Be ready for bounce-back when war ends, Hays IG members told

The head of Hays Travel Independence Group has told members to be ready for a “big bounce-back” in sales as soon as the war ends.

The group said it is enjoying strong lates demand despite softer trading in March and April due to the Iran war.

Last week, 66% of sales were for the next forward season, with 6% of those bookings for the next 10 days.

In terms of destinations, Hays IG’s Greece sales are outperforming the market while Turkey sales have rebounded as a result of more competitive prices being introduced for the destination.

More: Hays Travel IG agents warned of rising labour and inflation costs

Speaking at the Hays Travel IG spring conference in Chester, Harriet Thompson said: “Once the world starts to settle there will be a big bounce back. Make sure you are capitalising on those late sales.”

She added: “We know you [IG members] are very good at it [selling lates] and it aids cash flow selling lates. There are still people who want to travel, are you ready for that?”

The comments follow a strong performance for Hays IG’s financial year with overall sales up 13% to the end of March. However, after a ‘soft’ February, particularly for the family market, March sales were ‘significantly’ down.

Thompson said margins were under pressure. “We are seeing a really competitive industry at the moment,” she said, but added: “While March isn’t quite where we want it to be, and April is the same, it doesn’t take away from the overall strength of the year’s performance.”

Head of commercial Claire Gibson urged agents not to focus too heavily on price-led discount offers which can encourage consumers to shop around online and impact agents’ margins.

"Every discount we give away is profit lost," she warned.

The group also reported a marked increase in cancellation rates in March due to the Foreign Office advice against travel to the Middle East. Cancellations tripled, and in some weeks, quadrupled as a result.