NEWS


As we approach the lates season, we travel agents are divided into two camps.


Some love the thrill of a late-booking enquiry, while others almost go into hibernation. I’ve spent time trying to understand the barriers


Name Name JOB TITLE, COMPANY


the team have when it comes to lates and why a late booking should in fact be top of their priority list. One of the biggest barriers is speed. Diligent


Amanda Matthews MANAGING DIRECTOR, DESIGNER TRAVEL


Better lates than never: learn to love this season of opportunity


travel experts tend to spend so long and go into so much detail on a complex or early-booking enquiry that providing speedy service for a lates enquiry can be a real challenge. Overthinking is one of the key factors and means it will take longer to get options over to clients. Lates is all about asking the right questions then


using speed to find something suitable to suggest to your clients. Travel agents often lose late bookings because they think they are asking enough questions but in reality aren’t digging deep enough at the enquiry stage. During lates, you need


you keep abreast of the offers out there, the more you will start to know what a great deal looks like. Booking lates for many agents, especially


homeworkers, can be a quick source of income as clients will be travelling within six weeks, which means commission will be fully earned sooner and the risk of cancellation is far lower.


7LSV IRU ODWHV VXFFHVV I asked our top-10 homeworkers to give me


their top tips for lates, which I’ve listed here: Q Keep a list of clients looking for deals and keep checking in with them all the


time until you find something suitable. Q Show the savings by costing the holiday for next year so that clients are aware of what a great


“Lates is all about asking the right


to up your game when it comes to your questioning techniques – establish what flexibility the customer has at the very start of the process. Another challenge is availability. Everything


questions and then using speed to find something suitable to VXJƐHVW WR FOLHQWVŪ


is live; prices are dynamic. So, we do lots of work and present the ‘available’ holiday options, only to discover that the customer can’t book until next week. But next week will mean everything has changed in terms of availability and price. To avoid this unnecessary work (and stress) just


ask, ‘If I find you the right deal today, are you ready to book?’ If they aren’t, take down their details and start looking when they’ve confirmed they are in a position to commit if you find something suitable.


$OZD\V EH VHDUFKLQJ Where to look? Who has the best deals? What is a good deal? They seem like simple enough questions, or are they? Those travel experts who love lates know the answers to these questions immediately because they are searching for deals for clients, for social media posts or just keeping up to date with availability in downtime. The more


12 5 MARCH 2026


deal they are getting. Q Always be available – lates sales take dedication, so some things won’t


wait until tomorrow. Q Always throw in a wildcard – it might not be on your client’s list but you


know it is a great deal. Q It’s not always about the cheapest. Not everyone is looking for a bargain, some want better rooms etc, so be sure to ask questions.


Q Promote offers online that are not easy to find – consider using smaller, less well-known


suppliers rather than just the bigger ones. Q As lates is such a competitive and quick market, if you lose the odd booking (which you will),


just move on and don’t let it put you off. Q Use filters on supplier sites to help you


narrow down options more quickly. Q Try to speak to the client before doing any work to build that personal relationship where you can talk about availability and fluid costs – also giving you an opportunity to create the sense of urgency that makes conversions much better. In this period there will be lots of availability,


so my advice is to get yourself prepared and learn to love completing those lates bookings.


Read more by Amanda Matthews: travelweekly.co.uk/comment


travelweekly.co.uk


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