Hi

It's sunny ☀️ (today in Devon anyway!)  so feeling optimistic, not just because of the sun, but because of all the conversations I have had with many of you over the last 2 weeks. So I thought I'd share some comments from across the industry 😊

But first I thought this was interesting... Only two weeks into 2022 and it seems the pandemic has trained us all to not worry too much about events outside our control. There was a time when (potentially) losing a Prime Minister who in 2021 had been referred to as 'The most powerful Prime Minister in Recent Times' by multiple commentators, would have sent shock waves through the country and made businesses and the stock market wobble - you can see below from the past month - the FTSE 100 isn't affected AT ALL by Boris being on the brink. That chart would have looked different pre-pandemic, I'm sure of that. We are all very much focused on rebuilding our businesses whatever the shambles of a parliament we seem to have.

I'd say the general consensus across the whole country is one of resilience and nowhere is that more true than the travel industry! This is what else I've gleaned over the last couple of weeks

1. Optimistic - everyone feels like they have hope now, and even more so this week after France decided to e-open. But it's still a patchy start and don't believe all the hype in the press about bookings - sometimes the media just needs to be upbeat. So don't read too much about people's bumper bookings if yours don't match yet, there is a lot of diversity between people's experiences, but you can focus on a bright future.

2. Enquiries are up, but conversion rates down. So it's important to have a system to manage these enquirers so you can market to these enquirers down the line if they don't convert now. If you are not sure how to do this - drop me a line >

3. Clients are still confused - some assume the whole world is open because our borders are, so it's still an education game. Keep sending emails educating subscribers . These often work much better than sending Tour Op Promos they have sent you, emails are for nurturing, not always selling.

4. There are green shoots, larger agents seem to be more bullish publically, but when I talk to them they still are cautious - nothing is taken for granted.

5. Reduced staffing means agents feel busy, although their actual turnover may be lower than before, it's just that bookings have to be managed by fewer staff. It's important to have made sure that you've adjusted your financial forecast to take into account any overhead and staff savings you have made, but also know that processing bookings and sales requires staff. 

6. Tour Operators are desperate to work with agents. Commission levels are going up and agents are actively looking at what operators they sell and what commission they receive from them. Some agents have managed to lift their margin by a couple of % by focussing on who they work with and operators have increased commission levels as well.

7. Tour Ops have reduced staffing which means it can take longer to get quotes to send to enquirers.

8. Remote Work - from If Only, who have gone completely to Remote Working ( ask Neal Seally about how well this has gone - he can't see a reason not to do it), to agents who have moved to a Remote or Hybrid model, it feels like people are saying productivity is up. That still provides opportunities for High Street Agents*, but gearing up your business from one shop premises now does not depend on you finding bigger premises, just recruiting and managing a hybrid workforce. 

9. Travel Agents report new customers who have never booked before.

10. New Customers are finding out that agents deliver their service 'for free'. From my circle of friends, it seems they can't believe how much pain a travel agent takes out of the whole process at no cost. There really is a golden opportunity now to build your business with customers actively looking for experts, rather than relying on Google searches ( another reason why Tour Ops are desperate to work with agents as conversions from online adverts fall)

11. Some agents report the majority of their enquiries now coming through their website, rather than by phone/shop visits. These enquirers want to hear back via email, not phone. So make sure that 1. your online presence looks as good as it can ( yep, your website may need a makeover and 2. you have a good system for managing online enquiries - contact me if you want help with this > 

* Opportunities for High Street Agents

It won't happen overnight, and the high street must evolve, but having a shop window is a fantastic marketing asset. You sell high-value holidays, many people want to discuss this face to face, especially while in the 'deciding phase'. Customers like thinking about holidays, so changing the retail proposition to a travel store to inspire customers rather than a booking office, can be a great future for high street retail agents. The bookings can be handled by your back office / remote hybrid staff, while your key sales people inspire all those customers that are moving back to wanting to talk to an expert.

Go and inspire your subscribers and have a great weekend

Best

Steve