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Independents call for help from trade body, but not ABTA
Some of the UK’s leading independent agents were in a feisty mood as they pondered the ills of the travel industry during a TravelMole roundtable discussion held at the annual YouTravel overseas trip for VIPs, writes TravelMole managing director Graham McKenzie.
Sitting in the terrace bar of the Aquis Agios Gordios in Corfu, it was somewhat surprising to find that most of the agents had gripes and a lot of them centred around consistency of bed bank data.
The variances in descriptions, room types and star-rating led many of them to describe the process as ‘the biggest pain in the neck’ we face.
Luke Nathan of TravelSoon said: "The mapping of the data between the various bed banks causes us to spend more time and probably causes more hassle with clients than anything else.
"Many times we have to check the descriptions to ensure we are selling the correct product with the correct services as they vary so much between vendors. "
The consensus of opinion was that the lack of consistent descriptions and other data on hotels should be sorted by a central body but who? ABTA? "Do me favour, said Chetan Patel of A1Travel. "We are members purely to get the badge for consumer recognition, which incidentally is dying out.
"They do nothing for me and I would leave tomorrow if I could."
Hannah Wheeler of YouTravel suggested IATA and the new GIATA multicodes may lead to a solution.
"We are in the process of implementing the codes and we would be delighted if all the other bed banks followed suit. We recognise the issue from an agent perspective and want to be as helpful as possible," she said.
In a wide ranging discussion, other areas to get the agents’ wrath were the lack of low-cost flights for dynamic packaging, the star-rating systems in Egypt and Turkey, Flight Plus and regulation, the increasing importance of TripAdvisor in deciding what hotels to take off sale and the public perception of the travel industry.
Sounds like there is a need for a strong association to represent the needs of the independent travel agents who don’t have the same clout as the Big Two.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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