Trafalgar urges agents to take a different tack

A beautiful young woman planning an overseas trip on the internet
By Anne Majumdar


Travel agents are being urged to “flip the screen around” when selling Trafalgar product as part of the brand’s recent repositioning which focused around the incorporation of user reviews.

The unedited live reviews posted using a platform called Feefo were an integral part of its “Simply the Best” update unveiled in September which represented a shift away from its “Insider” messaging.

“Insider, although really effective when it launched four or five years ago, became like white noise because everyone else started to use it too,” managing director Matthew Cameron-Smith told Travel Weekly.

“So rather than try to battle that, it was about how to elevate away from it.”

The company now has more than 13,000 reviews online with around 27% of its customers taking the time to complete a review at the end of the trip.

“It’s about transparency and we want to be transparent because we recognise the fact that nobody else is doing it,” Cameron-Smith said. “No other guided company actually publishing live reviews so we saw that was a way to innovate but also make it credible.”

So far, the company has reported a “really positive” response from the trade.

“It makes it a bit easier for consultants to talk about it,” Cameron-Smith said.

“The important thing for us is for them to flip the screen around and show the client what other guests are saying.”

Agents are doing it more and more, he revealed, although he admitted it was still early days.

The company is undertaking training across the country to get them on board but, according to Cameron-Smith, it’s “more about proof points” and getting the word out about success stories which result from “flipping the screen”.

“It’s about putting the lens onto the guest rather than us and saying, hey use the review and talk to your clients.”

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