Travel Weekly’s Lucy Weekly says financial incentives can have a positive impact if they are well thought out
During the peak selling season, the dreaded D word is invariably a source of concern and frustration for travel agents.
It may be trade-facing suppliers being perceived to be too quick to discount headline prices, thereby hampering agents’ commission earning potential.
But often the frustration is directed at rival retailers who are willing to undercut going rates in the pursuit of volume sales, with fears of the market being trashed before a peaks punch has really been thrown in anger.
Despite this understandable desire to avoid large-scale discounts and send the wrong message to consumers, long-established early-booking offers show there is still a place for financial incentives to book if they are well thought out.
This week we spoke to ArrangeMY Escape’s Jennifer Lynch, who clearly thought long and hard before sending out money-off vouchers to established customers prior to the peaks to stimulate interest.
On the face of it, the move could be seen as a gamble, with each £100 voucher chipping away at commission earnings on any resulting sale.
But with a minimum booking price stipulated, Jennifer felt the pros would outweigh the cons of reduced margins.
As she tells us, she certainly believes the ‘gamble’ has paid off, with sales up year on year and clients whose interest has been piqued by the offer regularly being upsold.
With the market looking relatively strong but still failing to fully ignite for some, it is great to see an agency thinking strategically about its marketing (including the D word) and seeing its decisions bearing fruit.