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P&O to axe £7 daily tipping fee to spur bookings


Harry Kemble harry.kemble@travelweekly.co.uk


Agents say P&O Cruises’ decision to scrap daily service charges across its fleet will remove a barrier that could dissuade customers from booking.


The move, which will come


into effect in May 2019, means passengers’ bills will not include a discretionary daily charge – currently £7 – for service onboard. The line raised its recommended


daily service charge from £6 to £7 in March – just 12 months after the amount was raised from £5 per day. The decision to scrap the charge


comes ahead of P&O launching two ships by 2022, including Iona, which goes on sale next month. P&O Cruises senior vice-


president Paul Ludlow said: “The removal of the service charge is another step to make the process of booking a cruise even simpler, so that all current and potential


Iona, as with the rest of the P&O fleet, will not levy a service charge when it launches in May 2020


guests can relax knowing that everything is taken care of.” Miles Morgan, owner of Miles


Morgan Travel, said: “They’re trying to get this out before Iona goes on sale. Iona will work only if it attracts a lot of new-to-cruise customers. It needs to carry 5,500 passengers a week, so taking out service charges simplifies the offering.” Claire Brighton, senior commercial manager at Advantage Travel Partnership, praised the move, adding: “P&O Cruises is trying to remove that new-to- cruise mentality about gratuities. “It removes a selling barrier – Brits do not like tipping.” The vast majority of P&O


customers are British, who are generally more averse to having service charges automatically added than some other nationalities. Phil Nuttall, managing director


of The Cruise Village, added that his customers were concerned that particular crew members were not getting the tips they were paying.


3 STORIES HOT


From left: Bespoke’s Lloyd Standing, George Pearl, Steve Humphreys, Luke Sutton and Adam Wisdom


Rejoice! Firm eyes £4m in choir sales


Juliet Dennis juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


A call centre travel agency has bagged a deal that could be worth more than £4 million in bookings.


Bespoke Travel is organising


travel and accommodation for up to 3,000 choir members from 28 countries to sing at a televised concert in Germany marking the centenary of the end of the FirstWorld War. The ‘Armed Man Berlin’ event


takes place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on November 2


and is based on The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, a famous piece of classical music by composer Sir Karl Jenkins. The Kent-based agency has been named as the preferred travel partner for the event and has so far booked accommodation and flights for 1,600 singers, with hundreds more expected to book. Bespoke Travel director Adam Wisdom set up the agency a year ago with colleague John Barrow after 13 years at DialAFlight. Bespoke sells leisure holidays and corporate travel.


“It’s the biggest potential set of bookings I’ve ever known, even from my time at Lotus Group [DialAFlight owner]. “We are looking at upwards


of £4 million if everyone books through us. “So far the biggest group we


have done for this event is for 140 people, but we are also doing individuals and smaller groups. We’ve had a group of over 30 from Australia, for example.” The agency has a dedicated


team of four staff working full-time on the choral event and has set up direct contracts to block-book 2,000 hotel rooms. It is booking flights and rail


travel, and will also send its team of four and one of the directors to the event to ensure rooms are correctly allocated. Bespoke’s appointment as travel


agent partner was made by the TV production company filming the concert. “We’ve done several bookings


for this company and built up trust by looking after them,”


added Wisdom. n What’s the biggest booking you’ve ever made? Email juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


23 August 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 5


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