Agents and suppliers have applauded comments made by Travel Village Group CEO Phil Nuttall, who has questioned the need for so many conferences and urged more support for Business Development Managers.
Phil said he is concerned BDMs are ‘being taken for granted and, in many instances, put under enormous strain at the detriment to their health and their family life’, during conference season.
He said: “They are out and about overseas on conferences, which for many involves tens of flights over a period of possibly three months. A period where they are away from their families, partners, husbands and wives. A time when they constantly share out of office email replies, which inevitably end up backing up and, for some, result in frustrated and curt responses.
“These are the very people we rely on to build relationships with suppliers, and who we are finding increasingly difficult to speak to at certain times of the year.”
By Christmas, BDMs are ‘absolutely dead on their feet, struggling mentally, physically shattered, and inevitably picking up bugs and viruses’, said Phil.
“Personally, I do not understand why our industry feels the need to have a conference every year – surely it is far better to alternate (as we do) and reduce the costs incurred. I for one would welcome a percentage of the funds tour operators are expected to put up to support annual conferences being used for targeted marketing campaigns and driving sales.”
Phil said he is not criticising suppliers, but said: “We need to take a step back and evaluate because if we do not I believe we will have lost our moral compass and the people we need the most and that would be a tragedy.”
Typically Holidays Managing Director Daniele Broccoli, who also runs the Britaly Travel agency said: “Phil is absolutely right. The conference season is hard for reps. But it’s a hard life at any time of the year. There is a lot of planning for a visit – they have to park up, walk to the travel agent’s, sometimes have to hang around and sometimes have to leave without seeing anyone because the agent is busy.
“We see it from both sides, because I have people out of the road with Typically and we deal with other BDMs at Britaly Travel. I always tell my agent team to offer the rep a coffee and show them where the bathroom is. It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress whatever the time of year.”
Westoe Travel Director Graeme Brett said: “Phil is correct. There are more conferences now – it’s ridiculous. And there have been fewer reps since COVID and they seem to be having to cover larger areas, although that is getting better. Before COVID, some of the conferences used to be in the UK, but now they’re sometimes in locations that aren’t as accessible and it means spending even longer away from home.”
Holiday Extras National Retail Manager Lindsay Garvey-Jones said ‘roadies’ do a ‘tough job’. She said: “I take my hat off to every single roadie, especially during conference season, which is brutal, but we all show up and do what we’ve got to do. They are showing up at them all – conferences, events, roadshows – and it’s show time. That takes a lot of energy. Day in, day out, no matter what the weather is doing, or what is going on in their lives, they are out there on the road.”
Quark Expeditions National Business Development Manager Nick Hindle told Travel Gossip: “From my experience I would say that it’s down to the individual BDM’s company and how they manage their diary . It’s about picking the right events that have the maximum impact and getting the balance right, with quality over quantity, so that you can fully support your agents. I have regular check ins with my manager to ensure that the balance is right and we’re also really supported by the business to get work life balance right.
“Conference season can be hard work with many conferences now running back-to-back. The challenge is that it’s not only the big consortia having conferences, many of the miniples are now hosting their own conferences and many clash dates. It would be good if the conferences were more spread out over the year. Designer Travel are leaders at getting conference right as they value their suppliers and get the balance right for both supplier and personal travel expert to enjoy the experience . The Hays commercial team also factor in time for suppliers to get together in a fun informal style to network with their head office team and fellow suppliers.”
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