Agents snub single brands?

Companies like Lastminute.com are not being straight with agents by using separate brands for the trade and consumer, it was alleged at the TTI Spring Conference. The allegation came from Lowcostbeds.com chief executive, Paul Evans. “You should be straight about what is going on. It is unrealistic because you want to say you are not competing with agents with your consumer brand by giving it a different name.” He added: “If you go down the multibrand policy you have multi-hassles, and added complexity with the systems, stock and branding.” Mr Evans was speaking on a panel at the TTI Spring Conference, which tackled the subject of dynamic packaging. Also on the panel was Steve Endacott, chief executive of Holiday Brokers, who disagreed. “Paul has the same brand in the high street and consumer direct but our idea is to have a separate brand in the retail shops. We have a different brand because agents will rebel against using the same consumer brand to book a customer’s holiday, enabling the customer to walk out of the shop and book it themselves.” The third member of the panel was Holidayandmore.com general manager Vic Darvey. He told TravelMole: “I think it works effectively to have a single brand for ancillary products such as Holiday Autos or Holiday Extras – the components booked as an attachment at the end of the booking.” “The issue with Lastminute.com is that it is a superbrand and doesn’t necessarily align itself with selling through the trade, hence our Holidayandmore brand.” Mr Endacott reflected his views. “If I was a travel agent using the internet I would not like my consumer leaving my shop and going home to book it themselves on the web.” He then appealed to agents in the audience to ask if they agreed with him. Peter Cansick from Johnson Stevens Travel Ltd said he agreed. “I would not be happy booking with the consumer brand. I don’t want to compete with the supplier,” he said. However, another agent in the audience said he had no problem with the single brand approach. “As long as there is a level playing field I don’t have an issue,” he said. “The issue is when tour operators like TUI are undercutting agents.” Responding, Mr Endacott said: “We charge more for consumer direct than the trade because the trade is more competitive.” Mr Evans said products booked through Lowcostbeds were consistently priced regardless of whether they were booked by the trade or direct by the consumer. Mr Darvey also said that travel products through Holidayandmore were cheaper than Lastminute.com, leaving agents room to add their own margin. He told TravelMole: “Lastminute has traditionally been seen as the aggressor because of our direct sell capabilities but when you look at it in real terms, we are one of the biggest commission contributors to agents in the industry.” He added that Holidayandmore is currently being used by 1,500 agents, around 20% of UK agencies. Report by Ginny McGrath