On The Deck: Wayne Darrock

Consolidator JTA Travel launched its business to business cruise brand Needacruise.co.uk two weeks ago. The decision to expand into cruise came as a welcome surprise to much of the industry, however what was it that triggered the move? We caught up with the managing director of JTA, Wayne Durrock and asked him where the idea came from and how the industry has responded after its debut.

Why did JTA decide to launch a cruise brand?
Two years ago we brought in our new website for dynamic packaging, hotels and flights. Cruise was always meant to be part of the plan but the cruise business is so complex it has taken us two years to get the technology in place and address issues like the changing commission levels. Many of us in the team, including myself, have been on cruises regularly and we knew about the frustration of trying to book a complete cruise holiday. With the flight stock that we have we saw a chance to replicate that with the hotel inventory. Then with the ATOL changes coming into place we found there was an added advantage for non-bonded travel agents to book with us under our ATOL, while also putting our delayed departure insurance in as part of the booking.

Did the launch come from the popularity of cruises or travel agent requests?
The fact more ships will be in Europe this year is a coincidence. Two years ago when we started looking at the concept it was based on talks with travel agents, consortia and cruise specialists. We looked at the frustration with both booking a cruise and adding flights, where sometimes the flight cost was far too much in comparison to our rates. We wanted to give travel agents the opportunity to give competitively priced packages online and driven by an easy-to-use selection. We knew ourselves that researching a cruise is not easy. Often you find the cruise, have to call to get a flight quote and check with each cruise line individually so obviously we wanted to offer a service all in one place. We found there can be huge savings too; one cruise last week came back 75% off the original price. Then all the volatile issues around commissions came to the headlines more frequently and travel agents found they had to compete more on price and sometimes end up booking direct. We found we could offer another advantage by allowing travel agents to compete with prices from the likes of Thomas Cook Cruises and Virgin Cruises but have the ability to make more commission and boost their own margin. They have the tool to search and do it quicker, while earning more.

What has interest in the website been since its launch two weeks ago?
Our cruise division actually started in January when we took on six cruise specialists to handle calls. It had not really been promoted but agents heard that we had a team in place and enquiries started to come in. The website has been launched now we know the technology is right. Normally we would not set a projection for the first three months and then forecast growth from there, but from day one Needacruise.co.uk has sparked a chord and sales in the two weeks have beaten a full month compared to previous launches. There has been an incredible amount of interest from the trade and we have four people out on the road training agents too.

How does the system work?
Agents can search for cruises in different ways but it can start with a departure point and date, which will come up with options two weeks either side of that date. The agent can select a particular destination or departure point then can add pre and post hotel stays, transfers or car hire. It can be flexible to fly out any day then to make an itinerary that includes the cruise as part of that holiday. Agents can book a cruise package in five minutes through the system.

Can agents also add excursions to cruise package bookings?
Currently we cannot offer excursions bookings. We will add shore excursions but there have been a few failures in the sector so we would need a reliable partner.

How has business been generally for JTA?
We’ve tripled in size in two years and seen record profit for two years with this year on course to be. Even in the recession we did well but we have diversified in this time and expanded from a flight specialist to now covering tour operating, cruise and hotels. We have always worked on other channels and forecast even more growth with our new products. Aside from the launch of Needacruise.co.uk we have also launched a European tour operator programme named MedSun that brings in scheduled, low-cost and charter flights to airports for any duration. That has done really well. We are also just launching Sandals and Beaches resorts to our long-haul portfolio.  We never sit still and the challenge we face, like all consolidators, is that we are more than just that. We introduce these brands like Needacruise.co.uk and MedSun under the JTA brand to cement that.