Travel agents say they are standing by their vow to book with suppliers that supported them the most at the height of the pandemic as international travel restarts.
Many agents had to deal with unhappy or angry clients when tour operators refused to refund bookings within the legal 14 day period, and warned the Covid crisis could determine which suppliers they work with in the future.
In a Travel Weekly webcast, agents said they were continuing to stand by this decision and had no intention of going back to book with tour operators that made life harder for them or their clients in the last 16 months.
David Walker, aka The Travel Snob, said: “I am going to the people that were good to me. I have stuck to the people that have stood by me and I have given it back.
“Some [suppliers] have said to me ‘your bookings have dropped’ and I have told them I have not given them the business. Their policies have changed admittedly but that didn’t really help me at the beginning [of the pandemic] so I have remembered that.”
He added that those suppliers that went out of their way to help his clients would be remembered and used again for future bookings.
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Sutton Travel managing director Andy Tomlinson agreed, adding that his agency preferred to use suppliers that were trusted and supportive.
He said: “We were the ones at the front end last March and April dealing directly with clients when we always previously expected holidays to be refunded within 14 days.
“We totally appreciate the situation everyone was dealt with last spring time. Those companies that put agents at the forefront of their minds and assisted us back then are the ones that we are going to. It’s easier for us to deal with those operators when we still have potential issues ahead of us.”
Henbury Travel owner Richard Slater said one operator had told him a “blatant lie” about not receiving an airline refund. He was only able to obtain the refund after showing evidence it had been paid by the airline involved to the operator and then contacting Abta for help.
But he said it was important agents attempted a collaborative approach with suppliers. He added: “I think that gets more out of people than going in with both barrels as we have to work with these people in future. We need to keep our relationships pleasant and workable.”
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