Travel agents say they are losing sales because of difficulties getting through to suppliers.
The trade said it was often taking as long as two hours to speak to tour operators since sales began to ramp up last month.
Operators blamed staff shortages and bookings taking longer for delays.
Sheena Whittle, head of Midcounties’ homeworking division The Personal Travel Agents, said: “Not only are new sales impacted, but we are seeing examples where agents cannot get information to amend a holiday in a timely manner, so the customer is deciding to cancel, take the refund and re-book when they’re ready. This is not the best solution for the agent or supplier.”
She said the trade understood suppliers’ staffing challenges, but stressed “fixing this problem is really important”, adding: “Agents have a golden opportunity to gain more customers who crave a professional, and this is being jeopardised in some cases”.
Althams Travel managing director Sandra McAllister agreed: “To have staff tied-up on calls is preventing us doing new bookings. I can only see one solution: more staff.”
Westoe Travel is using a phone on loud speaker at the back of the shop to call operators as staff serve other clients while on hold. Director Graeme Brett said two-hour waits were “the average” but “it used to be 20 minutes”.
Henbury Travel owner Richard Slater said his agency was “having to work around the situation” while Pole Travel is only calling operators which answer promptly. “It’s really frustrating,” said owner Jill Waite.
Operators said they were working to resolve the issue.
Crystal Ski Holidays apologised to agents for “severe delays” and said wait times had been reduced since trebling call centre staff numbers. A spokeswoman said: “We continue to do everything we can to help agents as quickly as possible.”
Jet2holidays has updated its ‘Manage My Booking’ functionality for agents, developed online trade amendment forms and bolstering its trade call centre team.
The operator thanked agents for their “patience and understanding”, adding: “We’re working tirelessly to keep lines of communication open.”
The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) put delays down to clients wanting more help; staffing levels and non-frontline staff taking enquiries; Covid absences; and difficulties getting quotes from suppliers in destinations.
Executive director Martyn Sumners said: “We’re in a transition period and managing expectations is vital.”
Sunvil chairman Noel Josephides said one reason calls were taking longer was because clients wanted “something different”.
He said: “Nobody wants a normal, easy booking. One of our staff was on the phone to an agent for two hours to do a booking while the client was in the shop.”
Josephides said staffing was an issue but warned suppliers remained nervous about recruiting. “We’re still worried about another variant so we’re holding tight,” he said.