Agency giants eye market share rise Robin Murray


Travel Counsellors and Hays Travel believe they are better placed than some rivals to cope with the cost-of-living crisis, as both sets of agents were urged to be “proactive” to increase market share in 2023. The UK’s largest independent


homeworking and high street agencies each held their annual conferences last week, with bosses bullish despite doubts over consumer confidence and demand. Travel Counsellors UK


managing director Kirsten Hughes cited research conducted by the homeworking firm that showed 76% of 2,500 customers surveyed still


planned to travel in 2023, despite feeling a squeeze on their finances. “We can’t ignore the current


climate, we’d be daft to ignore it,” she told delegates at the Liverpool event. “There will be winners and


losers if it gets difficult next year; the winners will be those who are proactive rather than reactive. Next year, you can’t sit back and wait for the business to come to you.” Hughes predicted some travel


firms could be “50%, 60% or even 70% down” next year, urging agents to work together to capitalise on tools provided and boost Travel Counsellors’ market share. Hays Travel owner and chair


Dame Irene Hays told delegates at its


Fred Olsen Travel picks top sellers for Luxury Cruise Club


Harry Kemble


Fred Olsen Travel is set to launch a luxury sales division by the end of the year to boost high-value cruise bookings across the business. The Suffolk-based agency soft-


launched the Luxury Cruise Club with the help of former project manager Mark Schmitt, who recently joined AmaWaterways, after identifying “a massive opportunity” to grow luxury sales. The Luxury Cruise Club currently


features 11 lines, including Celebrity Cruises, Explora Journeys and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Head of commercial Paul


4 17 NOVEMBER 2022


Hardwick plans to add more lines, but warned: “We do not want to spread ourselves too thinly.” He has recruited nine top-selling


agents from within the business to join the Luxury Cruise Club. Following the departure of


Schmitt, Hardwick is now looking to recruit a product and sales manager to run the Luxury Cruise Club, and has received six applications so far since the advert went live last month. “We think there is a massive


opportunity to grow luxury sales,” he said. “Most of the luxury cruise lines say that we need to invest more on growing this side of the business.” Hardwick hopes the nine-person


team will increase sales through existing customers and by attracting new luxury cruise bookers. “We’ve picked the best


sellers of luxury cruise across the shops,” he said. “They’ve got a dedicated mailbox which services customers’ enquiries.” Sales of all types of travel across


the agency’s 17 shops are up 13% month on month, with some growth attributed to the new division. “Some of the increase is because


of Luxury Cruise Club but a lot is due to the new shops that we’ve opened during the pandemic,” said Hardwick.


There will be


winners and losers if it gets difficult next year; the winners will be those who are proactive


managers’ conference in Turkey that it would be unwise to try to predict the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. But she added: “You could think


that it is a gloomy picture, and for some people it is and will continue to be, but it’s just not at Hays Travel. “Customers are looking for


trust and expertise and we’re going to deliver that, but we’re going


to make it easier by delivering interest-free direct debit [payments], which significantly eases the financial situation by spreading the cost of a holiday.” Travel Counsellors’ survey,


carried out in September, also found that nearly 60% of customers were planning to book their 2023 holiday when they usually do, with 24% wanting to book earlier than usual and 18% targeting last-minute bookings. Chief executive Steve Byrne said it


was too early to predict the impact of cost-of-living rises, but he hoped the company’s more affluent customer


base would be partially insulated. i Hays Travel Conference, page 10 i Travel Counsellors Conference, page 12


Cruise ships in Santorini; inset, Paul Hardwick


“We currently have 17 shops,


which is five more than we had in 2019,” he said, adding that he had brought in 20 retail staff – about five of whom had no previous travel experience. Hardwick, who recently returned


from the retail managers’ conference held on board Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Bolette, revealed the cost-of- living crisis was having “an impact”. But he added: “The high-end


bookings are coming through every day – £20,000, £30,000 and even £40,000. The average booking value is £600 higher than in 2019.”


travelweekly.co.uk


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