Aito Agents plans trade manifesto Juliet Dennis


Aito Agents is to draw up a trade partnerships manifesto as a blueprint for stronger working relationships with tour operators. The Gold Standard Partnerships


Manifesto will be based on feedback from last weekend’s annual Kick-Start conference for the agent arm of Aito, The Specialist Travel Association, as well as discussions between members of the Aito Agents panel. Aito Agents chair Gemma


Antrobus, who recently suggested some suppliers were forgetting basic courtesies when it came to engaging with agents, hopes the manifesto will provide a basis for further improving ties between its members and potentially attract more to join.


It follows a membership drive


by Aito and a rise in the number of the association’s direct-sell suppliers working with agent members. During a discussion at the


conference, held at Leonardo Hotel Hinckley Island in Leicestershire and attended by more than 100 members, agents and operators brainstormed ideas to form the basis of the manifesto to be produced next month. Antrobus said: “We had the


most honest conversations with operators we’ve ever had. “We asked what excellence


looks like; what are our ‘must- haves’ in a perfect relationship? “We talked about human


interaction, in-person training and talking on the phone, not just emails. “The words that came up a


SHG plans sales blitz to meet 1k agents by March


Juliet Dennis


The Specialist Holidays Group (SHG) is planning a three-month sales blitz of 1,000 retail agents and homeworkers via in-store visits and ‘coffee club’ meetups. Following the launch of its first


peak season campaign, the group said it hopes to engage with triple the number of agents compared with the same three-month period last year. The move forms part of SHG’s


key focus for 2026 to build trade relationships under new owners Travcorp Holdings.


6 15 JANUARY 2026 The group owns American


Holidays, Citalia and Sovereign Luxury Travel, all of which are sold via agents. Since Travcorp took over in July 2025, the trade sales team has increased from one to four people. Guided by a recent agent survey,


the team now plans between them to visit 300 agents in high street stores in January, a further 300 in February and the same again in March. In addition, they hope to meet at


least 100 homeworkers at six coffee club events, starting next month. Head of trade partnerships Jorge Quibell said: “We want to engage


It will be our


blueprint for stronger relationships – about how to get the best out of our partnerships


lot were trust, respect, support, flexible communication, reliability, delivery and the importance of goal-setting for both sides.” Antrobus stressed there was


“nothing hugely wrong” with Aito’s current relationships but said there was more to trade partnerships than the transaction and its commercial value. She added: “We will produce a manifesto for members: our


blueprint for stronger relationships. It’s about how we work with our partners to get the best out of them. “This is Aito’s 50th year. Some


of us have been around for years and rely on legacy habits. There are things we could do better. “It’s about best practice. We want


to increase trust and respect and how relationships can work at their best. It will be a commitment, but not a condition of membership.” Antrobus said the manifesto


was not intended as a recruitment tool to attract more members but added: “It would be a nice outcome. We are always looking to grow and looking for the right members.” Aito currently has 98 operator


and 79 agency members – the latter figure equating to about 300 agents.


Jorge Quibell (second right) with SHG sales team colleagues Kim Sellman, Simon Garrido and Luke Swarbrook


with as many agents as possible. The message to the trade is we are easy to work with and here to support them. We’ve increased our agent support significantly and increased investment.” Coffee clubs will be open to


any agents in the nearby area for an informal chat on product and incentives and will give agents the chance to build a relationship with their SHG sales representative. “We want to build relationships,


share key product and create a safe space for agents to ask us questions,” said Quibell.


The company has already upped


its presence on social media, with more e-shots and videos, and has marketing and training resources in its ‘SHG Suite’, which can be accessed via its Facebook page. Sovereign has also boosted its


product range with an extra 45 properties in the Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Spain, Italy and Croatia, plus a further 35 due to be added in the coming months. “We have seen a huge increase in


agents engaging with us who have not booked with us before or not booked in the last year,” added Quibell.


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