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Tui to close Meon but villa firms say sector ‘growing’
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
Villa operators sought to reassure travel agents that the villas market is “alive and well” despite the decision by Tui Group’s Specialist Holidays Group to close Meon Villas at the end of next month.
Tui blamed declining demand
for individual villas and increasing popularity of hotel villas, featured by sister brand Sovereign. A spokeswoman said: “We have seen less demand for individual villas, and an increased demand for hotel villas, so we took the decision to move this focus from Meon to Sovereign. “Within Sovereign, we already
have a sizeable collection of hotel villas, and we will look to grow this in the future. “We are speaking to the villa
owners and, while some will be dropped, some may transfer to the Sovereign programme.” Mark Bloxham, managing
director of rival trade villa specialist Villas4You, said the
decision to close Meon would enable Tui to focus on its other villa programmes, including Thomson Villas with Pools, and did not reflect a downturn in the villas market as a whole. He said the decision was
unlikely to be linked to last week’s collapse of Exclusive Escapes, which also sold villas but operated to Turkey, a destination hit by its perceived proximity to Syria. Bloxham said the market for
individual villas continued to grow, although contracting units could be “an inefficient use of contracting and product time” for larger operators. “It is sad to see a brand name
leaving the industry,” he said. “Exclusive Escapes ceasing
to trade and the Meon brand dissolved could be misconstrued. “The truth is that the villa
rental market is growing and big competitors such as Villas. com and Airbnb are bringing in new audiences. We are seeing double-digit growth through the trade every month. Customers are
demanding villas.” › Talk Back, page 17
3
The new National Living Wage will be introduced next April
STORIES HOT
Retailers urged to top £7.20 pay rate
Jennifer Morris
jennifer.morris@
travelweekly.co.uk
High street agents have been urged to increase salaries beyond the new National Living Wage (NLW) to ensure the sector can compete for the best talent.
The plea came after fashion and homeware retailer Oliver Bonas revealed it would pay more than the NLW, which is due to be introduced in April. The NLW will be £7.20 for staff aged over 25 and rise to £9 an hour by 2020, replacing the current £6.50 minimum wage. Oliver Bonas will pay £7.85 per hour to attract new recruits. Barbara Kolosinska, director
of C&M Travel Recruitment, said most of her high street travel agency clients paid closer to the minimum wage at entry-level – £13,000 a year. The NLW will boost this figure to £14,000-£14,500. “I would be pleasantly surprised
if travel firms followed Oliver Bonas’s model, but I’d encourage them to,” she said. “While there is some fantastic talent in the
“We struggle to attract the best talent because of the pay and often lose it to better-paid industries”
industry, we struggle to attract it because of the pay, and often lose it to better-paid industries.” Under the changes, the minimum
wage will remain in place for employees under 25, meaning staff aged 18 to 21 will be paid at least £5.13 an hour, and 22 to 24-year- olds at least £6.50 an hour. John Hays, managing director
of Hays Travel, agreed it was important that travel companies kept pace with the marketplace to compete with other industries. “We want to recruit and retain
the right people,” he said. “The majority of our staff are
already paid the NLW or above and we will continue to hold annual salary reviews.” An Abta spokesman pointed out
that in addition to their wages, many agents received benefits such as discounted travel.
3 September 2015
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