Specialist Holidays Group (SHG) has launched a dedicated agent hub, bringing offers, deals, brand assets, training and agency incentives together in one site as part of a strategy to increase bookings through the trade.
Brands in the SHG portfolio, including American Holidays, Citalia, and Sovereign Luxury Travel, have a dedicated space within the hub to make it easier for consultants to find brand-specific updates, current offers and active incentives without jumping between sites.
Called the SHG Agent Suite, it also offers a range of ready-to-use content assets for social media, email marketing and in-store display.
Speaking to Travel Gossip, Head of Trade Partnerships Jorge Quibell, who joined the business last October from Classic Collection, said: “The plan when I joined was to engage with more agents and get them excited about our brands. With the hub, agents have one place they can land, and we have given them the tools to use.
“We understand there are huge demands on agents nowadays, and we are aware they have to make their time count. That’s why we have concentrated on making the hub practical and useful – and most importantly, as frictionless as possible.”
Jorge said that when he joined, he was keen to build on sales through the homeworker channels, and he arranged for online training with them. Since November, bookings from homeworkers have increased by 42%, and revenue has risen by 82%, with homeworking doubling its share of the trade business, added Jorge.
Bookings through retail agents has also seen double-digit growth in the same period on the back of visits in January and February to 100 agents each week by Jorge and other trade team members including Trade Partnership Managers Kim Sellman and Luke Swarbrook.
To bolster its trade team, Maria Petkova has joined as Trade Partnership Executive. Maria was previously Trade Support Executive at Classic Collection before it closed down.
She is replacing Chloe Turner, who has left to set up her own business as a personal trainer.
