Travel Weekly letters page, April 9


Neilson makes meals U-turn after letter in Travel Weekly Neilson has decided to offer evening meals six nights a week in the next edition of its brochure following a letter in Travel Weekly (April 9). The comment on the letters page pointed out that Neilson was providing meals for just five nights of its seven-night holidays. Neilson said it had moved to five meals “following customer feedback about a wish to enjoy the resort”, but will revert to six in all Mountain Collection properties next winter.


“After missing the initial opportunities in mobile, travel has been quick to embrace the Apple Watch”


Somo’s Emma Crowe predicts a major impact for Apple’s device


MORE IN TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS: BACK PAGE


New contact details for Clia UK & Ireland following move Clia UK & Ireland has a new phone number after moving offices earlier this month. The cruise association can now be reached on 020 3582 4378. The new address is Room 203, Dowgate Hill House, 14-16 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2SU. ❯ Conference preview, page 12


Fraud costs holidaymakers more than £2m annually Holidaymakers are being ripped


off by more than £2 million a year by fraudsters, according to the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. The most common types of crime last year involved criminals hacking into the accounts of owners on well-known accommodation websites or taking money from holidaymakers for stays in villas and apartments that either did not exist or had not been booked.


NCL to relocate UK office to Southampton this summer Norwegian Cruise Line will relocate its UK office from London to Southampton this summer. Norwegian said it was an opportunity to be close to parent company Prestige Cruise Holidays’ UK office. All staff will be offered opportunities in Southampton.


Rospedzihowski leaves merchandising role at Cook Thomas Cook head of merchandising Rob Rospedzihowski has left the business after fewer than 18 months to “pursue other opportunities”. Stephanie Berk, product and yield director, will take on the merchandising role.


EasyJet recruits finance chief Findlay from Halfords Halfords finance chief Andrew Findlay is to join budget carrier easyJet in October as chief financial officer. He will succeed Chris Kennedy following the announcement in January of Kennedy’s appointment as chief financial officer of ARM Holdings.


Godmum Wilby tunes up for


Anthem launch Emma Wilby, Royal Caribbean International’s agent godmother, has been busy preparing for the naming celebrations of new ship Anthem of the Seas. Wilby, who works for Thomson in


Elgin, will name the ship and sing at the launch event on Monday. To prepare for her big day, Wilby has been shopping for dresses in London and attending rehearsals with choir Only Boys Aloud. The 27-year-old agent, who also sings in the Kinloss Military Choir, was picked as Anthem’s godmother after entering a Royal Caribbean singing competition that ran in Travel Weekly.


Agents in line for windfall under new holiday pay rules Travel agents stand to gain up to two years’ worth of holiday back pay after a long-awaited judgment was made to alter employment regulations.


The new rules, which come into force on July 1, mean holiday pay must reflect commission earnings if an employee’s pay normally includes commission – as is the case for many agents. The judgment in the Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd case has been published as a subsection in the Working Time Regulations 1998, after the case was returned from the European Court of Justice for a decision. The court left it to the UK


Andrew Findlay 8 • travelweekly.co.uk — 16 April 2015


than basing it on an employee’s basic wage.


A law firm immediately warned “This is the most recent


decision in a long line of holiday pay cases”


employers in the travel industry to review current holiday pay and contracts of their staff. Artington Legal consultant solicitor Ruth Renton said: “This is the most recent decision in a long line of holiday pay cases clarifying the calculation of statutory


holiday pay by employers. “Ignorance is no


employment tribunal to decide how the ruling should be applied. The judgment follows a dispute on whether commission should form part of holiday pay, rather


longer an option for employers and employers now need to review their employees’ pay arrangements/contracts to take into account commission and other types of bonus payment, overtime and any other payments that are intrinsically linked to performance.”


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NEWS DIGEST Your news snapshot from travelweekly.co.uk


ALL ABOUT YOU — LETTERS


Neilson v Club Med Story: Club Med seeks quality agents to boost its ski business I agree that [Club Med’s comparison price sheet] isn’t that accurate (Letters, April 2). You could argue that Neilson might have been well-sold on that date and Club Med weren’t, so the prices reflected a need to sell. But Club Med did miss one huge point: Neilson’s chalet/club hotel programmes now offer only five nights’ catering instead of the traditional six, which means customers now have to eat out in their ski resort for two nights. l Simon Travel Weekly would welcome a response from Neilson


Boris should consult Story: London City’s expansion plans rejected over noise fears One person such as the Mayor should not be making decisions such as this alone. It should be a group of people, of which Boris Johnson is one, considering the city’s future and infrastructure. London City airport is in place and being used effectively. The Mayor thinks it should be put on hold and not expanded, which is unrealistic and impractical. l Glenn E Pickard


Cruising off to Asia Story: Cruise lines chart double-digit growth from Asia Anyone want to bet when the stampede will commence of ships leaving European and UK waters for the Far East, where operators can make more money? Bye-bye cheap cruises; go now while overcapacity lasts. lOmnibus


A reader replies: It’s


already started! Anthem of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas will be both be spending a short summer in Southampton before setting off elsewhere. In Anthem’s case, it’s to release Quantum of the Seas to go to China; in Explorer’s case, the ship is going to China itself. l Kevin


Jasper jubilation I was one of the lucky agents invited to experience the new Scenic Jasper. She is a lovely ship, and the experience both on board and on the excursion programme was excellent. Thanks must go to Lucy Hone and William Young, and everyone else at Scenic Tours, for a great trip. Thank you! l Ian Warren, GoCruise with Ian


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Greed is grievous


LETTER OF THE WEEK


I’ve been an independent agent in this industry for almost 40 years, but the way we are being treated by certain people nowadays makes me feel like giving up. Over the years I have watched profit margins shrink as airlines and hotels have pushed out the very people who gave them most of their business in the first place. Airlines now treat their passengers with such arrogance it makes my stomach churn. And consumers believe they can ‘get a deal’ by booking online or direct with suppliers, yet the minute anything goes wrong they come screaming to us agents for help. I have always believed ethics and morals are more


important than money. I have lost money on bookings because providing an excellent service was my priority. I do not wish to go down the route of the multiples, which forgo service and knowledge for profit. I never expected to make my fortune in travel. What I didn’t expect was how bad manners, rudeness, arrogance and greed would develop into a way of life for so many in our industry. l Name and address withheld


LETTERS PAGE Email: editorial@travelweekly.co.uk Please write “For Letters Page” in the subject line. All correspondence must be accompanied by a name, job title and company address; these will be withheld on request. Please limit letters to 150 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for brevity and clarity. Other comments are taken from Travelweekly.co.uk. The deadline is midday Monday.


Hoseasons is launching a campaign targeting the LGBT community. Do you think this is..?


A good move 67%


Poll conducted April 4 • gazetteers.com


Unnecessary 33%


GROUP


LETTERS


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