NEWS


APEX APPEAL: Twelve UK agents enjoyed a preview tour of Celebrity Apex at the Saint Nazaire shipyard in France this week. The ship is due to launch in two months’ time. Celebrity Cruises president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo told T


ravel Weekly


she is open to the idea of deploying an Edge- class vessel in Southampton for a longer period than Apex’s mini-season this summer, which includes six ex-UK sailings after the ship’s naming ceremony in the port. Lutoff-Perlo said: “Could we have a longer [ex-UK] season? Sure. Could we have a full season? Maybe.” She added: “We need to build our business here [in Europe].” From left: Tina Robson, Chartwell Travel; Jonny Peat, Celebrity Cruises; and Dan Salmon, Never A Wasted


Journey, in Apex’s Eden entertainment venue. i Read more on travelweekly.co.uk


Ex-Freedom advisors feel ‘forgotten’ in Cook fallout


Ian Taylor


Freedom travel advisors feel “forgotten” in the fallout from Thomas Cook’s failure despite losing commission running into millions – and want industry leaders to protect homeworkers in future. Many have been left


paid on September 15, but we’re still handling bookings. I had over £80,000 in commissions. All that was lost.” She is one of 104 Freedom PTAs


STORY TOP


“broken-hearted, almost destitute”, said former Freedom Personal Travel Advisor (PTA) Karin Rochelle who is now with Midcounties Cooperative. She describes the months following the collapse as “a nightmare” and said: “It’s awful even now. There are a lot of sad stories. Some advisors could not bear starting businesses again.” Ex-PTA Antonia Simcock said:


“We were just dropped and had to deal with the fallout. We last got


travelweekly.co.uk


to have joined Midcounties, of the 155 trading when Cook failed on September 23. Travel Weekly has spoken to others who lost £94,000 and £103,000, and at least one is said to


have lost £150,000. Ex-PTA Jo Boden said:


“We were a profitable part of


Cook, but we’re the forgotten ones. Our lifeline was the instant commission [Midcounties offered]. Most of us would be finished without it. I would have lost my house.” Fellow ex-Freedom homeworker


Bev Barron lost more than £100,000 in commission. She said: “It’s not about that – it’s the fact that I built this business. We put our hearts and


COLLAPSE


THOMAS COOK


shut our doors. But the homeworkers have been left with nothing.” Many former PTAs were angry to


read last week that “Freedom members got commission [on bookings] through the [Freedom] Accredited Body.” (Travel Weekly, January 23). Freedom Travel Group consortium


souls into our jobs. There was no help. “My business is getting back up


now, but some had not been at it so long. We want things to change. Homeworkers need to be protected.” Steve Plummer, who jointly runs


ex-Freedom member Holidays & Cruises, said: “We took a big hit. We had to let staff go. We’re still having to work on bookings we’ve not been paid for. We’ll have gone almost six months without income. “We’ve had to fight a storm and


we’re still fighting fires. We could have


members which joined Hays Travel did receive the commission. But Freedom was run as two separate businesses and the agreement with Hays did not cover the PTAs. Many are also frustrated at the


CAA’s handling of outstanding claims for refunds. Travel Weekly understands part of the problem is due to some agents using old claims forms, making their own claims forms or filing online claims on behalf of consumers with their own


information rather than consumers’. i Get Social, page 27


30 JANUARY 2020 5


PICTURE: Steve Dunlop


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