NEWS


ooking and payment flexibility are among themes in Travel Weekly’s latest series of daily webcasts CONSUMER RESEARCH


LUXURY OPERATORS Sheena Whittle, PTAs at Co-op Travel


Richard Singer


‘Don’t tout holidays as a gamble’


The travel industry should distance itself from suggestions that customers should “take a gamble” over going on holiday this summer, said Icelolly.com chief executive Richard Singer. “I don’t like it when I see newspapers that say, ‘if you’re prepared to take a


gamble, you might get this amazing 2020 holiday’,” he said. “It’s a horrible term to use and it’s not something we should be associating ourselves with as an industry. You should never ask a customer to take a gamble with something so important.” Singer said Icelolly.com had changed the focus of a lot of its communications


as it “recalibrated” to offer consumers more advice and reassurance. He noted that emails with a personal tone had seen the greatest engagement. Singer said the holiday price comparison site had seen a spike in enquiries


for September and October 2020 as a result of news in the mainstream media about the potential of ‘air bridges’ and destinations opening up. He also reported seven-day durations replacing 10 days as the site’s most-searched-for duration.


CARIBBEAN FOCUS


Carol Hay


Travel Weekly’s Katie


McGonagle


final quarter of 2020, as well as promising demand for 2021. Carol Hay, chief executive


Patricia Charlery-Leon


Nadine Rankin


Region confident of strong winter


The winter-sun market offers the chance of a “turnaround” for the fortunes of the Caribbean tourism industry, according to tourist board representatives. ForwardKeys booking data


suggests significant interest in destinations including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas for the


of McKenzie Gayle, which represents the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s UK and Europe chapter, said: “For the final quarter of the year, things are picking up. December is looking great – not in comparison to what it was in 2019, but certainly in comparison to how things have looked since April.” Nadine Rankin, joint chief


executive of hotel and destination representation company AMG, said Caribbean suppliers felt “positive” about the last quarter of 2020 and some were seeing “record bookings” for 2021. Patricia Charlery-Leon, Saint


Lucia Tourism Authority’s UK & European director, said: “We’ve taken this disease really seriously and made sure we’re protected. That’s going to instil confidence.”


Ross Pakes (top), Simon Jeffries and


Aspire’s Hollie- Rae Brader


‘Clients will want more flexibility’


Customers will demand greater flexibility from suppliers around payments, amendments and cancellations following the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, say luxury operators. Simon Jeffries, head of


product and commercial at luxury operator Carrier, believes the pandemic could be the “catalyst for fundamental changes” in the industry, with payment procedures


predicted to be a particular focus. Speaking on a webcast with


Travel Weekly sister title Aspire, Jeffries cited Booking.com, which allows clients to pay upfront at a lower rate or at check-in for a higher rate. Jeffries said the current crisis


had “made clients more aware” of how and when customer money gets passed between agents, operators and suppliers, and that some operators don’t pay suppliers until long after travel. Ross Pakes, Abercrombie &


Kent’s director of product and commercial, agreed clients would demand greater flexibility, and said he expected clients to place more value on trust, safety, sanitation and a travel company’s reputation. A recent survey of 2,500 clients


of A&K and sister brand Cox & Kings found 80% cited “flexibility without charges” and penalty terms as priorities for future bookings.


HOLIDAY RENTALS


Deborah Heather


Celia Pronto


Travolution’s Lee Hayhurst


Merilee Karr


Experts tip changes across sector


There will be greater professionalisation in the holiday rentals sector after Covid-19, but less overtly commercial approaches, according to experts. Merilee Karr, founder of Under The Doormat and chair of the Short Term


Accommodation Association, forecast consumers will demand higher standards and predicted consolidation in the sector. She said: “You’ll see smaller companies looking for partners so they can be part of something bigger while still focusing on what they’re good at locally [and] not getting lost in an OTA world.” Celia Pronto, managing director of Love Home Swap, said: “People will be


looking for authenticity, so smaller businesses will do well.” Deborah Heather, director of industry standards body Quality in Tourism,


said she expected to see “movement from commercialisation to less reliance on digital and more on service, and probably back to old-fashioned hospitality”.


travelweekly.co.uk 4 JUNE 2020 11


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