NEWS


among the choice words of guest speakers in Travel Weekly’s latest series of daily webcasts WHICH? TRAVEL AND ABTA


OTHER WEBCASTS THIS WEEK


Alistair Rowland (above) and Rory Boland


over a three-week period in March. “We were taking 15,000 bookings per day; now we are below 1,000,” he said. “And we received 300,000 cancellations in a four-week period, compared with 3,000 in a usual month.” Speaking in a panel session


Which? slams firms that could pay clients’ refunds


A


distinction must be drawn between travel companies that can’t pay and those that won’t


pay customer refunds. Speaking in a webcast with


Abta chairman Alistair Rowland, Rory Boland, editor of consumer champion Which? Travel, said there were signs that firms were starting to unlock processes to pay consumers


back for cancelled holidays. Which? Travel, which has been


highlighting travel businesses that have not repaid consumers within the 14-day legal time limit, believes the pressure it has brought to bear may be having an impact. “Our focus has really been on the


large tour operators and large airlines, and I think some of that pressure has probably told on them,” said Boland. “There’s an important distinction


between large and small operators and there’s also an important distinction between those that can’t pay refunds and those that won’t pay. “I’m not going to get into naming


names, but there are some operators that do have the cash but are


travelweekly.co.uk


unwilling to pay it back. And those are some of the worst examples.” Boland said Which? was right to


reflect the frustration of thousands of customers, many of whom he claimed had been “bulldozed” into accepting Refund Credit Notes. But he added: “There is huge


sympathy for the travel industry and there are some tour operators that genuinely just need a bit of time to get the money back from suppliers.” Rowland, who is also chief retail


officer for specialist businesses at Midcounties Co-operative, said firms had started to process cash refunds. “I do support Rory’s efforts in


pointing out the difference between can’t and won’t pay,” he said. “And there is movement. More


people are falling into line and there is evidence of that.” Rowland added that it was not


acceptable for any firms to deny customers refunds or for large airlines to devote insufficient resources to processing claims. “That does need to be called


out, and Which? is in a very strong position to do that,” he said.


Lastminute: ‘We became a cancellation website’ Lastminute.com revealed it had seen a 95% drop in the volume of reservations in March. Chief executive Andrea Bertoli


said the speed and magnitude of the decrease was “staggering” as the site moved from being a booking engine to a “cancellation website”


Touring and adventure: understand all the product A panel of experts joined a touring and adventure debate in the first in a series of agent-focused webcasts offering practical advice and training on how to sell specialist sectors. Rob Kenton, managing director


of Triangle Travel, said awareness of guided touring was relatively low among clients, but that destination- led enquiries could lead to successful tour bookings. Ben Ittensohn, head of global sales


at Explore, said pointing out the range of touring options was key, adding: “The challenge for agents is under- standing this breadth of product.” Sarah Weetman, head of trade


sales for Travelsphere and Just You, said escorted tours reassure customers they’ll be looked after and allow travellers to see all of a destination’s hidden gems.


An investor’s view: ‘Use of client cash is immoral’ The coronavirus crisis is a chance for the travel sector to address the “immoral” use of client cash, said investment banker Andrew Monk. The chief executive of VSA


Capital, who has 30 years’ corporate finance experience, said it is “extraordinary” that some travel companies “use customers’ money to keep the business going”. “The travel industry is very


unusual,” he said. “There is a big job explaining that to consumers. This is one of the changes that probably should have been coming and what this will do is accelerate it. For somebody else to use that money in the meantime is, if nothing else, morally wrong. It’s an issue the industry has always had. It needs to make itself much stronger.”


Watch these and upcoming T


ravel Weekly webcasts at: go.travelweekly.co.uk/webcasts


hosted by Travel Weekly’s sister title Travolution, Bertoli said he understood consumer frustration over the delay to refund payments, but added that managing the scale of cancellations would “take time”.


7 MAY 2020


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