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Advantage puts 20 suppliers on blacklist
Around 20 tour operators have been put on a blacklist by Advantage.
The consortium has told its members that those companies are not agent-friendly and has advised them to promote other operators.
The move comes after Advantage, led by new managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said, sent out a detailed questionnaire to suppliers earlier this year and then rated them, according to how supportive they were to agents.
The survey asked operators about their pricing policy online and through agents, and their commission, administration and service policies.
Supportive suppliers were put in a ‘highly rated’ category, while those deemed mildly supportive were labelled as ‘commended’. However, operators who were seen as unsupportive were put on a ‘zero-rated’ list.
Head of commercial John Sullivan said operators with a zero rating were encouraged to make changes to move up to the commended category but those that remained zero-rated – just under 20% of Advantage’s 130 leisure suppliers – have been blacklisted.
Sullivan said he preferred not to use the term ‘blacklist’, although Lo Bue-Said admitted it was just that when she gave her opening presentation at the Advantage conference.
"We can only advise agents, we don’t tell them what to do," said Sullivan. "Rather than call it a blacklist, I would rather turn it around and say it is more about encouraging agents who they should work with – the companies who support us."
The changes are part of Advantage’s plans to build long-term relationships with supportive suppliers rather than promoting companies on an ad-hoc or short term basis. On Day 1 of the conference, Lo Bue-Said said Advantage were not interested in ‘one night stands’.
Sullivan declined to name those on the blacklist, but said it was a range of companies.
Advantage does not encourage agents to work with TUI, but said the list was not about blacklisting major companies.
"Really, you have to take the mass market out of this, because they have a different strategy. This isn’t about them."
Jeremy Skidmore
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