– Written by Sarah Maia
Agents and their suppliers have some of the strongest relationships, forged on years of trust, secured volume, agreements and rates that mutually benefit both parties. However, being the industry we are, these relationships can extend out to the travellers and the agents’ bookers – which is great – until the lines get blurred and bookers cut out the agent to book directly. This is when relationships get a bit murky and the issue around booking ethics comes to the fore.
So, what should a venue do when a booker approaches direct for business? At beam, we believe in ethical booking standards that value the agent’s role in the booking process. While we encourage relationships to be positively maintained all-round, suppliers must be transparent with agents, keeping them informed of any ongoing conversations. At the end of the day, both supplier and agent have the same goal: to deliver what the booker wants and generate long-term repeat business.
In fact, if any direct agreements were to happen between booker and supplier which bypassed the agent, the venue would still need to pay commission to the agent under the associations’ Code of Practice.
Reasons why venues shouldn’t cut out Agents
We believe there are a range of benefits of agent involvement that bypass any short-term gain from direct bookings. These are just some of the reasons venues should always involve, and never cut out the agent.
- It simplifies the financial processes for suppliers as the agent often handles the credit control for payments via billback – saving valuable time to focus on other tasks.
- Greater brand exposure for venues, as agents can reach bookers and travellers that venues would not have otherwise had access to. This is particularly true for smaller venues, as agents trust you deliver and will bring repeat business in the future.
- Bookers listen to and trust agent recommendations; by promoting the venues as a preferred supplier, agents give their bookers confidence and credibility in a venue’s brand. Likewise, agents will put forward the right venue for the client so venues can be assured they are a match.
- Time spent invested in building relationships with one agent has better ROI compared to the time invested in just one booker. Venues can attract more than just one booker, as agents’ increased network leads to increased booking volumes from multiple bookers.
- Agents are expected to and have the experience of negotiating so venues don’t have to. Plus, agents are numeral and ensure any agreements are mutually beneficial, so venues can take advantage of this with the assurance their interests are looked after.
- Individual corporate bookers may come and go, but venues still have the relationship with the client and agent.
- Customers often rely on their agents, as experts in their field, to support with contracting and translating jargon – often signing off the contract. The contract will likely go through the agent, regardless of what conversations have been had with the individual booker.
- Agents save venues valuable time as they perform the qualifications and put the work in to ascertain the brief, so by the time the venues are involved, they only need to provide numbers and hold space.
- Agents help efficiencies on both sides, providing a smoother payment and approval process as, no matter how far individual conversations may go, duty of care and cost approvals will likely fail and cause delays if it hasn’t gone through an agent.
But don’t just take it from us…
Ryan Doyle, Vice Chair of beam and Group Sales and Business Development Director of Switch Management Group (a multi-disciplinary management company specialising in hospitality and housing), explained the importance of having strong agency relationships:
“Our agency partners bring business and we need to value that; agents should be viewed as an extension of a venues sale team. Without working with an agent, it’s impossible to have the reach, contacts and business opportunities. Yes, a venue might save some commission in the short-term and can have frustrations waiting for updates, but it’s extremely short-sighted of a venue to go direct as they are jeopardising and missing out on potential future business.
Ultimately, venues need to see the longevity of this working partnership, as it’s a two-way street and we support agents just as agents support us. The strongest agency relationships Switch has, are focused on being transparent about rates, holding business and client expectations, and we have achieved successful market share increases as a result.”
Lindsey James, beam member and Head of Partner Management at Clarity – one of the UK’s leading agencies – explained how agents help efficiencies:
“Agents are an enabler not a disruptor and should be considered as an extension of a venue’s team. By involving the agent, it can add so many additional benefits that surpass more than just the booking, like supporting the customers’ wider sustainability goals and budget targets.
In the busy industry we are in, we shouldn’t be working against each other as both sides want to create a seamless booking process, while providing the best service for guests and delegates.”
Code of practice
We all want what is best for our business, which is why it is important to remain transparent. beam has a Code of Practice in place to benefit both suppliers and agents for this reason.
