05 February 2010

Rise in Ã¢â¬ÅâœDIY leisureÃ¢â¬~ to have negative impact on agents and operators

Traditional travel and leisure companies have been urged to adapt to a consumer desire for "individual leisure" or lose out over the next three years.

The warning came from market research consultancy Finaccord with the release of findings on the future of the hospitality sector.

The research shows that market recovery for travel agents and tour operators will take time and the segment is set to decline by one per cent by 2013.

But the research distinguishes between businesses with a turnover below £100,000 that saw 4% growth over the past five years, and companies with a turnover between £100,000 and £5 million where numbers fell.

The internet has affected travel agents and tour operators very differently depending on their size.

The impact has been negative for larger travel agents and tour operators as consumers are much more likely to book travel online, cutting out the traditional travel agent.

The story is different for small, specialist travel agencies that have benefited from new opportunities, the research shows.

Many small hotels, guest houses and B&Bs (with a turnover below £1 million)

will be "assigned to history" while the number of bigger hotels and guest houses (with a turnover between £1 million and £5 million) will grow by 19% in the next five years.

After a strong growth of 10% over the past five years, the segment covering private individuals letting out holiday homes and camp sites/holiday parks is predicted to increase by six per cent by 2013 and to reach nearly 50,000 enterprises,

Event organisers and venues will be one of the fastest growing SME segments over the next five years in the UK and is forecast to grow by 13% by 2013, according to the resreach.

Company consultant David Parry said: "With the rise of the ‘do it yourself’ leisure, more and more people prefer to organise a wedding the way they want it instead of using a Registry Offices, to holiday in self-catering homes rather than stay in B&Bs, and to make their own travel bookings rather than use a tour operator.

"The future lies with individual leisure, unless traditional hospitality companies can adapt to these trends."

by Phil Davies

Post your comment

Your Comments (6)

But What If....

Paul what you are saying is correct in terms of knowledge etc but if a company folds in another country clients have no come backs as it is in another country different rules etc. it is great that as a supplier you were able to offer clients through XL there holidays bit this would havbe been a minority, what I said was people need to be protected never have any of my clients been a number, if an agent is ATOL bonded the clients money is protected if a client books seperate elements to a holiday eg DIY then they are not protected.. so when things go wrong they have no claim.. if I can ask if your company (I hope it doesn't) but folded what happens to money clients have already paid you for services in resort they would be out of pocket and have to pay again whilst trying to claim through cards etc .. as an ATOL agent (1) Payments would not be made to an operator until after departure (Protection for Clients) (2) If things go wrong in resort we are here to sort things out our Teams worked from 2am when XL announced until 5 weeks after 18 hours a day ensuring we protected & rebooked our clients. Every single client one got a holiday as a company losses were made but a small price to pay for keeping our clients happy and booking with us.

By Martin Owens, Monday, February 22, 2010
Thinking outside the box

Martin, I accept with some there could be a risk. However in reply to your question "What would happen if I went bust, my clients would not be protected" It is time to think outside the box! Protected from what or whom? Apart from their flights which are covered by ATOL, at no time do any of our clients have any money at risk! You assume our clients pay upfront! Our clients at no time have any money at risk! I do not intend to advertise and educate how we do this, but suffice to say to keep our clients safe and to eliminate any risk, I have changed the business model in our area. the clients love it because they see their hard earned money going to the people who provide the service insitu. The landlords love it and get their all money their faster, plus are no longer busy fools for working for an average of 10 to 15 euros a night per apartment, which is all they get from the operator. For this they provide cleaners, electricity, water, clean linen along with the accommodation! Yet they are expected to update and improve their properties on an annual basis. It is the equivalent of a far eastern sweat shop. True I cannot get the numbers of individuals a tour operator gets. So our landlords are only half as busy! But average 35 to 50 euros a night low season and 70 to 80 euros a night high season. The added advantage because they see fewer people they have smaller utility bills and less wages to pay or work to do if they clean their own properties. Their bottom line at the end of the season is far higher so they can invest more in improving their accommodation and take better holidays themselves! Martin, embrace the internet now and think outside of the box. The travel industry is in danger of losing large chunks of their business through out of date concepts, just as the motor trade did in the 70's. How many people go to a main dealers these days for their tyres, batteries, exhausts, coachwork etc? Look back 50 years and ask the same question. Be afraid! I am not unique!

By Paul Davis, Monday, February 22, 2010
Missed Point

Paul, I think the point has been missed we use bedbanks and package holidays together using local sources as well as using operators the point I was making was people should be protected, in the UK if a client books a Flight ,then accom, the car hire all from different suppliers they have no protection now. As an agent if we went and booked exactly the same package we act as the tour operator if anything goes wrong, floods, businesses cease to trade, airlines fail we provide a new holiday or refund if the aforementioned happened and they booked all themselves then they have no protection even credit card companies will not pay out immediately. As for using the internet, we use the internet all the time, we talk to our clients and advise accordingly. The main thing here is protection for clients & operators.. when XL failed ATOL paid for accomodations of people already on holiday so ATOL offers protection for Clients end of, sorry if this seems curt but I am a travel professional running my own business and all too often see people coming back after problems and understanding and valuing the knowledge of travel agents, I do not work for a big multiple. Surely you must agree protection of the clients from booking to getting home is the No1 priority here.

By Martin Owens, Monday, February 22, 2010
Point not missed

Martin, you are obviously a dedicated professional who is enthusiastic and passionate about your business. I applaud that. However I did not miss your point. I was just pointing out you may be mistaken in your impression. I quote you in your original post. "Consumer demand has shown that people have booked independently but have been bitten hard when airlines collapse like XL, Globespan etc, some bedbanks are now failing is it not time the Travel Press / Public Media / ABTA ATOL etc began to explain the benfits of booking with the trade as the public is protected reports like this only fuel people to book themselves and then the fall out is left to us to mop up and try to salvage Dreams/Holidays etc " There are always nightmare scenarios, for every one you can come up with, I can counter with at least 5 from my own experience on our little island. The problem you have is you pass many of your clients over to a tour operator who treats them like a number. We don't. We can foster a relationship from the first email or phone call and keep that going throughout the period up to their holiday, through their holiday and after their holiday. A high street travel agent loses out in the middle bit. At no time is the client exposed to any financial risk. Do not believe every independent local operator does not offer the same level of service and protection. Because most do. We are not all here today gone tomorrow.

By Paul Davis, Monday, February 22, 2010
Disagree 100%

I disagree 100% The truth is out there! Clients are learning that booking accommodation with local operatives in their chosen locations pays dividends with their overall holiday experience. They are not a number. Plus local operatives have a detailed knowledge of the area in question and often obtain prices and deals mainstream travel agents cannot compete with. On the odd occasion for fun during the season I sit and listen to the tour reps misinformation welcome talks. Selling their trips (nothing wrong in that) but adding their comments which all to often contains misinformation. I was a bit surprised once last year to learn Athens had a ferry port and ferries left our island on a daily basis. You can treat sunburn with Yoghurt! in the UK maybe, in Greece it attracts every stinging biting critter for miles around. For pities sake what is wrong with aftersun? Last year we had 42 football fans having just got off a flight from Manchester looking for the ferry to Thessaloniki because their high street travel agent in the UK told them there was one. Needless to say they missed the match, I wonder if the agent is still breathing? It is also a mistake to think the people who choose local operatives are not covered by ATOL etc. When XL went not one of our clients on location was stranded. Those yet to arrive all made alternative arrangements with our help and got their money back. A few waited 6 months or so but were compensated eventually. The flight ticket provider provided the cover. If a major high street player was to go to the wall I am not totally convinced their clients would have a smooth ride getting all their money back without government assistance. No one thought the banks were lending money they did not have to people who could not pay them back. yet they were!The interesting thing is neither do the insurance underwriters have much faith in bonding these days, which is why travel insurance no longer covers what it did two years ago without extra premiums being paid.

By Paul Davis, Wednesday, February 10, 2010
But Why??

Consumer demand has shown that people have booked independently but have been bitten hard when airlines collapse like XL, Globespan etc, some bedbanks are now failing is it not time the Travel Press / Public Media / ABTA ATOL etc began to explain the benfits of booking with the trade as the public is protected reports like this only fuel people to book themselves and then the fall out is left to us to mop up and try to salvage Dreams/Holidays etc My business was 110% up on gross sales versus 2008 .. why oh why do the media report on this.. should they not be proactively promoting values & benfits of booking with agents and ABTA & ATOL bonded companies

By Martin Owens, Sunday, February 7, 2010