NEWS
Agents ‘lose thousands’ in card refund fees
Ben Ireland
Agents have lost thousands of pounds through a double hit on credit card fees when dealing with the “tsunami” of refunds triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Fees typically range from between
0.5% and 2.5% of the transaction value, so a £10,000 booking made via credit card costs an agent at least £50. Agents say card firms are also
charging fees to process refunds, meaning double their costs, on top of lost commission.
Westoe Travel director Graeme
Brett said his South Shields agency was likely to have lost £3,500 in fees, and he has written to Abta calling on the association to raise the issue with card firms on behalf of the industry. He said Westoe Travel had been
asking customers to accept refunds via bank transfer to save some costs. Lee Hunt, owner and managing
director of Suffolk-based Deben Travel, said a “conservative estimate” was that his business could be stung for £7,500 in card fees after refunding £1 million worth of bookings.
Inset: SPAA’s Joanne Dooey
“We know we’ll not get that
money back,” he said. “We’ve been charged a fee for something that, in the end, didn’t happen.” Hunt said he would write to his
bank “when things have quietened down”, but his priority was forward bookings and processing refunds. Research by the Scottish Passenger
Agents’ Association (SPAA) found 74% of members had lost out on card fees in the refund process. Of those, 31% lost around £500 in a month, while 35% lost in the region of £200. “It’s a perfect storm,” said
SPAA president Joanne Dooey, who represents the association’s 120 members. “The tsunami of cancellations and refunds means the travel agent will never receive any fees for the work they did months ago.” Dooey pointed out agencies don’t
charge fees, “unlike almost all other sectors”, adding: “Losing money over and above the full cost of a client’s travel through credit card charges is the straw which breaks the camel’s back. Credit card companies should be refunding the charges or introducing a handling fee to customers.”
Trade boosts domestic partnerships Juliet Dennis
Agents and UK operators are ramping up commercial relationships to tap into increased demand for domestic holidays. Advantage Travel Partnership has
announced new partnerships with UK suppliers. The consortium is poised to
add The UK Holiday Group, which includes Grand UK, Glenton Holidays and Palmer Holidays, to its supplier list, while Advantage business partner Anzcro has partnered with UK motorhome and campervan operator Spaceships, which is now available for members to book. Advantage has also added more
travelweekly.co.uk
villa specialists, such as Ocean Florida, to meet increased demand. Leisure director Kelly Cookes
said: “To support members to capitalise on an increase in demand for staycations and villa-based holidays, we’ve partnered with brands we believe will help members deliver what the British travelling public really want this summer.” More operators are also homing
in on the trade. Cosmos aims to raise awareness
among agents of its UK and Ireland range of tours, which are normally 95% filled by US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand holidaymakers. Managing director Giles Hawke said: “We’re seeing more demand
than before [from UK agents] but we have a job to do to educate agents on what we’ve got in the Cosmos and Globus product ranges.” Cosmos Tours and Globus Escapes
trips restart in September. Hawke said: “It is unrealistic we’ll fill all our
Hoseasons’ Delny Highland Lodges
tours from the UK but there is a big earning and learning opportunity for agents. A lot may have sold Shearings tours, or not sold UK tours at all.” Hoseasons, which temporarily
stopped taking new agent sales in April and May, reported “record- breaking” demand in the past week. Sally Henry, sales director at
parent company Awaze UK, said: “Sales through agents are up 89% year on year since Boris made his announcement on June 23, which was our best booking day of the year.” She also noted a “significant shift”
to cottage bookings. “These have always been available to our agency partners, but are selling particularly well at the moment,” Henry added.
2 JULY 2020 7
PICTURES: Shutterstock; Robert Hamilton
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