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Independent agents accuse Thomson of unfair pricing
Thomson has come under fire – again – for out-pricing independent travel agents.
With the peak booking season in full swing, independent agents have been voicing their anger on the travel community Facebook page, Travel Gossip, berating the travel giant for selling holidays cheaper online.
The debate was started by Kay Wilson at Frankland Travel who posted: "I see thomson are doing their usual 10% lower prices on line than on viewdata grrr !!"
Her post was followed by comments from other agents saying they are fed up with Thomson’s pricing strategy and switch sell where possible.
One agent said she refuses to book TUI any longer and added: "I spend time looking for a holiday and then customer will book on their web, TUI can do one as far as I am concerned nowadays."
Another said she switch sells Thomson all the time. "My dislike of them is mahoosive," she added.
Jenny Jackson from Travel-pa.com said she used to like Thomson 10 years ago but not any more.
"Us Indies put up with 6% commission when they are selling holidays online less 10%. How do you expect us to make money. We will in fact have to pay for part of our clients holidays if we chose to book them."
When asked to respond to the complaints, a spokeswoman for Thomson parent TUI UK and Ireland said: "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.
"Online is an important part of our strategy and the increase in mobile bookings means more holidays are booked through the Thomson and First Choice websites. Online is an intensely competitive market, so we do have to offer customers a range of discounts through our websites.
"Third party and independent retail agents also 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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