Making Retail Travel better than ever (Part 1)

Following on from an earlier post and as promised, I am kicking off a series of articles on what I believe it takes to get through the pandemic, and come out on the other side in the best possible shape. So, here goes!

1. ACCEPT THAT CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

My advice is to forget about the way you think a travel business should be run and open your mind to change. For instance, in the UAE most Travel Agencies have built their companies on Business Travel yet in 2019 79% of travel spend in this country was Leisure as it pretty much has been for many years. And, according to the latest World Travel & Tourism Council report, this increased to 83% last year. In terms of recovery, the data suggests that leisure travel will rebound to 2019 levels by the end of 2022, a year ahead of business travel, so, think differently and make smart choices because if you continue to stick to your existing strategy of credit-driven, low margin business travel, is your business really going to be relevant in the new world where eight of ten dirhams is spent on leisure?

Secondly, the pandemic has changed customer behaviour and travel trends. Travellers have new fears, hopes and dreams. If you are not familiar with the term "permanxiety", you should be. And, as an added but necessary complication, there are likely to be multiple platforms that deliver vaccine passports. This alone is going to take some serious planning. Our industry will never be the same again, it has changed forever. But, this is good news for value creators because the role of traditional, full-service Travel Agencies has become more vital than ever and this is why it's critical that owners and their teams clear the decks, embrace change and adapt to a post-pandemic world where everything will be different.

2. INVEST IN AMAZING PEOPLE

Our industry is about people, relationships and emotional attachment. Technology has its place for sure and I will talk about this in my next article, but without exceptional, passionate people who genuinely care about how they make their customers feel, your company will never be more than ordinary, and ordinary simply doesn't cut it in our industry. People really do buy people and the best way to grow a business is off the back of repeats and referrals so handpick your team well, invest in their remuneration, training, growth and well-being. Provide them with an environment, performance management framework and tools to be rock stars, and inspire, motivate and reward them for a job well done even if it's a simple thank you or duvet day. A pat in the back goes a long way.

3. DEFINE YOUR CULTURE

Don't let your culture form naturally. That's the biggest mistake you can make because the culture is the character and personality of your business, and you really can't afford for that to develop accidentally because it's what makes your organisation stand out from the crowd. So, if you don't have one by design, start thinking about one now and build it around the customer experience that you are trying to deliver. To make sure it has teeth, you are going to need exceptional leadership and when selecting your rock star leaders, base your decision less on their academia and what they have done in the past, and more on what they can do for your organisation in the future. Plus make sure that they are aligned with the culture you are trying to build. A positive attitude is a must because your leaders are going to be in control of everything that impacts the culture, and especially the wider team's understanding and buy-in of your Mission, Vision and Values.

That's it for today. In my next post, I will cover Technology & Content. I hope this helps!

Harvey