However, the director of marketing operations says the company had some important sources to draw on to ensure that when it launched its product to the trade on October 6, 2014, it was ready to perform at the required level.

Gambling says: “The trade as a whole has been really welcoming. There was some element of scepticism when we launched, but that’s gone now. “Having been a direct operator, agents wondered why we came to the trade, and if we were trying to steal their business. We’ve put some really strong practices in place to ensure that’s not happening.”

This meant a number of measures from taking out direct calls to action from the operator’s brochures to using simple pricing structures to keep confusion to a minimum. Gambling adds changes were also required in the company’s operations department after agents complained about too much documentation with each booking.

But overall, the smooth nature of the transition was largely helped by Saga’s ownership of Titan Travel, which it bought in 2009, where former managing director Jackie Willis and agency sales manager Edwina Coppock were on hand to advise how best to re-engage with the trade. An existing partnership with Thomas Cook to sell Saga Cruises meant the operator was not blindly forming new relationships.

Reaching out

But what prompted such a profound change of heart for an operator whose pursuit of the direct-sell channel had seemed complete? Gambling answers the question with one word: “agents”.

He says owning Titan had already shown their worth, while Saga’s own research revealed how valuable the trade could be. “Market research showed agents were still a massive part of the industry, from a research position to making the booking,” Gambling says.

“Long-haul is key to our growth. We will continue to develop new product and drive it.”
James Gambling

“We were missing out on a massive proportion of the market that is still choosing to book through travel agents. “Every piece of research we look at, and every piece of market information we look at, doesn’t show that reducing. Indeed, there seems to be some evidence that more people are booking through travel agents.

“Lots of consumers also do their research with agents. If you have your outreach where people do their research, they’re more likely to think of you when booking.

“Many people trust their agents for great recommendations, and put a lot of faith into what their agent is saying. “There’s always an element of recommendation that the customer values, and we were missing out on that travel agent recommendation.”

Gambling also insists the move will help future-proof the business as further research reveals that even outside of the operator’s over-50s target age range, consumers are increasingly returning to agents.

Digital limits

He argues that the return to agents could yet get bigger as the limitations of the internet are better understood, both by the industry and consumers. “The web is a great research tool and people are using the web well to get inspiration and check the tour,” Gambling says. “But when they come to a large high-value purchase, many are reluctant to do so online. If people want to book cheap flights then they will do it online, but if you want a holiday it is a very different purchase.

“The travel industry is changing and has changed hugely over the past few years. A few years ago there was a focus on the web being the next big thing. The industry has had to work hard to counter some of that and make itself more relevant.” With this in mind, the return to the trade has been purely on the high street and via call centres, although Gambling admits areas of the online arena remain untapped.

“Many people trust their travel agents for great recommendations, and put a lot of faith into what their agent is saying”

James Gambling

He says: “We’re not working with any OTAs at the moment; we’ve started some discussions with some of the cruise guys about that, but for Saga Holidays we are working with the high street and homeworkers. “But we won’t rule anyone out. If you look at some of the research, there’s some obvious big online agents, and there’s potential we’re missing out on. And some of our potential customers are missing out as they’re not able to book online.”

Gambling says even by using traditional agents only, the strategy paid off with the new channel “coming into” double figures as a proportion of total sales soon after completing the first year’s partnership with the trade. Peak practice He is confident that this figure will be given a further boost once Saga launches next year’s trade-facing peaks activity.

A “significant” trade press advertising campaign has been booked while a peaks incentive campaign will also be launched. Furthermore, while the trade sales team consists of three staff out on the road and two in head office, Gambling is hoping to recruit another two on-the-road sales staff in 2016. He is confident these factors will mean agents are properly educated to sell the operator’s programme at what remains a vital period in its business cycle.

Gambling says: “The peaks period is still massive. We have a great history of making the peaks campaign work for us during January, February and into March and April as it is still a key booking period.

“We’re lucky that we have a long booking period, we don’t rely on late sales.

“The first quarter of the year we will be largely taking bookings for the current year. By March or April we’re already booking into the following year and it’s important to keep that business model.”

While Saga Holidays only sells packages, leaving tailor-made trips to its Destinology brand, it is the long-haul product that is proving most popular with the trade.

Gambling says: “That’s where we can offer something for the customer which is different. “It is about offering the customer the holiday that will suit them and shows them the highlights of the area; they want their visit to give them a taste of the culture.

“Long-haul is key to our growth. We will continue to develop new product and drive it. We want to provide what our customers are looking for, and a lot of that will be in the long-haul arena.” And given the success of the first year’s new relationship with the trade and the efforts being put into the second year, Gambling appears to be making a safe bet that many of these new sales will come via the trade.