Agents slow to promote add-ons

Global Travel Group Conference Special: Agents are missing out on lucrative commission by ignoring the potential of add-on products, a Holiday Autos survey has revealed. In a mystery shopper experiment conducted by the car hire firm, 20 Global Travel Group members were contacted with a seat only enquiry to Malaga. “This is prime car rental opportunity and we wanted to see how many would offer the product,” said sales director Ian Coyle. Yet of the 20 agents, none spotted the potential and mentioned car hire, he said. When the ‘customer’ said he had to travel from the airport to a nearby resort, only one brought up car rental while eight of the remaining 19 failed to provide a price when directly asked about hiring a vehicle. “It seems that 40% were not bothered at all,” said Coyle. “As a customer would those eight have impressed?Service is the key to success.” Report by Steve Jones