Martin Lewis has a lot to answer for……

This has been brewing for a while but I feel I now need to get it off my chest.

Most of us know who Martin Lewis is but for those who don’t, he’s the ‘Money Saving Expert’ that crops up on TV now and then and tells us how we should or shouldn’t save or spend our money.

Now, I’m all for this – he really does have some great tips.

Except when he comes on This Morning and starts talking holidays!

‘Most agents make at least 10% commission on the holidays they’re selling  you, so tell them you know this and ask them to discount’

WHAT?!?!  Which travel agent has he been talking to?  Am I in the wrong job?  Does he even know anything about the travel industry and how it works? 10%? Really??

Here’s the evidence:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-holiday-haggling-guide

Is he trying to encourage Travel Agencies to go bankrupt?  Maybe he is so that he can then give advice to people on what to do when they’re no longer going to get their holiday because so many customers have played travel agents off against each other that none of them are making any money and can’t afford to operate any more!  Then he’s seen as the ‘saviour’ again with his worldy (wrong) advice.

Am I ranting?  I apologise if I am.

Luckily in the Cruise Industry, we have a different type of customer who KNOW that they’re getting good value for money and the product sells itself.  But I can’t help feeling for the companies who are having to discount their prices so much just to get a booking!

I’ve worked in this industry for 16 years now.  When did it become acceptable to ‘haggle’ for a holiday?  You wouldn’t go and fill your trolley up at Tesco and then when the cashier tells you it’s £100 you come up with ‘I’ll give you £80?’.  Why are holidays any different?  Business is business and companies NEED to make money.  If they don’t, they can’t operate.  And then you have no holiday.  End of story.

Like I said, with the Cruise Industry, mostly, customers see the price and they know that’s how much it costs.  No questions.  That’s what you pay.  It helps that a lot of cruise lines have a strict ‘No Discounting’ policy as they feel it devalues their product – and rightly so!  Cruising is a luxury form of travel.

Anyway, I suppose that my point is, I’m surprised (and a little shocked) that someone who is supposedly there to help consumers with ‘money matters’ is, in effect, creating behaviour that could cause more money issues when potential holidaymakers are bartering their prices down so low that their agent can no longer afford to operate.  Then they have no holiday.  And no refund if they’re not ABTA/ATOL bonded.

Martin Lewis – you have a lot to answer for!!