COMMENT IN MY OPINION


Stories about three of the big brands in our wonderful industry have


got me thinking this week.


Travel Counsellors Travel Counsellors is now a long-established business built by a pioneer and maverick of our sector, David Speakman. It has grown to demonstrate a wonderful business model and now stretches around the world – quite an achievement and one I admire greatly. Its agents are independent and thrive on that. So, I found the comments from the


group’s recent conference somewhat at odds with its ethos. Firstly, the need to move business from third-party operators to its in-house tour operator, Phenix. The conference is attended by operators that pay a handsome fee to do so. Nothing wrong in that, but when the delegates are told to switch business away from the same operators who fund the event, it seems a tad cheeky. Likewise, for Travel Counsellors’ agents, I thought the ability to sell what they deem right for their clients is what they are all about. Perhaps the comments were taken out of context, but it appears an odd approach to both supplier relations and its all-important independent agent sales philosophy.


Jet2holidays Jet2holidays is another brand that has grown at quite some pace over the past few years. I love its simple back-to-basics approach to holidays, its market-leading prices, and how it promotes and markets its virtues in a


Even the biggest brands can take some odd steps


Antagonising your trade partners seems a strange strategy


MILES MORGAN MANAGING DIRECTOR,


MILES MORGAN TRAVEL


common-sense way that appeals to its target market. Simple, but genius. Its recent conference for agents included a rallying cry for the high street, focusing on business rates as the challenge. For me, internet pricing and discounting is the far bigger challenge. So, while I applaud the idea, it would be better for Jet2holidays to fully support high street agents with price parity to solve the problem. This would have a huge impact for independents, giving them greater levels of support and positioning Jet2holidays as agents’ number-one firm in the package market. Come on Jet2, level that playing field!


Thomas Cook Thomas Cook is the third story that got me thinking this week. It’s so sad to see the leading travel brand in the UK deliver a second profits warning in just over two months. It is firmly trapped between Tui, with its vast in-house product range controlling both quality


and margin, Jet2holidays, with its low-cost base and highly aggressive pricing on mainstream hotel, and a newly-invigorated easyJet Holidays. Add in the successful OTAs such as On the Beach, and Cook’s predicament becomes obvious: high legacy costs with shops, salaries and pensions, and low levels of own-controlled hotels to improve margins. So where should it go now? I suggest


Cook should get out of aircraft leasing and ownership and move to a more premium travel agency flexible model. It should ride on the back of its classy ‘power brand’ status, as I can’t see it scaling quickly enough to match Tui or cutting its costs to match Jet2holidays. As ever, these thoughts are from an old


guy in the West Country with some shops. PS, my money is on Harry Redknapp!


READ MORE COLUMNS BY MILES MORGAN: GO.TRAVELWEEKLY.CO.UK/COMMENT


34travelweekly.co.uk6 December 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92