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Where Advantage went wrong…
Advantage Travel Centres Conference 2004 Special: Advantage interim leader, Geoff Blagg made a lengthy presentation to members and partners describing how the organisation had failed them in the past and how it planned to revolutionise.
Mr Blagg said consultations with members, suppliers and consultants, included interviews, surveys, financial analysis and process mapping. He said: “The majority of answers to our questions were not what we hoped to hear.”
He said that the message from agents was that they felt Advantage was adding costs despite commission cutting and the continuation of a downward pressure on price. Mr Smith also said that agents wanted better business advice and a more flexible approach.
He said: “The ‘one size fits all’ approach more and more means it fits nobody.”
Feedback from suppliers was also negative. Many suppliers apparently felt Advantage agents didn’t make selling their product a priority. A quote from one operator was reported as; “we [suppliers] are lucky if 20% of agents follow policy and book our product”.
Mr Blagg said: “Suppliers need to be persuaded that they are better off dealing with a consortium than dealing with an individual agent.”
“Members are not acting like they belong to one organisation”, he added.
Mr Blagg said the changes were necessary to survive in an evolving market. He outlined a different environment for agents, where direct sell was growing, internet use spreading, an increase of internet competitors like lastminute.com and Opodo, the rise of no-frills airlines, reduced business travel pushing airlines to cut commissions, a growing specialist sector and changing consumer buying habits.
He said: “We cannot un-invent the internet or pretend it isn’t there…our business depends on reacting, adopting and changing with the market that controls our livelihood.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
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