McRackin
Super Moderator
Tour reps holidays are numbered
BRIAN DONNELLY September 28 2004
THEY have been as traditional a feature of package holidays as sunburn, Sangria and towels on the beach, but travel firms are looking to kill off the holiday resort rep.
After decades of being a permanent fixture for Britons travelling to Spanish and other Mediterranean resorts, the death knell is being sounded for the sunshine workers.
TUI, parent of Thomson, the country's biggest package holiday company, is to scrap reps for those travelling on the cheapest package deals, and rivals are likely to do the same.
The company feels that while some customers may be prepared to pay extra for the benefit of having someone meet them at the airport and sell them excursions
, others would pay less not to.
Rival Cosmos, another leading UK package holiday company, is to carry out research into how much customers use reps with the possibility of scrapping them in 2006.
The move may end one of the most familiar sights of the British package holiday, yet it also shows just how much that traditional type of break is changing.
In recent years the reps' reputation has taken a battering because of the antics of those who handle holidays for young singles, such as Club 18-30.
Fly-on-the-wall documentaries and stories of sexually-themed party games played on open beaches have not helped the industry's image.
Anne Harvey, acting head of Holiday Which? magazine, said that for many the loss of reps associated with television programmes like Ibiza Uncovered will not be lamented, but others would.
She said: "If it is an 18-year-old with no other experience of life who is only interested in selling parties where you can see how many slammers you can throw down your neck
, then no-one is going to miss that.
"But there are other operators tending towards either a more upmarket sector, or ones which cater for older people, or ones which have a very complicated itinerary where the input of a rep can be really valuable."
Reps are generally low paid, young workers who want a chance to spend a summer in the sun, who meet and greet holidaymakers at airports.
After guiding them on to coaches to transfer them to the hotel, the reps are then based in a resort to handle customer problems.
But they are also there to sell add-on coach trips and excursions for which they earn commission and which turns them into high-pressure salesmen and women.
Modern British holidaymakers are increasingly turning to DIY holidays, buying budget flights and booking their own accommodation on the internet.
Many do not want to pay extra for a clipboard-waving teenager to meet them at the airport when they can make their own transfer arrangements and book excursions in advance.
With fewer excursions being bought in the resorts, it is making reps a less profitable option for holiday companies.
Thomson said it wanted reps to become a luxury for high-paying customers rather than a standard extra for everyone. Peter Rothwell, managing director of TUI, said: "Not all customers appreciate the same level of service.
"Thomson gold customers (a couples-only brand) want a high level of service with entertainment and excursions.
"But lates are the least profitable bookings for us and these customers tend to be less well-off and with lower expectations. At the moment there is not a great difference in how we service these people in resort and there should be."
Reps are still considered important in some sectors. Last year First Choice linked up with City of Bath College to introduce a course for reps for a Diploma in Overseas Resort Operations, and similar courses are held elsewhere.
BRIAN DONNELLY September 28 2004
THEY have been as traditional a feature of package holidays as sunburn, Sangria and towels on the beach, but travel firms are looking to kill off the holiday resort rep.
After decades of being a permanent fixture for Britons travelling to Spanish and other Mediterranean resorts, the death knell is being sounded for the sunshine workers.
TUI, parent of Thomson, the country's biggest package holiday company, is to scrap reps for those travelling on the cheapest package deals, and rivals are likely to do the same.
The company feels that while some customers may be prepared to pay extra for the benefit of having someone meet them at the airport and sell them excursions
, others would pay less not to.Rival Cosmos, another leading UK package holiday company, is to carry out research into how much customers use reps with the possibility of scrapping them in 2006.
The move may end one of the most familiar sights of the British package holiday, yet it also shows just how much that traditional type of break is changing.
In recent years the reps' reputation has taken a battering because of the antics of those who handle holidays for young singles, such as Club 18-30.
Fly-on-the-wall documentaries and stories of sexually-themed party games played on open beaches have not helped the industry's image.
Anne Harvey, acting head of Holiday Which? magazine, said that for many the loss of reps associated with television programmes like Ibiza Uncovered will not be lamented, but others would.
She said: "If it is an 18-year-old with no other experience of life who is only interested in selling parties where you can see how many slammers you can throw down your neck
, then no-one is going to miss that."But there are other operators tending towards either a more upmarket sector, or ones which cater for older people, or ones which have a very complicated itinerary where the input of a rep can be really valuable."
Reps are generally low paid, young workers who want a chance to spend a summer in the sun, who meet and greet holidaymakers at airports.
After guiding them on to coaches to transfer them to the hotel, the reps are then based in a resort to handle customer problems.
But they are also there to sell add-on coach trips and excursions for which they earn commission and which turns them into high-pressure salesmen and women.
Modern British holidaymakers are increasingly turning to DIY holidays, buying budget flights and booking their own accommodation on the internet.
Many do not want to pay extra for a clipboard-waving teenager to meet them at the airport when they can make their own transfer arrangements and book excursions in advance.
With fewer excursions being bought in the resorts, it is making reps a less profitable option for holiday companies.
Thomson said it wanted reps to become a luxury for high-paying customers rather than a standard extra for everyone. Peter Rothwell, managing director of TUI, said: "Not all customers appreciate the same level of service.
"Thomson gold customers (a couples-only brand) want a high level of service with entertainment and excursions.
"But lates are the least profitable bookings for us and these customers tend to be less well-off and with lower expectations. At the moment there is not a great difference in how we service these people in resort and there should be."
Reps are still considered important in some sectors. Last year First Choice linked up with City of Bath College to introduce a course for reps for a Diploma in Overseas Resort Operations, and similar courses are held elsewhere.
