NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW 4


Avis Budget sets up Beep portal for both brands


Ben Ireland ben.ireland@travelweekly.co.uk


Avis Budget Group has created a booking portal for both its brands and is offering agents’ commission of up to 15% and price parity with direct channels.


Beep, an online booking portal,


will allow agents to access rental cars for their customers from 3,400 locations in more than 120 countries from today. It comes as Budget car rental becomes available through the trade for the first time.


Jeanette Harper, Avis Budget


Group’s recently appointed director of travel and partnerships, said: “Putting both brands under one umbrella on Beep will make the booking process simple, efficient and rewarding for our valuable trade partners.” The customer will pay the same


price whether they book through the agent via Beep or direct. Beep, which took 18 months to


develop, will offer concessionary rates for travel agents. There will also be incentives and


giveaways for making bookings and completing online training,


Mascot Buddy the Budget Dog is helping to launch Beep


including the chance to win an Amazon Echo each month. Teams from Avis Budget Group


will promote the launch of Beep at upcoming trade events such as the ITT and Abta conferences, and will visit 400 travel agencies across the country. “The more we educate agents,


the more confidence they will have to sell our products,” added Harper.


Beep has so far launched only in


the UK, but Harper said it would “scale quickly” and suggested Asia could be its next market. A mascot, Buddy the Budget Dog, has been created to facilitate the launch of Beep, and cuddly-toy Buddys will be sent to trade partners. Harper told Travel Weekly the


brands had seen strong growth in popular destinations for the UK


market, including Spain and the US. ABGbeep.com


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5 Leven tips Brexit to hike cruise fares Natasha Salmon


natasha.salmon@ travelweekly.co.uk


Brexit could see cruise prices go up and impact freedom of movement, Clia’s Stuart Leven has warned.


Speaking at the annual Clia


Conference in Southampton, Leven, chairman of Clia UK and Ireland, highlighted three ways in which Brexit would impact cruise. “First, it could impact the freedom of our guests to cross borders, and


Leven, Royal Caribbean


International’s vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said consumer confidence to make holiday plans would also be impacted during the Brexit talks. He told the audience of more


secondly the freedom of our staff and our crew to cross borders. “The third is the impact it has in


what we charge because there is the customs union that allows us to take goods on ships from one country to the next without charge. These are the three main areas which could see change due to Brexit.”


6 travelweekly.co.uk 1 June 2017


than 600 delegates that it was up to agents to maintain confidence in cruise and the travel industry. “At some point next year people


will be booking their holidays for 2019 and in doing so there will be a lot of uncertainty around whether people will need visas to go to Europe,” he said.


“You as travel agents need to


reassure them that it is business as usual, and make sure we don’t get a shortened bookings period, which none of us want.” In his role as chairman of Clia in the UK and Ireland, Leven said he was working with Abta, alongside Andy Harmer, senior vice-president for membership and director for Clia UK and Ireland, to make sure “the cruise industry is represented” in government negotiations during


the next “interesting” two years. › Clia Conference, page 10


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