13 March 2009

A new breed of businesses to be born out of the recession

TravelMole Guest Opinion by Maria Whiteman, consultant director, The Holiday Team

Why on earth would anyone launch a new brand or embark on a major business expansion plan in the middle of a recession?

That was the theme of a radio phone-in I was listening to last week.

With a daily news digest of businesses going to the wall and unemployment figures creeping up every week, nobody needs to be reminded that it’s grim out there.

But the radio show was music to my ears. There were all sorts of people phoning in to say that their businesses are thriving in spite of the economic downturn.

I was riveted to the airwaves listening to the tales about innovation and clever business ideas which are striking the mood of thrifty consumers.

In travel and retail there are opportunities out there for those who are clever enough to spot a gap in the market.

There will be a new breed of businesses which will be born out of The Recession of 2008/09 and beyond.

Right now organisations which have been coasting through the good times will come a cropper. Those which have been complacent and not invested in new technology or customer service have been caught napping.

At a time when travel agents are reviewing costs on every level, suppliers need to innovate and offer something extra to help agents increase their profit in difficult times. Businesses which are fleet of foot with new ideas and a robust plan can take advantage of the sleeping giants and gain market share.

People may raise their eyebrows when you say you are planning expansion or launching a new brand or service in such a tough economic climate.

But I believe there’s never a better time if the proposition is right.

I hear a lot from travel agents about how frustrated they are with existing suppliers.

The same issues come up time and time again. They are fed up with using dated technology, there’s endless paperwork when they make an amendment to a booking, poor support from the call centre and little flexibility to set their own profit margins.

Anyone who wants to work seriously with the trade needs to be absolutely up to speed with the needs of modern travel agents.

The "thrift agenda" is here to stay for some time. I hope we will continue to see new brands in the market and more entrepreneurs making their vision a reality.

Launching or growing a business in recession is not for the faint-hearted. But be brave and it could lead to success.

Sleeping giants beware.

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Your Comments (4)

Reinventing Travel Agents

The survey stats are hardly surprising - one would never 'invent' the traditional travel agent nowadays: TAs were children of the 60s and the reality that your operators needed a distribution mechanism and there was no other means than a shop in the high street and there was no viable means by which end suppliers could sell direct to end-users. Most TAs started off as 'post boxes' (like insurance brokers and agents for insurance companies: their USP was their locality and position on the high street). That has all changed now with the internet and international telecommunications... but have all travel agents changed in recognition of this? Most are still low-pay employers who invest relatively little in their staff and who have singularly failed to answer the question: what does the human in the high street add in terms of value to the client (when compared with other distribution mechanisms)? As a tourism lecturer, I have yet to find a travel agent who has actually deliberately set out to systematically and successfully apply a 'Value Chain' approach to its services..... In the face of acute online distribution/competition, this is quite a significant failing in my view.

By Alison McGowan, Monday, March 16, 2009
Hidden Pousadas Brazil- one of exactly this new breed

I think this article was absolutely spot on. New circumstances require new approaches and structures. Yes, you have to offer the right products/experiences- the ones your customers want to buy, even in a recession, but you also have to be fast, flexible, professional, personal, technologically savvy and increasingly virtual. The world has changed and there is no place for outdated systems and processes. We only launch this month but we are already assured of success as we are promoting an unbeatable combination of peace and paradise in Brazil, in wonderful guesthouses/boutique hotels, at an affordable price- working in partnership with pousada owners and guests, for the benefit and happiness of everyone involved.

By Peter Cansick, Monday, March 16, 2009
Spot on

I think the article is spot on. It is clearly a difficult time but there are opportunities out there.

By Gareth Crump, Friday, March 13, 2009
What is born out of recession?

This article has said nothing whatsoever about any type of new business being born out of recession. I don't see the point of it.

By Andy Hyde, Friday, March 13, 2009