PROFILE
Trying to solve travel’s big challenges
Brett Norton, founder of the Ultimate Travel Group, tells Lee Hayhurst how the company is aiming to establish a clubhouse loyalty among its members
Rising costs of acquisition amid falling loyalty and eroding margins in ŨśËƂóĨǞËśóǝŨďóǝæĒĉǝçďËĨĨóİĉóšǝŨďóǝ ¡ĨŨĒįËŨóǞTśËƂóĨǝ>śĺŭŘǞƃËšǝ founded to address. The UK-based travel
subscription start-up is emerging from the Covid pandemic with a growing conviction that its model will resonate with the modern digital customer. SŭæšçśĒŘŨĒĺİšǝďËƂóǝŨËĥóİǝĺƖǝĒİǝ
many other sectors, most notably online entertainment, and Brett Norton believes they are the answer to driving customer loyalty in travel. “The biggest challenges in travel are
customer acquisition and margin – to įËĥóǝŨśËƂóĨǝËǝŘśĺƛŨËæĨóǝĒİíŭšŨśƉǝŨĺǝæóǝ in,” he says. “It occurred to me back in 2018 that
there must be a better way of giving customers a better proposition that works for both the business and the traveller.”
SUBSCRIPTION SOLUTION Norton says that during a decade working as a strategist in travel and hospitality he saw how businesses erode
their margins with cumbersome back ĺƗçóšǝËİíǝĨËśĉóǝįËśĥóŨĒİĉǝçĺšŨšƿǝTďóǝ end result, he adds, is that the customer does not necessarily get what they want either in terms of price or product. Working with Ultimate Travel Club
chairman Stephen Knight, a former Disney senior vice-president, they sat down to work out how to address those challenges. They mapped out how to bring a subscription model to travel in
the UK and were about to launch, but Covid-19 hit and travel ground to a halt. The pandemic hiatus turned out
ŨĺǞæóǝËİǝĺŘŘĺśŨŭİĒŨƉǝŨĺǝĒİƂóšŨǝĒİǝ technology, to test and learn, and to hone Ultimate Travel Club’s çŭšŨĺįóśǝĺƖóśĒİĉƿ A bespoke price comparison
tool was built so users could validate the savings, and an engaged community of early adopters was recruited to
šďËŘóǞŨďóǝƂĒšĒĺİƿ This came through a £40,000
çśĺƃíĈŭİíĒİĉǝçËįŘËĒĉİǝƃďĒçďǝĺƖóśóíǝ
early members a three-year membership in exchange for their investment. A £250,000 seed round has just been
completed to fund the business this year and another raise is planned for next year before a Series A in early 2024. Ultimate Travel Club’s aim is to
become a sort of Aladdin’s Cave for ŨśËƂóĨǝËİíǝŨďóǝƛśšŨǝŘĺśŨǝĺĈǝçËĨĨǝĈĺśǝĒŨšǝ members, just as high street agents were pre-internet. Norton sees this as “moving the dial”
in the industry: an approach that seeks to combat the growing promiscuousness of consumers in the digital age.
16 — OCTOBER 2022 —
TRAVOLUTION.CO.UK
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