Advantage has struck Olympic Holidays off its preferred supplier list after the pair failed to agree terms for a central agreement.
Agency members can no longer book the Greece specialist through the consortium’s selling system and the operator’s promotions will no longer appear on any point-of-sale material.
The consortium admitted it was “disappointed” by the breakdown in talks. It claimed it had been left with “no option” by the operator but to end its agreement last Tuesday (January 31).
Commercial director Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “Whilst I can’t go into the specific reasons as to why we terminated the deal, needless to say we will not actively promote suppliers who choose not to value our members’ business.
“We have worked with Olympic for many years so it’s not a decision we took lightly. However. during these tough times we have to remain selective about who we support.”
But Olympic commercial director Photis Lambrianides said it had decided “to walk away” from the central agreement and said it continued to work with and fully support Advantage agents on an individual basis. “We did not feel that there was any advantage in pursuing that course [of a central agreement]. We decided to go along our own path in dealing with members,” he said.
Lambrianides said the move had prompted many Advantage members to call the operator direct. “Some agents were concerned we were not working with them any more,” he admitted. “But we will work with them directly and support them. It’s a lot more work for us but more rewarding as it gets us closers to members.”
Advantage members were only “part” of the operator’s overall distribution, which also sells through multiples, Co-op Travel, and other independents. He declined to say what percentage of sales came from the consortium. He also stressed there were no concerns about the performance of the operator, which recently diversified its portfolio by adding Spain.
Other agency groups Global Travel Group, Hays Travel, and TTA Worldchoice said they were still selling the operator.