Protected Trust Services (PTS) is showcasing the raft of support it offers and focusing on how it simplifies running a travel business for members, as it looks to step away from being seen as simply a trust account provider.
The consortium launched more than 15 years ago, offering financial protection for travel businesses, and has since undergone a period of significant growth. It now has more than 400 members, including 200 who have been welcomed in the last year.
To reflect this growth, PTS unveiled new branding at a launch party in London on 18 September, alongside its new campaign, “Making Selling Travel Simple”.
The consortium now expects to reach 1,000 trusted members in the next five years, and chief executive Daniel Landen explained: “The way PTS works is a breath of fresh air for many members. With complete freedom to run and control all areas of their business – a rarity with many providers – we provide flexible and easy solutions that meet their needs at an affordable price, helping them grow by protecting both them and their customers.”
A clear message
At the launch party PTS unveiled a new website, logo, fonts and illustrations, as well as a refined company message. Its first campaign slogans under the new look are “Making Selling Travel Simple”, and “Trust in Every Booking”.
Landen explained that the new branding was focused on the people who work in the travel businesses PTS supports. He said it had also been designed to ensure the wider travel industry understands exactly what PTS offers. “We work for our members, to allow them to fulfil their dreams of running their business, with all of the tedious, stressful, and time-consuming tasks parts taken care of behind the scenes,” he added.
Supporting members
PTS offers a raft of support for UK-based travel businesses. Features available to members include currency hedging; merchant services, with card services through its in-house suppliers; franchise Atol; travel software; PTR compliance; supplier insurance; and trust account protection.
Members use an admin platform that keeps everything all in one place, and can easily contact the friendly member support team with any queries. They have access to more than 200 suppliers, alongside a range of supplier marketing opportunities, but can also choose to work with their own suppliers using PTS’s software.
Landen said PTS aims to be “as affordable, accessible, and simple to use as possible”, and in exchange, takes “small transaction fees”, while members retain all profits.
Looking ahead
Later this month PTS will hold its first conference for members and suppliers, where delegates will get the see the new branding first-hand. “This brand launch isn’t just about being trusted, friendly, and personable, although those things remain at our foundations,” Landen explained. “This is about taking new steps, growing with the industry, and ensuring our members can grow with us without any of the stress running your own business can create.”
