Last year was one of challenges amid recovery – now the question is, when will all this madness end? Asks The Travel Snob’s David Walker, a Not Just Travel homeworker.
Happy New Year – or is it? When will I start one of these articles by saying what a great week it’s been and how I love being an agent? Hopefully, very soon!
Strikes, delays, cancellations, schedule changes . . . it’s never‑ending. December was my biggest departure month of 2022, as it always is, and there were some big bookings too. For me, the bigger bookings usually involve multi‑centre and multi-country trips and, of course, multiple airlines. Oh, and let’s not forget everyone’s favourite: plenty of private transfers too.
Tricky tasks
Trying to ensure bottles of Christmas cheer are delivered to customers’ rooms on Christmas Day, arranging floating breakfasts and confirming with booked restaurants that they can guarantee a turkey dinner – these are the sorts of jobs that have taken up much of my time in December. Then there’s the task of finding out if the chauffeur service can take nine suitcases – for just three customers – and having to take their word for it when they say they can. Wouldn’t it be great if we could drive clients to the airport ourselves and be there at the other end to take them to the hotel to make sure they arrive without any problems?
No matter how much I tell my clients that it’s not my fault, I still feel as if I have let them down and that it partly is my fault
Schedule changes for February and March departures seem so far in advance, and we are trying to deal with them on top of the ongoing cancellations for the following day we keep getting informed about. No matter how much I tell my clients that it’s not my fault, I still feel as if I have let them down and that it partly is my fault. I hate nothing more than disappointing my customers.
I was recently on a fam trip and we got talking about the decline in service from hoteliers. I was told that many hotels had to lay staff off over Covid and these staff have since left the sector. With a lack of employees to choose from to fill the gaps and a lack of trained staff, these hotels simply cannot operate at the same level they operated at pre-Covid.
It’s a case of catch-22: hotels need the guests to pay for the work, but guests find their hotel is not to the expected standard
Not only that, but property maintenance could not be done during lockdown and now builders feel they can charge what they like. But hotels, after welcoming no paying guests for two years, can’t afford to pay such high prices. It’s a case of catch-22: hotels need the guests to pay for the work, but guests find their hotel is not to the expected standard. And who gets it in the neck? Oh yes, we do!
Higher prices
With prices higher than ever, clients certainly have a heightened expectation that everything should be spot on. When you check in with clients after a day in resort and they start to say things aren’t perfect (don’t get me wrong, it’s not everyone), how can we respond by continuing to blame the lack of staff on Covid? The problems may be due to cost cutbacks or recruitment problems, but it’s difficult for us to say to our clients that the issues are still down to Covid.
With prices higher than ever, clients certainly have a heightened expectation that everything should be spot on
We agents get the crystal-ball questions from our clients all the time. The hot one right now is: “How long will I have to wait in immigration when I return?” Now it’s my turn to ask a crystal-ball question: when will all this madness end?
Strong sales came at a price
Despite surpassing my sales target by half a million (£3.5 million in total), 2022 was a hard year. I feel as though the administration side of things took up a very high percentage of my time. I’ve worked really hard to keep clients happy and to ensure their holidays went as close to plan as possible. This, mostly, has come with little thanks, as I usually don’t tell them what has gone on behind the scenes.
But I have received more gifts and cards from clients this year than ever before, as well as from my lovely suppliers. I’d like to thank them all for their kind gestures. To all Travel Weekly readers, I hope 2023 is your best-ever year. Fingers crossed it’s easier than the last. Me? I’m off to Mexico to drown my year in tequila!