Hays Travel
in major
restructure
Hays Travel has undergone
its biggest internal restructure
since it was established in 1980.
Managing director John
Hays said the agency has disbanded
the company’s divisions
representing its own retail, call
centres and homeworkers, and
the Independence Group.
Instead, 18 categories have
been created to represent separate
areas of the business including
niche markets, destinations
and UK departure regions.
Hays said: “We’re going to
be more focused and we’ll
deliver a better service.”
He added the restructure cost
a “substantial” six-fi gure sum
but is already paying off with
increased conversion rates since
its introduction two weeks ago.
Hays said the changes
should help the company ride
out any fi nancial diffi culties
next year. He said there are no
immediate plans to cut jobs.
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Firms encourage staff to take second jobs as crunch takes hold
Redundancy news
rocks agent sector
Juliet Dennis and
Edward Robertson
Travel agents are slashing
marketing budgets and encouraging
staff to take second
jobs following news of further
redundancies in the sector.
This week Avis Europe
announced 315 job losses – 5%
of the group’s headcount – and
the closure of its headquarters
in the UK in a restructure saving
the company £16 million a year.
Days earlier Travel 2’s
Glasgow reservations centre
entered a 30-day consultation
period as part of a structural
review. Between 20 and 100
jobs are expected to go.
Agents admitted January
could be crunch time for jobs in
the trade, with the Confederation
of British Industry predicting
a peak of 2.9 million unem-
“We have
encouraged our
homeworkers to
take second jobs
up to Christmas”
ployed nationwide next year.
One senior agent warned: “January
will be the time when companies
make these decisions
if there isn’t a big bounce-back.”
Already agents said the
economic downturn was having
a drastic effect on forward
business, particularly winter
sun holidays and city breaks.
Newcastle-based Holiday
Discount Centre managing
director Steve Campion said:
“We have encouraged our
homeworkers to take
second jobs up until Christmas
Thomas Cook staff have the Strictly moves
Thomas Cook Group staff have been struck by Strictly Come Dancing
fever, as more than 250 of them entered the group’s dancing competition
in Worcestershire on Sunday.
Helping to judge the dance-off was Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du
Beke (centre), with the six fi nalists who will battle it out at the Thomas
Cook annual conference in December.
Maureen All hands on deck – minus
the latex gloves, please: page 32
because demand is not there.”
Freedom Direct, in Newcastle,
has cut its pay-per-click
marketing spend. “We have
cut our marketing spend
signifi cantly but where we are
spending we are getting better
returns. We are not alone.”
Online retailer lastminute.
com has changed its marketing
mix. Sales director Andy Washington
said: “We are spending
more on marketing but the mix
of channels has changed.”
Bookable Holidays has
switched its focus to ski. Marketing
director Craig Ashford
said: “We have seen a decline
in sales of sun products.”
Kwik Travel general manager
and director Stephen
Briggs added: “We are working
hard to generate as many
calls as possible. It’s like trying
to push water uphill.”
IN BRIEF
CAA ROLE TO CHANGE,
SAYS GEOFF HOON
The role of the Civil Aviation
Authority will change
following consultation next
March, transport secretary
Geoff Hoon has announced.
Passengers will become the
CAA’s prime concern in
regulating airports. Currently,
the CAA must take equal
notice of all airport users,
including airlines.
VISITOR NUMBERS TO
UK ON THE DECLINE
International visitor numbers
to the UK fell 3% between
July and September this year
to 9.3 million while their
spending also dropped 2% to
£5.1 billion. The fall in fi gures
means 24.9 million visitors
have come to the UK in the
fi rst nine months of the year –
the same fi gure as last year.
DfT DIRECTOR WARNS
ON AIRPORT SECURITY
There is “little chance” of
relaxing security at airports,
Department for Transport
security director Niki
Tompkinson told the industry.
Instead, she warned of
“security fatigue, complacency
and indiff erence
creeping in”. She added:
“We need to focus on security
screeners doing a good job,
not just a fast job.”
HAYS TRAVEL SET TO
UNVEIL DIY SYSTEM
Hays Travel will reveal a
new in-house dynamic
packaging system at its
Independence Group
conference, which runs from
November 28 to December 1
in Marbella, Spain. Hays Beds
director Nigel Hebron will
give details of the system,
which allows members to
fi nd product from airlines,
bed banks and tour operators
in one search.
PHIL NORRIS JOINS
A2BTRANSFERS.COM
Former XL Leisure Group
boss Phil Norris has joined
a2btransfers.com as sales
director. He will focus
on increasing sales through
agents, which already account
for 60% of business. Norris
was previously marketing
director for Freedom Flights
and Medlife Hotels.
November 21 2008 | Travel Weekly | 3
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