It irritates me when people pick our brains then book online without giving us a chance to match it, says Spear Travels Wolverhampton’s Kim Kent
We have really struggled to keep our margin above 10% since peaks. This is quite unusual because we tend to have a healthy margin of between 10.5% and 11.5% for most of the year.
This, we discovered, is partly due to the number of cruise bookings we have done, including one in particular – a Cunard world cruise for just under £46,000 at 7.5% – which doesn’t help. The cruising market has been very healthy recently and I am not complaining because it’s always better to have a booking than not – but there always seems to be a lot of admin involved with cruise bookings. It’s time-consuming and results in little commission.
Price-matching
The other reason the margins are low is the amount of discounting we have to do to match online prices, just to secure the booking. Websites are so simple to navigate these days, and with TripAdvisor reviews listed it’s not difficult for customers to find the right deal. I don’t blame folk wanting to get the best possible price but I draw the line when they sit in front of me and check the direct cost on their phone before asking me to match it!
Websites are so simple to navigate these days, and with Tripadvisor reviews listed it’s not difficult for customers to find the right deal
I know many of you have policies in place regarding this and we have had many conversations in the shop about how we can tackle it. Ultimately, the question is whether you want the booking at 6% or not. We have decided that if we price-match, we don’t print or post anything but instead email and text documentation to the clients for them to print. If they’re not happy with this, we charge a fee, which I think is fair.
I always want to help everyone as much as I can but it irritates me when people come in and pick our brains on the best places to stay, then go away and book online without giving us an opportunity to match it, even though we have provided all the information. It’s a tough call and I don’t think there is a solution, other than to charge for the information and refund the money if they book. Food for thought…
Mexican standoff
On a different note, I recently returned from my first holiday to Mexico. I chose a large five-star hotel that looked beautiful on the website and had fantastic reviews. We went for the 11-night option with Tui, travelling in Premium Club. The service was excellent and the little extras were well worth the additional cost, such as the airport lounge and fast-track through security. When we arrived, we had been allocated a lovely one-bedroom suite, so everything was looking good.
I have been in the industry for more than 40 years and it never occurred to me to check this kind of thing before booking
The only thing I hadn’t accounted for was the number of Americans and Canadians who would be there. It was spring break and the hotel was full of families and very loud young groups. We could avoid them in the daytime but not in the restaurants in the evening. I have nothing against Americans and Canadians, but in one case it was so loud we left halfway through the meal because we couldn’t hear each other speak.
I am not being dramatic – at times it was so bad, it was genuinely unpleasant. I have been in the industry for more than 40 years and it never occurred to me to check this kind of thing before booking. You never stop learning!
Welcome competition
It’s fantastic that easyJet has increased its capacity out of Birmingham airport. This news was music to my ears as it’s our closest airport and most of our customers want to travel from there. I understand that 16 routes have been added so far, including beach stays and city breaks, offering more choice for our clients. What’s even better is that this will create some competition for the existing airlines serving Birmingham, meaning they will hopefully up their game. All we need now is for Birmingham airport to complete its renovations and step up its service levels so customers can expect an even better experience when they fly from there.