Agent Diary: ‘Availability is tight, and some customers’ budgets are even tighter’

As the market settles down, our main issues now are customers’ budgets, call wait times and cancellations, says Spear Travel’s Kim Kent

The big news in recent weeks is that the US has finally removed pre-departure testing for fully vaccinated individuals, while children aged 17 and under are exempt from any vaccination requirements.

Although this is a big step forward and very much welcomed by all of us in the industry, there is still no progress on unvaccinated passengers being allowed in.

I spoke to Vacations of America after the rules were eased and they said they had seen a slow increase in bookings and expect this to continue over the coming months. Long may that be the case.

We have had a few customers recently who have spent time and money on testing, only to find it is no longer necessary

Other news worth celebrating is that Turkey and Germany have now relaxed their rules, and Japan is slowly taking steps towards a wider opening of its borders, so it’s all moving in the right direction.

But while this is all great, we have had a few customers recently who have spent time and money on testing, only to find it is no longer necessary.

Perhaps the changes need to be publicised more clearly.

Unrealistic budgets

I’m very pleased to report the shop is busy and we are all under pressure with enquiries and new bookings.

We have found, though, that some customers have unrealistic budgets. For example, I currently have a family of seven wanting an all-inclusive package holiday for 10 nights in the Maldives for £10,000. The best I could do was £13,000 but they said it was too expensive!

We are still dealing with flight and holiday changes and cancellations, which are time-consuming, not to mention continuing to put up with long wait times

Availability is tight in places but thankfully we are managing to find holidays that meet the criteria for most of our customers.

Of course, we are still dealing with flight and holiday changes and cancellations, which are time-consuming, not to mention continuing to put up with long wait times to get through to some operators.

Certain suppliers cut you off after two hours while with others you find yourself chasing tickets that still haven’t arrived four days before departure. It can be very worrying for clients when they have waited two years for their holiday.

Cancellation woe

I must say I am a little frustrated with one supplier with whom I usually have a good relationship.

My friend booked a villa in Sicily for September 22, which the operator then cancelled, so he rebooked it for September 23, for 14 nights at £2,326 for two people. We then received an email to say they had cancelled it yet again but that the same holiday was still available the following day – but for the much higher price of £3,150! That is not fair or good enough.

On a more positive note, operators such as Lusso, Classic Collection and Caribtours have all been brilliant at answering calls.

I personally have been through Birmingham airport twice recently with no issues, and customers have said the same for Manchester and East Midlands

Despite the national media stories, we haven’t had anyone affected by airport delays. I personally have been through Birmingham airport twice recently with no issues, and customers have said the same for Manchester and East Midlands airports. So while I appreciate there are problems at some hubs, I don’t think the media helps.

On the bright side, it would appear the desire to travel is not being diluted by this negative coverage, thank goodness.

We can’t do it all for free

The perception from the general public still seems to be that we are an information service, regardless of whether they have booked with us. This is fine – to a point. However we get many phone calls each week asking us for help and advice about personal holidays booked online.

While we are happy to help with up-to-date information on travel requirements, some folk get very frustrated that we can’t assist with their claims for delayed departures and cancelled flights. They just don’t seem to understand why we can’t do it all for them for free!