Youtravel closes call centre following purchase by FTI

German operator FTI Group has completed its purchase of 85% of Stelow, the parent company of London-based bed bank Youtravel.com, for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal, Youtravel will gradually cease selling direct to the consumer and will focus entirely on selling through the trade, said Stelow. A company spokeswoman said customers would still be able to book accommodation on the company’s website, but it won’t be investing in any further online or offline marketing. "Nor will we operate a calls centre," she said.

Seven Youtravel employees have been made redundant and one who has transfered to the B2B side of the company.

Youtravel founder John Kent will remain as CEO of the company and Anne Roesener, who will join the board of directors of FTI in August, will also join the Youtravel board in London.

Greek hotel chain Aquis Hotels & Resorts is not included in the sale and will be retained by John Kent.

FTI chief executive Dietmar Gunz said: "This decision marks an important step in the expansion of our international sales activities and Youtravel.com Ltd provides the opportunity to participate in the fast growing online travel market.

"Ioannis John Kent, the founder of Youtravel.com, will remain as CEO of the company and brings the benefit of his long experience and profound knowledge of the travel sector to FTI."

Youtravel.com will be integrated with immediate effect into FTI’s operation, he said.

Through ‘Meeting Point International’, FTI’s destination management company, Youtravel.com will have direct access to new hotels. The current 20 Meeting Point agencies work independently of the group’s headquarter, conduct negotiations and negotiate contracts directly with hotels in the destinations.

"We now have the opportunity to significantly increase our portfolio with high-quality, exclusive products across the globe," said Kent.
 "I’m looking forward to the partnership with the FTI Group which is also a very positive signal to our suppliers and loyal agents, who in the past already believed in us," he added.

Youtravel recently enraged overseas hoteliers by asking them to waive 30% of the money owed for beds sold. Agents have also reported an unusually high number of clients who have booked rooms via Youtravel being turned away by hoteliers because the beds had not been paid for.

"This deal with FTI should put the company on a stronger financial footing," one agent, who wished to remain anonymous, told TravelMole. "We have continued to deal with Youtravel despite the problems because they have some good properties, but we have altered our payment terms to pay for beds closer to the date of departure."

To strengthen the Youtravel management team, Anne Roesener, will join the board of directors in London and steer the business from FTI’s side. Previously Roesener was vice president central Europe and Nordics at Sabre Travel Network EMEA and was among other things responsible for building up the online sector.

Karlheinz Jungbeck, the chief financial officer of the FTI Group, will become a member of the board of directors of Stelow. "For us it is really important to have a strong management team in place and to make sure that Youtravel can work on a safe and reliable financial base in the future," he said.

"With Youtravel.com we have a great opportunity to play a significant role in the global online travel markets."
Moving forwards Youtravel.com will be focused purely on B2B activities. "This is where Youtravel.com has had its biggest success," said Roesener.

"The B2C business will be dissolved and we will concentrate on enhancing and developing powerful systems to fulfil the requirements of our distribution partners."

The Youtravel Group was launched in October 2006 by Kent. It has eight operations in Europe. Through the online portal www.youhotels.com the company sells 4,000 hotels, apartments and private residences worldwide, mainly to travel agencies and tour operators in the UK.

"It is our goal to open new international markets for youtravel.com and to expand the global activities," added Roesener.
In the financial year 2010/2011 the Youtravel Group generated revenue of €95m.

By Linsey McNeill