Differentiate your product mix

Dame Irene set the scene by reiterating Hays Travel's aim to reduce its reliance on short-haul sales and focus instead on promoting and selling more profitable products such as cruise and long-haul.

She told delegates to look at whether they can more evenly balance their sales and seek to have each sector accounting for around a third of their sales to guard against adverse market trends and respond to ever-changing consumer purchasing habits, including increasing demand for experiences and experiential travel.

“As business owners, we need to take stock of what our product mix is today and see whether or not our businesses will be sustainable into the future if we maintain that, or whether we need to change,” Dame Irene explained.

She went on to highlight how the market is changing and consumers' pursuit of value, including the shrinking price differentials between cruise and long-haul holidays versus short-haul breaks.

"The price erosion between the two is encouraging people to travel further afield and the average expenditure of family holidays is increasing,” said Dame Irene, who advised delegates having a more balanced product mix would ultimately help them retain more customers.

In addition, she reminded Hays IG members consumers will continues to seek travel agents' help when booking holidays they perceive to be more complicated – such as more lucrative cruise and long-haul trips – even if they book their short-haul getaways themselves or direct.

Think strategically

Lisa McAuley, Hays' director of strategy, urged IG members to “get comfortable” with strategic thinking and have a well-thought-through plan to face down any challenges. This she said would help them mitigate risk while ensuring their businesses have direction and purpose.

To bolster resilience, she advised members start by listing their priorities and ranking them on the basis of their value to their businesses versus the effort required to implement them. “When you apply this simple methodology, you get a score against each of those ideas and automatically you get your ranking,” she said.

McAuley explained adopting a "value versus effort" rationale also reduces bias as it ensures businesses focus on the truly important priorities, instead of doing things just because it’s always been that way.

Once they have identified the right priorities, McAuley said members should then move on to drawing up and executing a strategic plan – one that is simple, specific and realistic to avoid setting themselves up for failure, she advised.

The last step, McAuley said, is to implement strategies in a way that streamlines communication and boosts efficiencies and collaboration within businesses while reducing confusion.

By using project management tools strategies such as the RACI – responsible, accountable, consulted, informed – matrix, businesses can make sure everyone knows who’s doing what and when they need to deliver.

Don't suffer in silence

Chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston told delegates they should reach out to Hays Travel's head office team, whether that's to pitch new business ideas of ask for help, instead of "suffering in silence".

Woodall-Johnston reminded IG members help is always a phone call or an email away, including when it comes to more sensitive financial issues such as year-round cash flow support and investment.

“If you need financial or resource investment, we will [give you that],” he told delegates. “Don’t feel like you’re alone and don’t suffer in silence, we’re in this together.”

Woodall-Johnston highlighted some of the ways Hays Travel has supported IG members over the past year, including investing in millennial and Gen Z-focused cruise booking app My Kind of Cruise, helping County Durham agency Mel’s Travel open a second shop and supporting Viva Cruise's expansion into the US market.

“What we like to do is just be available for our independence group members,” Woodall-Johnston said. “So pick up the phone or drop us a note, we don’t judge – whatever the ask is."