Agents back Super Break revival Amie Keeley


Te founder of Super Break, who is preparing a bid for the failed brand, said he is “humbled” by the hundreds of agents who have come out in support of his plans. Gordon Miller announced last


week he was hoping to resurrect a “stripped-down” and fully bonded version of the short-break specialist. Travel Weekly ran a number of


online polls asking if agents would back the brand if it made a return. A total of 1,120 agents said they


would and 186 said they would not. Miller, who set up Super Break


with a colleague in 1983, said: “I feel prety humbled by the positive reaction. It’s been as strong as we could have expected and validates the


Gordon Miller


I feel pretty humbled by the positive reaction. It’s been as strong as we could have expected


Super Break through and through.” Cathy Howard, of Your Holiday


core premise that we are only going to sell UK holidays and everything will be bonded.” Dozens of agents commented on


Facebook and wrote to Travel Weekly. Jacqueline Gallagher-Maycock,


supplier relations manager at Tomas Cook, posted: “I would always support Super Break. It wasn’t just about the brand, the team in York were


AmaWaterways boosts sales team and eyes new ship


Harry Kemble


River line AmaWaterways has bolstered its trade sales team as it reports a 20% increase in sales year on year. Rachel Simon, a former major


account manager for Royal Caribbean Cruises, joined the luxury line last week as a business development manager (BDM), overseeing the southwest and central England. Before a brief stint at European


B2B hotel booking system Teldar Travel, Simon worked for tour


4 22 AUGUST 2019


operator JTA as a sales manager. AmaWaterways is recruiting for


a third BDM to cover the southeast, but has ruled out appointing a fourth BDM as previously planned. Te expanded sales team is led by


Jon Knight, who has been promoted to the new position of national sales manager. Previously, the on-the-road sales team consisted of Knight and Joanne Smithies, who covered the south and north respectively. Ireland has been added to


Smithies’ remit and Knight will coordinate the BDMs and look aſter


select key accounts and consortia. Te Guildford-based reservations


team has also been boosted by the arrival of trade-facing river cruise consultant Verity Lee and customer services manager Andy Burt. UK managing director Stuart


Perl said AmaWaterways’ sales were up 20% year on year for the eight months to August – a figure he hopes will rise to 30% by the end of 2019. “Tat would be an absolute


achievement,” he said. “We are aware of the very tough trading conditions we have had this year.”


Booking, said: “Most definitely. I preferred [Super Break] when they were UK-only. If they intend to do the same again, I would definitely support this move.” Travel Counsellors’ Cathie O’Dea


wrote: “Absolutely, 1,000 times yes and that’s speaking as somebody who has lost money.” A handful of agents said the brand


was “tainted” aſter collapsing with 20,000 forward bookings and leaving some agents out of pocket for hotel- only bookings, which were not bonded. Miller said there was some


“understandable biterness”, which he would address and vowed to work only with hotels that agents could sell and earn commission on. A spokesperson for the joint


administrators said: “We are continuing to engage with interested parties to purchase the business and assets of the companies. To date, we have received significant interest.” Miller said: “We’ve had good


conversations with the administrators.” He has also been in talks with Abta, and explored other bonding models. It is understood the deadline for bids has been extended to next week.


Rachel Simon, Jon Knight and managing director


Stuart Perl


AmaWaterways has this year


added three ships, including Europe’s biggest river vessel AmaMagna. Te line is weighing up whether


to add a second 22-metre-wide ship. UK managing director Stuart Perl


said: “AmaMagna has been booking very well. We are looking at the potential of [adding] AmaMagna II.” Perl added that AmaMagna,


which is almost twice the width of standard river ships, had prompted a 6% surge in Danube cruise revenue. Te line is also looking at adding


a programme on the Nile. travelweekly.co.uk


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