Relationships count

A specific priority for the year ahead will be the launch of Xclusivity – a new brand specialising in luxury breaks “to carefully selected long-haul and short-haul destinations”.

Blue Bay Travel comprises aspects of both a tour operator and a travel agency, so like its sister brands, Xclusivity will have the functions of both.

“At Blue Bay Travel, it’s a mixed model,” says Wilson. “It’s about giving the customer what they want, whatever that may be. We don’t just sell our own product.

“An important aspect of what we do is maintaining very good relationships with partners.”

To this end, Wilson reveals that Blue Bay Travel has opened up sales of its product to fellow Midcounties Co-operative consortium members and insists he would not rule out working with third-party agents outside of the consortium in due course.

“It is certainly not something we are ignoring,” he says. “We do get requests from agencies because we have a lot of nice product. If they pick up the phone, we’ll listen.”

Cruising ahead

Further diversification will come in the form of an expanded cruise offering and Wilson reveals that Andrew Gardner, the former Cruise.co.uk chairman, was the only name he put forward for the role of non-executive chairman.

“I knew of Andrew because of his strong profile in the industry,” Wilson tells me. “He was the only man for the job. He has a great reputation and has been through what we are experiencing business-wise in the past. From the very first meeting, he was interested in the opportunity that lay here.

“I can’t keep him out of the office,” Wilson adds with a smile. “Everyone in the company seems to love him already. I’m very honoured to have him join us. Having a chairman with such extensive knowledge of the industry will be invaluable.”

Wilson explains that while Blue Bay Travel focuses on land-based holidays, it does have a designated cruise team and website – Cruise Warehouse – which sits alongside Caribbean Warehouse and Tropical Warehouse.

“In the past, we have left cruise to our cruise specialists as we tend to sell more bespoke cruise-and-stays,” Wilson explains. “We have the capability for cruise, though, and it will be a bigger focus going forward. But that’s not a day-one task.”

Andrew Gardner, newly appointed non-executive chairman of Blue Bay Travel and former chairman of Cruise.co.uk

“I’d seen Blue Bay Travel receive numerous awards over the years that honoured an unshakable commitment to industry-leading excellence in the long-haul travel sector.

“I felt inspired by what the team had achieved and I’m delighted to contribute my knowledge and experience to the company’s future successes.”

Recruitment drive

Recruiting for its homeworking division and call centre will be a primary focus for Blue Bay Travel, however. “We have a really good homeworking model that we haven’t really advertised,” Wilson tells me, adding that the company has recruited four sales staff in the past week alone.

“We have an open-door policy and would always consider people without travel experience too,” Wilson says.
Indeed, Blue Bay Travel recruited a number of former Phones 4U employees when the former Stoke-on-Trent-based firm ceased trading in 2014.

Wilson believes the homeworking model at Blue Bay Travel is appealing because 25% of the division’s bookings are actually made by head office.

“If a homeworker has a day off, the call overflows to the head office and the agent still makes the commission,” he says. “We haven’t lost one homeworker,” he adds.

Technology focus

Advanced technology plays a significant role in ensuring that Blue Bay Travel’s agents can do a good job, Wilson argues.

Caribbean Warehouse and Tropical Warehouse relaunched in December with daily pricing added into their websites and the company is hoping to accelerate its overall growth by investing more in price comparison technology.

By the end of the first financial quarter, online booking capabilities will start to be rolled out, although Wilson insists that customers will always be encouraged to “pick up the phone”.

A white-label website framework called Orcastra will also be introduced, whereby Blue Bay Travel will enter a joint venture with hotel partners and a virtual call centre made available. A pilot partnership is already live.

As good a time as any

Some might question the sense in seeking such a major investment in what are widely regarded as uncertain times following the UK’s Brexit vote and the appointment of Donald Trump as US president, for example.

But Wilson insists that this was as good a time as any for the deal.

“There has been a change in dynamics in the sense that customers are looking for more all-inclusive product, or are concerned about exchange rates, but we have actually grown,” he says.

“We saw a huge surge in business following the Brexit vote, but that was around our own strategy.”

Blue Bay Travel committed to honouring prices following the referendum and has not subsequently introduced any surcharging. “We’ve come this far on our own, but the time is right to bring onboard a partner with the capital and expertise to help us deliver the ultimate ambition for the business,” Wilson concludes.

“We have amazingly passionate and committed staff who have always believed in what we do and are really excited about the future.”

If Blue Bay Travel’s haul of TTG Awards is anything to go by – including Call Centre Agent of the Year in 2016 – that commitment certainly appears to be enduring.