers who expect agents to know every little detail, DFDS Seaways, which operates a self-drive programme to Scandinavia, offers a fact-sheet for travellers, including information on the nearest restaurants, supermarkets, banks, markets and taxis.
While the ease of heading off from home in one’s own car cannot be denied, agents should also look at promoting the fly-drive option.
While prices of flydrive holidays may initially appear higher than self-drive, camping specialist EuroSites points out that savings will be made on petrol, ferry supplements, road tolls and stopovers and the total cost of the holiday is likely to be little more than the traditional self-drive option.
Head of EuroSites Richard Allen said: “We see the flydrive option as attracting two types of holidaymakers. The first are those who enjoy the freedom of a camp-site lifestyle but prefer a shorter journey time and the second are those who are new to continental camp-site holidays, having previously been deterred by driving abroad, especially to those destinations which are further afield,” he said.