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Are independent agents still important to Thomson?
Agents have again hit out at Thomson over its attitude to the trade, just as a poll revealed that 61% of TravelMole readers don’t believe independent agents are still important to the operator.
TravelMole ran the poll after agents took to the travel industry’s Facebook forum Travel Gossip to complain about unfair pricing by the travel giant during the peak booking season.
Responding to those complaints, Thomson parent TUI UK and Ireland said: "Third party and independent retail agents remain an important part of our distribution network, ensuring that our customers can book through the channel that works best for them."
But only 39% of TravelMole readers who took part in the poll said they believe this is the case.
This week, a number of agents have once again taken to Facebook to vent their frustration.
One agent said he disliked Thomson ‘more than I hate sprouts or standing on an electric plug’ while another said: "They are and never have been agent friendly. I dread when a client says they want a Thomson’s cruise."
One agent said it always switches Thomson. "We might do one Thomson out of 40 bookings. It’s shame that we have to switch sell but like you say … price and customer service is our main concern. Thomson has very very little impact on us."
Another complained of ‘erratic pricing’ saying: "It can jump hundreds of pounds in minutes!"
When asked for a response to the TravelMole poll results and the latest criticism, TUI issued the same statement as before.
"TUI UK & Ireland remains committed to a multi-channel distribution network with online working alongside retail to offer customers the choice of how they book," it read.
"Third party and independent retail agents remain an important part of our distribution network, ensuring that our customers can book through the channel that works best for them."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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