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discounting news


Agents have slammed repeated calls by a consumer website for customers to haggle down prices in the aftermath of discounts being blamed for summer failures. Sophie Griffiths reports


Industry turns on online ‘experts’


LEADING LIGHTS in the travel industry have rounded on online “experts” calling for customers to barter with agents, despite discounting being blamed for the collapse of several travel firms this summer. Travel agents have long objected to Moneysavingexpert.com — founded by Martin Lewis — encouraging customers to haggle agents down, and TTGhighlighted the issue after he ap- peared on Tonight with Trevor McDonaldin 2005. Lewis claimed he was a “fan of travel agents” and is as supportive of them as he can be (see comment, below). However, industry figures believe his advice has become more dangerous in a year when dis- counting has already been blamed — by Pricewa- terhouseCoopers among others — for pushing travel firms over the edge. One of the most popular articles on the web-


site, saying customers can get discounts of 15%, has provoked a furious reaction from agents. Future Travel homeworker and TTG Face of


Travel winner Martin Owens, who posted on the website after the failure of Kiss, said the advice could destroy agents’ livelihoods as they would “make pennies” if forced to give customers 15%. Global Travel Group managing director Dave


Clayton said it was “hard to believe” that cus- tomers would be able to secure 15% discounts. “Agents can’t afford to sell too cheaply,” he said. “Most agents don’t work on 15% margins.


Future’s Martin Owens: 15% discounts ‘could destroy agents’ “Lewis needs to realise he can’t be an expert


on every industry. I think his customers will find he has called this one wrong.” Travel Counsellors chairman David Speakman said there was a danger Lewis would encourage customers to book with firms that were cheap, but not necessarily financially secure. “It would be interesting to ask him how many people who took his advice booked with Goldtrail and Kiss,” he said.


Martin Lewis responds to TTG:


“I am a fan of travel agents. I have robustly defended them over the past five or six years as the DIY internet brokers have come to the fore. “Whenever I’m asked by people if they should


avoid the travel agent and do it themselves, I resolutely say no — if you are going away for seven, 10 or 14 days to an established resort you are likely to get a better deal with a travel agent.


“However, specifically in the lates market,


haggling does work, and it would be remiss of Moneysavingexpert.com not to tell consumers that fact. If it didn’t, I’d be lynched by my visitors. “I do listen to travel agents and I did make some changes to my advice following the TTGarticle five years ago. There is also a specific section on the website where


travel agents can offer deals for customers. “But if the travel industry continues to work in this way, I will tell people about it. This is an issue for the travel industry and how it sells its products. “I’m not setting out to hurt travel agents, just to help consumers get the best deals.”


03.09.2010 05


What MoneySavingExpert tells customers to do when booking a holiday Under the heading “cheap package holidays”, Martin Lewis’s site claims: “It’s possible to haggle already cheap package holiday late deals by a further 15%.”


Next are step-by-step tips on how to negotiate further discounts, which included getting quotes from Teletext and the telephone numbers for a destination’s specialist operators.


Then comes: “It’s worth remembering to stay polite, charming and smiley throughout, as agents don’t like the tactic — or me — much.” It goes on: “Call a few more [companies], quoting the best price you’ve got and see who can beat it. To speed up the process, you could knock around a tenner off your existing price before you haggle, but don’t go too far. The agent will often ask for the name of the rival.”


Another article, sub-headed “haggle them down”, continues: “Once you've found a package holiday, note down flight times and whatever else is included. Then go online to find a list of tour operators that sell holidays to the same destination. Then ring them to haggle.”


“When you are booking a commodity, you


always try to get the best price. But when you are booking a holiday, you should make sure that it is delivered properly. MoneySavingExpert commoditises everything.” Worldchoice chairman Colin Heal said the advice was “misguided”. “Cheapness should balance with good standards of service,” he said. “Getting a discount on a roll of carpet or a piece of furni- ture is different from a holiday. Lewis needs to recognise that.”


COVER STORY


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