Face to Face: Michael Bennett, Osprey Holidays and Ski Independence
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Osprey Holidays celebrates 40 years this year and Ski Independence its 20th. What has been the secret to your success?
Osprey Holidays goes back 40 years but our history goes back further into the 1950s when Bennetts Travel was created so it’s been quite a journey. My grandfather, father, uncle and now me have been in charge and we’ve not gone too far away from where we started during that time which is quite unusual for our history.
We’ve always put the customer at the focus of what we do and we concentrate on that first. We aren’t a company that is obsessed with making money at any cost; our priority is that our clients are happy.
It’s been a case of steering a steady ship and not taking many risks. The fact we have no debt is very important to us and allows us to weather the storms more efficiently. It’s much easier to do when you haven’t taken risks; you can start to feel expansive but when you have the debt and the situation turns around it means failures during tough times.
We try to remain profitable and not obsess over passenger volume.
What has business been like this year so far?
In the city breaks business through Osprey we’ve seen year-on-year growth of 27% on last year and the year before there was 32% growth. So far this year we are tracking 61% ahead of last year on forward bookings. A lot of that has been down to the fact 85% of our holidays are sold through travel agents; that’s certainly been the forefront of our growth. That’s something we will continue to focus on; a lot of competitors are turning to direct sales but we don’t see that as a good enough avenue and travel agent relationships are a big focus.
Ski Independence, particularly in Europe, has been growing phenomenally and we are currently tracking 170% ahead next season year-on-year so there’s some really strong sales coming through. There’s more consumer confidence now and certainly the higher spend holidaymakers are heading out again, but favourable currency rates against the Euro, US dollar and Canadian dollar are helping too.
We also have a B2C brand Powderbeds which has seen year-on-year growth since it launched four years ago, and has helped us bring back some of the DIY market.
What’s new for the programmes this year?
Ski Independence has a brochure out next month and we’ve not added new resorts, it’s been more about refining the product and removing some of the resorts that weren’t gaining traction. It seems old-fashioned to have the most resorts and instead we want to focus on the most popular and those that are easy to get to because that’s what our customer wants. For example Val Thorens has really pulled itself up with new hotels and apartments and it’s a real competition for Courcheval now.
We do not offer catered chalets so the guiding ruling in France has not affected us but I watch it with interest because it has polarised opinion. I understand the business model and am sympathetic but I think as companies operating in a country we have to appreciate their rules and work together.
Osprey’s brochure will be out in October but we’re really seeing that business across both brands is busy all year round now; there is no summer quiet period. For city breaks the usual destinations like Paris are still favourites and Berlin is selling very well.
Do you find travel agents are scared of selling ski holidays? How are you looking to help them?
Certainly, a lot of travel agents are frightened of selling ski. Clients often know more about the resorts than they do and many agents have not skied before so they don’t have the knowledge. We always say to them not to worry and that we can be the eyes and ears because we know how it works.
We’ve added to our marketing team this year which means there is one person dedicated to each of our three brands and that will be a massive help as it means there is more time for agents. We are doing more tailored offers and packages with our travel agent partners for their nearest departure points.
What other agent initiatives are in place?
There is a commitment for us to attend more events such as the Travel Counsellors conference and more instore events with agents.
We are visiting agents more too and we have rejoined SPAA to get more involved with their network.
There’s definitely a trend in the high-end market to move away from the DIY sector back into the arms of travel agents and our sales back that up. We want to be out there as much as possible and let the trade know we’re behind them.
Would you move bookings to online?
This is not a direction we are looking to head in; we are not about selling a commodity and would prefer to be able to discuss all options with our customers.
We have some reach over social media as part of the mix but online booking is not something we are looking to offer, it would mean a huge investment and would have to be done right.
There is now a travel agents section on our website which includes information and resources but it’s better and easier for agents to contact us with enquiries as we value what we are doing and want to reflect this on our site.
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