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Munro jumps into bed with The Travel Network Group
Barrhead Travel has joined The Travel Network Group, 18 months after leaving Advantage.
The Scottish agency chain, which had been with Advantage for 15 years, then formed a joint venture with Midcounties Co-operative.
At the time, Barrhead chairman Bill Munro said the similarities between the businesses of Barrhead and Midcounties were striking from the outset.
But he has now admitted the tie-up didn’t work as ‘we just weren’t as compatible as we thought’.
Speaking about the latest partnership with The Travel Network announced today, Munro said it wasn’t so much about becoming a member of the consortia as forming a ‘strategic alliance’, with both sides benefitting.
He said Barrhead would gain access to certain business services, including cheaper insurance and efficient payment schemes.
As the Scottish agency expands further into England, Munro said it would also be able to take advantage of supplier deals in England which The Travel Network Group already has.
"Rather than us get a whole team of people together to get these supplier relationships going, they already have a lot of the products we will need for our English customers which we’ve not needed to have in Scotland," he explained, citing ferry companies as an example.
"If we were to deal with these suppliers direct, we’d be lucky to get 10%, but with this partnership we can get additional commission."
But he said The Travel Network Group would also greatly benefit from the partnership, which will give other members access to Barrhead’s British Airways charter seats and technology.
"Barrhead Travel will continue to have separate commercial contracts with key partners, but we are coming together with liked-minded people who are flexible," said Munro.
He said Barrhead will become The Travel Network Group’s biggest retail member, and in some respects is bigger than the whole of its membership put together.
The Travel Network Group managing director Gary Lewis said the signing was a ‘major vote of confidence’ following its transformation from ‘an old consortia model’ to a ‘travel partnership that is really putting members at the heart of everything we do’.
"We believe that we have changed the consortia model, and in doing so are demonstrating that we help our members – large or small – make the most of their own businesses."
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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