Get unlimited access to the latest travel industry news and analysis, comment on articles and sign up to newsletters.
Register for free
Already registered? Login here or below.
Having difficulty logging in? Try these tips, or contact support@ttgmedia.com
Thomas Cook’s head of commercial sales and relations has stressed the operator’s commitment to quality after 100 hotels were dropped from its summer programme this year because they were not up to scratch.
Speaking on the first day of the ITT Conference in Sorrento, Phil Gardner said Cook was now focused on strengthening its partnerships – with both agents and suppliers – to provide quality products for its customers.
“Our aim is to put the customer at the heart of our business and our partnerships,” he said. “We have to focus on quality; we want agents to sell us on quality.”
He admitted: “In the past we got it wrong. There’s a desire to put it right. The customer is at the heart of our business – that’s what really drives our business.”
Gardner said Cook had subsequently taken “bold decisions”, including the removal of a number of properties.
“We have dropped around 100 hotels across the group from our programme for this summer. That’s huge. If we have a problem, we have to be able to fix it and if we can’t fix it, we have to be able to drop it. We have to be ruthless about it,” he added.
Other steps include the introduction of Cook’s 24-Hour Hotel Promise, which offers dissatisfied customers the option to change hotels; accept 25% off their next holiday; or take the next available Thomas Cook flight home along with a refund of the cost of their holiday.
“Our 24-Hour Promise has been huge for us,” Gardner added. “That’s been a very calculated risk on our part but one that we’re very proud of.
Elsewhere he said the operator was continuing to focus on strengthening its relationships with the trade.
“We’ve done a lot of work in the last 12 months to re-engage with the trade, we’re taking the trade a lot more seriously,” he said. “We need you [agents and suppliers] to continue to grow.”
Addressing the group’s supplier partners, Gardner added: “Suppliers – we need to make sure that when we’ve got you on sale, it’s because we believe in your product and we will do it properly. When a customer walks in, I want an agent to be proud to sell everything they have in store.
“We have a desire to work with people that want to work with us,” he added.
“Our partnerships do need to evolve, and we will do that in a straight-talking manner. If we can sell on quality for you; if we can match that with consistent customer approach, then we have a recipe for success.”
