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Hays’ direct debit ‘to save £1.3m’
Ben Ireland Hays IG Conference, Portugal
Hays Travel has launched a direct debit service to its Independence Group (IG) agents after revealing the credit card charge ban could cost members as much as £1.3 million.
The UK’s largest independent agency has been using the new payment option in its own shops since August 22. Six hundred direct debits have been set up since then – 66% of which are from customers new to Hays. Making the announcement
at the Independence Group’s annual conference in the Algarve, managing director John Hays said: “This will offer very significant cost savings to all of you in the room. In addition to cost savings, it’s massively more efficient.” The £1.3 million figure comprises £700,000 in lost revenue that
its 115 IG members would have received from now-banned credit card charges and £600,000 in additional costs to process them following the introduction of the Payment Services Directive II (PSD2) in January 2018. Hays said it cost, on average, £8.06 per booking to process credit card payments. The proportion of Hays Travel customers paying by credit card rose from 14% in August 2017 to 32% in August 2018. Customers who set up direct debits on the new scheme can be billed in one go 16 weeks before departure or in monthly payments, with the last being as close as six weeks out from departure. Direct debits can be integrated
into Hays Travel’s iSell platform, and once customers’ details have been taken they can be saved for future bookings. Hays said the service was particularly beneficial for early bookings, but warned of “some exposure” to the risk of not being fully paid for bookings made closer to departure. “A lot of customers want
monthly payments,” he said. “It’s working brilliantly so far. We’re even using it in our marketing. “For bookings further out
it gives sensational results. If you’re making a 2020 booking you will have collected so much that there’s no risk [of not having received enough to cover supplier cancellation costs] at the end.”
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Game over: Club 18-30 could not find a buyer
STORIES HOT
Cook calls time on Club 18-30
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
Senior trade figures have paid homage to iconic youth brand Club 18-30 following news it will be wound up after the last flight returns to Manchester on October 30.
Parent Thomas Cook this week confirmed it could not find a buyer for the £5 million-valued brand, founded in 1965. Cook is to concentrate instead on its ‘stripped back’ Cook’s Club brand, introduced in April. The last holiday for Club 18-30,
which in its 1990s heyday carried 100,000 passengers a year, will be from Manchester to Magaluf. John McEwan, chairman of
John Hays: ‘It’s working brilliantly so far’
Holidaysplease, was UK managing director of Cook when it took over Club 18-30 in 1998. He said: “It allowed young people to join groups, at low cost, and have fun while occasionally taking it to the extreme.” But its closure was “inevitable”, he said. “Today, young people have a more individualistic approach to holidays and don’t necessarily like being herded into group activities.” G Adventures managing director
Brian Young, a Club 18-30 rep from 1988 to 1992, said: “It’s disappointing because it’s such an iconic brand. But younger people want different things now.” Danny Talbot, chief operating
officer for Tourvest’s global sports division, worked for Club 18-30 from 1982 to 1991. He said: “It’s always sad to see something you loved come to an end, although in truth it had been drinking at the last chance saloon for a bit now.” Many said the brand gave them
the grounding for their travel careers, fromrunning excursions to contracting hotels. The Vertical Group’s business
development director, Damian McDonough, who worked for Club 18-30 from 1986 to 1993, said: “It was the best apprenticeship you could get.” Paul Riches, JTA Travel head of specialist sales, said: “The ‘club’ taught me a lot about how to deal with different people and manage difficult situations, and commercial and negotiating skills.” Club 18-30’s controversial image kept it in the public eye
in the 1990s and 2000s. ITV’s Club Reps show in2002 was said to have
boosted bookings significantly. › Talk Back, page 17
11 October 2018
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