Ocean Holidays’ trade revenues double in bumper January

Ocean Holidays’ revenue from trade sales has doubled since pre-Covid in a record-breaking January.

The long-haul and luxury specialist reported 20% of January revenue came from trade distribution, in comparison with 10% in January 2020, the last peak sales period prior to the pandemic.

Overall, January sales were up more than 50% on January 2020.

The company attributed the increase in trade revenues in part to an adaptation of its trade programme to provide incentives and new working practices following feedback from listening groups with key agent partners.

Co-founder and co-chief executive Harry Hastings said: “It’s incredible after such a turbulent few years to finally see, not only a return to normal, but a bumper peaks. This January has been a jolt of confidence the industry needed after so much uncertainty.

“We are so grateful for the support from our relatively new trade partnerships of which we are so fortunate to be enjoying mutual success together.”

New trade initiatives have included the opportunity to earn up to £600 per booking and short response times to all calls. The operator said more than 95% of calls from agents were answered in under 30 seconds.

Hastings added: “As the largest independent specialist to Florida, we pride ourselves on our service levels and we are extremely proud that despite experiencing the largest ever volume of calls in our 20-year history we managed to answer over 95% of calls from travel agents in under 30 seconds.”

The operator, which is looking to expand its destination portfolio, said almost half of bookings in the last month included destinations outside Florida, such as other parts of the US, as well as growth from its Winged Boots brand, which specialises in personalised luxury travel to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Indian Ocean.

Ocean Holidays recently won the new Employer of the Year award at the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards, judged by an expert industry panel.

Hastings said: “Our people are at the heart of everything we do and we believe that is reflected in our exceptional service levels we offer to both the trade and customers alike. As a business, we are constantly listening to our staff so that we can continue to evolve with them and make this a place where all employees can thrive.”