Crunch talks for agents and operators

ABTA board member and St Andrews Travel managing director Andrew Dickson is rounding up fellow travel agents for crunch talks over future working relations with operators.

Dickson is planning a meeting after Easter with the heads of agency groups to take a fresh look at the agent-supplier relationship and where remuneration should kick in.

The initiative will tackle problems faced by agents over undercutting and client poaching by operators (Travel Weekly March 4). Dickson believes an agent is due commission if they offer advice on behalf of an operator, even if the client books direct.

“We need to rethink the time when remuneration applies. The basic relationship we have with operators is failing to recognise agents’ work.”

He did not rule out a collective boycott of individual operators.

Co-operative Travel Trading Group said it strongly supported Dickson’s campaign.

Independent Options business development director Sue Foxall said operators were acting more like predators than partners. “Andrew Dickson is pushing for agents to be rewarded for what they are doing, and that’s got to be the right thing to do.”

Advantage MD John McEwan said the consortium would be happy to join any discussion.