WHAT would you be
willing to do to save
your client’s trip when
things don’t go as planned?
Would you use your own
money to cover their loss
when a supplier defaults?
Would you take on debt? It
sounds crazy, but this isn’t
unusual in the travel agent
community.
When Dubai-based Quality
Tours ceased operations
last year, Mymoena Dalvie,
manager of Distant Travel
and Tours, borrowed
R200 000 from her bond
to save clients’ trips that
she had booked through the
operator.
“For me it was about ethics.
I didn’t do it to gain anything.
Clients pay and trust us with
their hard-earned money
and rely on us to make their
dreams a reality,” Mymoena
says. She explains that she
had to pay out more than
the clients had originally
paid because some of the
suppliers refused to honour
the rates they had with
Quality Tours.
Jonathan Gerber, director
of TAG Travel, says it is
not uncommon. “Many
customers are repeats and
actually provide a type of
annuity income, therefore it
is important to ensure that
you protect this at all costs.”
He adds that agents have a
reputation to protect.
Cases like this, says
Jonathan, raise the
importance of dealing with a
trusted supplier. “The biggest
risk is that the customer
becomes aware of a problem
and starts using another
agency anyway,” he says.
“A client’s holiday is their
dream, you don’t mess with it
and you also don’t mess with
your reputation,” says Wally
Gaynor, md of Club Travel. It
is for this reason, Wally says,
in certain instances, such as
a supplier going insolvent,
that agents use their own
money to protect their clients.
But does this make good
business sense?
eTravel has had similar
incidents, says ceo Garth
Wolff. “We view this as very
bad business practice. It
simply does not make for
good business, not only due
to the risk of a bad debt but
also due to the ‘time value
of money’ or ‘cost of capital’
to fund this.” Garth adds
that it boils down to ensuring
that the ITC uses reputable
suppliers.
He says: “The risk of nonrecovery
is the main issue
but the cost of capital is a
true business cost that very
few consultants ever factor
into their budgeting and/or
monthly accounting.”
Mymoena doubts whether
she will be able to recover
the money and admits that
had she told the client their
trip was cancelled because
the supplier defaulted, she
would have been better off
financially.
She adds: “I can proudly
say that, of the five
companies involved in this
booking, Distant Travel was
the only company that kept
its word and put the client
first. Not one of the other
companies was prepared to
give up their profit to make
sure the clients were not
affected in any way. Many of
us in the travel industry boast
that our clients come first and
are very important to us…
I believe that I have gained
the right to hold my head up
high and say that I honestly
and truly do put my clients
first.”!
