From the old to the new

“We’re trying to keep the traditional core values of Sunvil and what it stands for,” Wright explains. “But we had to modernise how we presented ourselves.”

He lays out in front of me an array of colour brochures, bursting with vibrant new destinations – most notably Spain – and an extended Latin America programme introducing Colombia and the Galapagos. I consider pinching one to place on the coffee table I don’t own. “Even if people book online, they often request a brochure too – it’s almost like a trophy,” Wright smiles.

An overhauled image-led, responsive website and a beefed up agent portal are due to go live imminently, where the trade can “grab things quickly”, like social media marketing graphics and window posters, new Online Travel Training modules and webinars.

And Sunvil’s range of experiences and destinations will be at the forefront, with new agent tools making it easier to hone in on the specific features of villas and destinations.

“We’ve always had great content and expertise,” Wright explains. “But when you look at newer companies, they’re far more glossy. We have to get the best of both worlds.

“To have [content] in one place seemed to be the way forward,” he adds.

Other features include searching over periods or seasons rather than by date, new filters such as location, departure airport, price and facility; search themes such as winter, luxury and last-minute, and staff tips and recommendations.

Wright says Sunvil has made the customer-facing element of its website more destination-orientated and image rich: “It’s all about presenting people, ideas, experiences, inspiration,” he says proudly, considering Sunvil’s breadth and expertise. “Once they’ve grasped where they want to go, the accommodation and other vitals come in seamlessly.

“It’s tricky, though. We range from charter-based trips to tailor-made itineraries. It’s taken us a while to work out how to bring it all together and drive cross-sell.

“We find our Greece customers who come back year after year will have their Greek holiday but will try something new too. We want to help them find that – and book it with us rather than a rival.”

And the website has taken on additional importance, both for agents and consumers now that Sunvil has stripped full pricing out of its brochures in favour of lead-in prices.

The value of a trade-friendly website is not lost on Wright. Of Sunvil’s relationship with agents, he says it’s something the operator is “investing in and growing”. It will host educationals to Greece (May 25 to June 1) and the Azores (May 19 to May 26) this year, and Wright says Sunvil hopes to host one to Spain too.

He adds that Sunvil has a new agency sales rep in the south and is working with 3FOR in the north, with two ambassadors on the road.

Capacity decisions

Despite the need for an image overhaul in recent years, Sunvil’s strength in the Med has endured. It has an aircraft based at Gatwick in the summer, flying to a different Greek island every day, and it has more than 20 seasonal reps – some of whom have worked with Sunvil for more than 30 years.

“Island hopping’s really booming,” says Wright. “But it’s still very much a case of which boat turns up on the day. We have people on the ground to ensure things run smoothly.”

Sunvil’s partnership with Germania Airlines lapsed last year, but it has since signed a deal with Poland’s EnterAir for this summer – an agreement Sunvil hopes will be extended “into 2019 and beyond”. “It’s been an interesting six months trying to get a new carrier,” Wright reveals. “Everyone wants to fly from regional [airports], but Gatwick is still our hub.

“We’ve always been strong in the south, so it was important we maintained a foothold there. We like the security of having an airline customers know will fly every year.”

He continues: “It’s going to be an interesting summer capacity wise. There’s pressure on beds in many destinations. We have our own bed and flight stock, though, so I’m confident we’ll have capacity to sell.”

One area in which Sunvil will have capacity is Spain. It has long sold Portugal and the Azores – “we were the first in there from the UK” – and has “bolted-on” Spain for summer 2018. “We’ve dipped our toe in the water with Extremadura and Andalucia,” Wright explains. “Agents who use our European product said they wanted something of similar quality in Spain.

“We started with Extremadura because it’s on the border with Portugal, so we can do twin centres. There’s no beach offering, though. We focus on city experiences, riding tours, Jeep tours – more than just fly and flop. We’re just seeing where demand takes us.”

Demand took Sunvil to Latin America 15 years ago, starting in Argentina, and it has recently refreshed its brochure for 2018 with new Galapagos and Antarctic cruises, a first foray to Colombia and a 30-day South America “grand tour”.

“We have people constantly looking for new product,” explains Wright. “Latin America’s growing, it’s strong for us in winter. Greece is trying to go year-round with mountain villages and experiential stuff. But one day it’s sunny, the next it’s snowing. You can’t sell winter on that.”

Regulatory challenges

Building and maintaining trade relations is far from the only challenge facing Sunvil, though. New regulations and Brexit loom large over the next 12 months.

Wright is optimistic, however. He says the new data regulations – General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – while “frustrating and time-consuming” have forced businesses to focus more on what customers want from tour operators: “Rather than just constantly marketing at them, it’s making us focus on what information they want to receive from us and why,” he explains. “In the long run, it will make our database smaller but more focused and effective.”

And Sunvil was one of the first businesses to adhere to Aito’s guidance and increase commission 0.5% to help offset the impact of January’s Payment Services Directive 2, which banned card surcharging, on agents.

“For summer holidays, we’re just coming to final balances now,” says Wright. “It will be interesting to see whether there is a big switch towards paying by card.”

As our chat draws to a close, Wright sounds a note of optimism: “I was at a destinations show earlier this year and so many young people approached us for tailor-made travel.

“Take the Azores – a bucket list destination. There are lots of activity holidays springing up there – things like canyoning attracting a younger crowd. They’re fed up trawling the internet for holidays; they’re coming back to agents and tour operators.”