New travel group seeks ‘deep trade relationships’
Juliet Dennis
A new travel umbrella brand is aiming to work closely with the trade for the first time while on the lookout to acquire more destination specialist operators. Hidden Travel Group, set up by
private equity firm Stone Ventures, includes Solos Holidays, Long Travel and Completely Croatia in its portfolio. Singles specialist Solos was bought
in April, while destination specialists Long Travel and Completely Croatia, both aimed at couples, have been acquired in the past three years. Initially the group will focus on
pushing Solos through agents. Te operator boasts its own exclusive hotel product, activity holidays and ‘discovery’ tours in Europe and long-haul. Around 10%-12% of Solos’
business comes from agents. It is recruiting for a trade sales manager. Hidden Travel Group chief
operating officer Janie Burt said the group planned to work with agents under one commercial agreement. She added: “We expect to build
a number of deep relationships with agents who have tapped into the singles market. In the past, the trade was not really supported
Solos trip, Corfu We will be a
marketplace for couples and singles looking to explore, who value expertise
and we recognise we need to do this correctly.” Te group is also looking to
acquire further destination specialists in the first quarter of 2020. Stuart Baird, chief executive,
Stone Ventures, said: “We are trying to grow as a new independently
Grosvenor’s Parsonage joins Tipto Agent Ambassador panel
Grosvenor Travel’s Amanda Parsonage has become the eighth agent to join Tipto’s Agent Ambassador panel. The Chester-based agent joins the independent tour operators association’s panel with immediate effect, to help shape its strategy over the next year.
travelweekly.co.uk
owned travel group in the UK. We will be a marketplace for couples and singles looking to explore, who value expertise. “We are going to acquire more
small owner-managed destination experts and will look to have one more singles specialist in the group, which will benefit from our marketing. Tey will be four-star upwards, tailor-made and escorted tour specialists.” He expected some operators to
be looking for a “route out of a crisis” because of current tough trading conditions, particularly at Atol renewal time at the end of this month.
Balpa cancels strikes by pilots at British Airways and Ryanair
The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), which represents British Airways and Ryanair pilots, has called off September strikes at both airlines. Five days of Ryanair strikes were cancelled to “pave the way for meaningful negotiations”, and a September 27 strike at BA was scrapped for a “period of reflection”.
Flintham and Hughes to speak at conference
Tui UK & Ireland managing director Andrew Flintham and Travel Counsellors managing director Kirsten Hughes are among
the speakers confirmed for Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Selling Conference on October 18. Te full-day free event, part of
Travel Weekly’s 50th anniversary celebrations, takes place in central London in partnership with Google, and will include exclusive findings from the search giant’s Decoding Decisions travel consumer research. Other confirmed speakers
include: Lee Haslet, vice-present sales, Virgin Atlantic; Ruairidh Roberts, senior industry head for travel, Google; Andy Washington, senior vice-president travel, Culture Trip; Chris Photi, partner, White Hart Associates; Stephanie Kovach, global business manager, Google; and Tom Day, director of innovation, Market Gravity/Deloite. Topics include building teams,
regulation, sustainability, smart tech and the future of travel retail. To register your interest, visit
go.travelweekly.co.uk/fots
Andrew Flintham
Kirsten Hughes
Flybe pulls Doncaster Sheffield flights due to lack of demand
Flybe is to pull its Amsterdam and Belfast services from Doncaster Sheffield airport. The regional carrier previously confirmed flights from Cardiff, Doncaster, Exeter and Norwich would be withdrawn, but it would continue with cheaper turbo-prop services from Doncaster. They will now be dropped after October due to lack of demand.
26 SEPTEMBER 2019 17
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