NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT


The Travel Network Group Conference 2017: Consortium unveils range of initiatives to boost members’ business. Lee Hayhurst reports from Monaco


Winners of the six agent awards


Group values its services for members at £165,000


The value of services, training and technology provided by The Travel Network Group to its members has gone up 30% to £165,000 a year, it was claimed.


The group came up with a monetary value for all the services it provides as part of the membership fee based on what it would cost if members were to buy those services for themselves. Lisa Henning, group membership services director, said the number of member “engagements” over the past 18 months since the last conference numbered 8,249, including store visits, calls, training, webinars and meetings. Henning said: “It’s important to


me we demonstrate how hard we work for you. It’s important you get real return on investment on your membership fee.” She highlighted a number of


developments including a new member recruitment team. The group said it had 446 applications to join the consortium this year and accepted 252. “What’s really important is


while we want to say yes to all 446 we need to make sure they’re right for the group and do not devalue your brands,” Henning said. The consortium will run open


days at its Woking headquarters during which existing members can speak to potential members about joining. A business development manager will also be appointed to help and mentor new members entering travel. The group last month launched


a private Facebook group to communicate with members, 54 of whom have signed up so far. As well as its regional meetings, the consortium will launch cluster meetings of like-minded agents looking to develop a specialism. The first will take place on


March 1 and will focus on luxury travel, with a guest speaker invited to talk to members about the sector. The consortium plans to review the structure of its regional meetings early next year.


Agent operators can sell via other agents


Consortium members that have their own T-Atol, a special licensing franchise arrangement with the Civil Aviation Authority, are to be allowed to sell through fellow agents. It means The Travel Network Group agents who create their own trips can act as operators selling flight-inclusive packages through members as well as other agents. The scheme has been on trial with members including Party Hard Travel, an 18-30s clubbing specialist. Only agents that have signed up to the group’s direct debit


payments system can use the arrangement. Chief executive Gary Lewis said some members, like Wyntersun Holidays which last year launched a carnivals brochure, would be able to widen their distribution.


Vithaldas pledges to widen range of special offers


A new trading initiative will be launched by The Travel Network Group to increase the number of special offers from suppliers. Previously, the group


secured three deals every fortnight which were emailed to agents by the central marketing team. Vim Vithaldas, commercial and finance director, said while this approach had been “very successful”, the feedback was that there needed to be a wider range of deals and that some agents missed out if they did not check emails. The group has approached


more preferred suppliers to supply deals and incentives regularly. Vithaldas said the group


already had a long list of Black Friday offers. The group will use its new closed Facebook group and other forms of digital communication to alert members. It will also phone some members direct if an offer is relevant.


14 travelweekly.co.uk 23 November 2017


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72