5 2


Euro price hikes ‘could hit 2017’


Juliet Dennis


The Co-operative Travel Consortium Conference 2016, Portugal


Eurozone holiday price rises of more than 10% would have a marked impact on next summer’s trading, experts warned at The Co-operative Travel Consortium conference.


Despite general optimism


for 2017, panellists at The Midcounties Co-operative Travel event in Portugal last week admitted there were fears consumers could postpone holidays if prices rise too high. Spanish hoteliers have already


been warned not to be greedy after reports of price hikes of as much as 20% (Travel Weekly, October 20). Steve Campion, managing


director of agency Travelbubble and price comparison site Holiday Discount Centre, said prices were currently up 5%-10%. He said: “Holidaymakers are


resilient but if sterling does lose a lot of value against the euro and there are increases in excess of 10%, there will be


reduced volumes of travellers.” Monarch Travel Group head of


trade sales Simon Garrido added: “If costs rise that’s got to be paid for out of margin or passed on to the customer. A lot of business is hedged, but that will inevitably come to an end.” Stephen Eccles, commercial


analyst at Midcounties, said: “The bigger worry is aviation fuel going up. This is a double whammy that will feed through.” Campion and Eccles both saw


potential for Turkey to recover. According to GfK figures, Turkey is trading 32% down for summer 2017, although the Co-op consortium’s sales are 2% up. Campion added: “Turkey could


return if it can stay terrorist-free. If you have hotels in the Med putting up their prices, there is a danger they will lose share.” Paula Nuttall, Vertical Travel


Group membership director, urged agents to be more proactive. She said: “We are putting


bespoke products together around experiences instead of waiting for


clients to come to us.” › Conference news, page 14


3


Sunwing’s Ocean Beach Club, Gran Canaria


STORIES HOT


Cook offers bonus for hotel bookings


Lee Hayhurst lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk


Thomas Cook is to offer individual bonuses to its agents who sell more of its own-brand hotels and plans to introduce a similar incentive scheme for third-party partners.


The ‘Reach for the Beach’


incentive supports Cook’s focus on own-brand hotels, as well as customer service, with agents also rewarded for improved Net Promoter Scores, a measure of customers’ likelihood of recommending them. A Cook spokesman said: “The scheme is based on individual sales performance, however, a new element called Reach for the Beach allows staff to collect additional discount points redeemable against Thomas Cook holidays to reward branded hotel sales.” Cook will also take more staff


Steve Campion, Travelbubble and Holiday Discount Centre; Simon Garrido, Monarch Travel Group; Paula Nuttall, Vertical Travel Group; and Stephen Eccles, The Midcounties Co-operative Travel


on educational trips “so they can sample our products first hand and better sell them to customers”. Details of a third-party agent


incentive programme are due to be revealed in the coming weeks, but it is expected to be similar to Cook’s in-house scheme. Phil Gardner, Cook head of commercial sales and relations, said the aim was “to properly incentivise agents to sell Thomas Cook holidays to their customers”. “Our goal is to create holiday


experiences that our own staff are proud to sell and recommend to their family and friends,” he said. “We want independent agents to


feel the same.” Cook has revealed 12 own-brand


properties will be sold for the first time in the UK next summer under its Casa Cook, Sentido, Sunwing and Sunprime portfolios. The first Sentido hotel in Sicily


reflects increased demand for Italy. Another will be added in Brela, Croatia, along with Sentido Kaktus on the Croatian island of Brac. Five new family-focused Sunprime hotels will be added in Majorca, Cyprus, Gran Canaria, Rhodes and Turkey and four adult-only Sunwing properties in Cyprus, Rhodes and Turkey.


17 November 2016 travelweekly.co.uk 5


PICTURE: STEVE DUNLOP


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