Creative evolves to stay in the game
Creative Holidays will undergo the most critical transformation in its 30-year history later this year as it fights to stay relevant in a cluttered, competitive market.
The wholesaler will move off the Calypso booking system in November and shift to a web-based platform that will feature a broader range of product, dynamic pricing and the ability for agents to dynamically package.
The upheaval will effectively see Creative expand beyond its traditional roots and move into the online space to compete with a growing number of web competitors.
To do nothing and remain purely a traditional brochure-only wholesaler with static pricing and limited content would have potentially damaging implications, managing director Paul McGrath said.
Speaking exclusively to Travel Today at The Travel Corporation’s Bondi Junction head office, McGrath acknowledged that Creative needed to evolve.
He said it would become a “hybrid” operation – offering static rates and packages as it has done for years but also move into the online arena with the flexibility to cater and respond to the demands and needs of consumers and agents.
“It’s a challenging market, it’s very challenging,” McGrath said. “When we moved to Calypso in 2002 it was a massive change but the market was orderly back then. The web was not really around. Online travel agents were not around.
“But the market now is no longer orderly. There are far more competitors in our space than there has ever been and because the market is so busy we have to make it as easy for agents as possible.”
The new web-based technology will be powered by UK-based Travel Studios with the transition requiring “significant investment”.
While Calypso had served Creative “incredibly well” for 10 years, the system had limitations in its ability to provide rich content and flexible pricing, McGrath said.
“The world has changed very quickly and we need to keep pace with that, especially with competition from online travel agents,” he explained. “The market has moved into dynamic pricing and we needed to give consultants access to that.
“Dynamic pricing was difficult for us to manage within Calypso. The only way you can get and manage dynamic pricing effectively is to have a connection to either a hotel directly or a hotel aggregator or channel manager.
"This new platform will enable us to do that."
Flights will also form an integral part of the offering with Creative able to offer carriers and fares that are on Global Distribution Systems as well as its own wholesale fares it negotiates with airlines.
“Our aim is to bring more air to the game and with this new application we’ll bring more airfares and carriers and destinations to the market,” McGrath said.
Moving to a web-based platform will also provide Creative with the ability to display a far greater variety of non-brochured product in a way that resonates in today’s online world.
“Agents have a plethora of product to understand and sure, a brochure serves a purpose well. But if they can see not just two images but several of a hotel and its rooms types and its location, and all with updated rates…that’s the space we need to be in."
Among the new content will be maps, greater imagery, deeper destination information and a far wider choice of product.
Creative has struck deals with hotel aggregators and is in talks directly with major hotel chains over providing inventory and dynamic rates.
“We will have a lot more product available to consultants online in destinations that we would not usually contract because of the cost of doing that,” McGrath continued.
He cited New York as an example where in addition to its centrally contracted hotels in Manhattan, Creative will now offer properties in the Bronx and Queens.
“What that provides us is a greater range of product that is comparable to any OTA in the market place. But what we have in addition to anyone else is static product.”
McGrath said those static rates will continue to cater for consumers who want to thumb though a brochure and select a traditional package where hotels may have value adds and bonuses that are not generally available with dynamic rates.
Equally, there are consumers who are content to bowl up to a travel agent and want to book immediately – which is where dynamic rates come into their own.
“An increasing number of agents are using OTA’s because the customer is coming in and saying ‘I have got this price, can you match it’. We hear that all the time.
“We need to be at the forefront of the agents’ mind when they book that client’s holiday.”
The web technology will also increase Creative’s speed to market, something traditional wholesalers have struggled with, McGrath said.
“It is no good anymore delivering something in 24 hours. You have to turn it round in two hours to be competitive,” he said. “If an airline brings out an airfare we have to be out there straight away, as does the agent.
“A consumer may see that fare on the airline website, walk into a travel agency and if you are there with it, you’ll get the sale.
“The time to market has reduced, and continues to reduce, and that’s a challenge when you are working in a traditional way. Technology will allow us to do things smarter and quicker.”
McGrath continued: “I believe we are creating a new blended model where we offer the best of both worlds.
“Every OTA throws around that we have 100,000 hotels but that’s just the starting point. That’s just to be in the game.
“We will have that but we’ll also have hand picked product and have a direct relationship with a hotel that we know consumers actually want to book based on our 30 years of experience.
“We’ll also have car hire, airfares and rail. We will be the one-stop shop for travel agents.”
Stay tuned, part 2 will appear in Monday's issue of Travel Today.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
creative holidays online travel paul mcgrath wholesale wholesalersLatest News
Collette goes off the beaten track with Canyon Country tour
To be clear TW is not advocating actually walking off the beaten track. Avoid the coyotes. Stay on the beaten track.
Intrepid & Korean Tourism Organisation team up to give agents a cooking masterclass
These guys learnt that Korean cooking is more than just putting kimchi on 2-minute noodles (as we once thought).
Winner, winner! Intrepid reveals the 9 lucky agents that won $2k
Who won the incentive? Which Intrepid trip will they spend it on? What day of the week is it again? Where am I? Huh?
Corporate Traveller reports 42% increase in Easter traffic this year
Business travellers just love Easter! Expect plenty of chocolate stained documents returning to the office on Tuesday.
Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report
Meanwhile, eating tuna at your desk can damage your own personal office brand value by several thousand dollars.
FAMIL: Room-Res & Singapore Tourism Board shows agents the Lion City’s roar
Click this article to see a man very impressed by a 20-layer chocolate cake. We're not kidding, he loved it!
Oceania Cruises offers sailors free pre-cruise hotel stay
Looking for ways to make your holidays as long as possible? Look no further.
Bonza launches new website to compliment app, agent portal
Does news about an airline's website fill you with ecstasy, glee and joy? Get your hit of the good stuff here.
MTA agents attends ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ with AMA Waterways
When organising the event, Lunch 'n' Learn beat out Dinner 'n' Divulge and Breakfast 'n' Banter. Understandably so.
Travelmarvel reveals 2025 South America tours
If you spot any typos in the newsletter today it is because TW became distracted Googling images of Machu Picchu.
Tourists from 5 countries could be BANNED from visiting Australia
Anthony Albanese's immigration laws could impact tourism from certain countries.
Just how many passengers will Qantas & Jetstar hop around this Easter?
Airline workers are ready for gleeful Easter travellers! Also prepared for sticky children with chocolate on their face.
Air New Zealand gets ready for bumper Easter weekend
Air NZ gears up for travelling passengers this Easter, while TW looks to beat our egg eating record. 117 here we come!
Four Seasons Yachts reveals first itineraries to the Caribbean & Mediterranean
These trips look so good we wish there were five seasons! Alright, we'll see ourselves out...
FAMIL: Travellers Choice treats top agents to the wonders of Rotorua
This one's got plenty of famil pics and no one looks shockingly hungover in them! Clearly no TW staffers were there.
European Waterways celebrates 50th anniversary with week-long founders cruise
Plan on celebrating your 50th anniversary with a bottle of Moët and fairy bread? European Waterways has better ideas.
100th route! Jetstar celebrates the launch of Brisbane-Avalon with 12 hour sale
Jetstar knocks a ton and celebrates with a sale while TW once scored a ton and celebrated with about 17 beers.
Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion
Enjoy running round the Opera House? Be prepared to elbow even more tourists out the way.
Norwegian Cruise Line makes play for solo travellers
NCL ensuring you don't have to go trawling Tinder to find a cruise partner. Thank goodness, we were sick of catfishing.
Entire Travel Group’s Canada and Europe 2024/25 brochures are out now
Entire's new brochure is bittersweet; it both informs your clients and makes you envious of the holiday they'll take.
Malaysia Airlines adds 3 new destinations & A330neo seats
More seats means cheaper airfares and more money to spend on overpriced airport sandwiches. Woohoo!
Two divine days onboard Crystal Serenity
It's only pure serenity onboard this ship. Anxiety, agitation and anguish have been rejected by the bouncer.
How the Globus Family of Brands elevates coach touring: Travel Weekly TV with Chris Fundell
Chris' here so you don't think coaches mean peeling your thighs off a sticky leather seat every time you stand up!
The Flight Centre Foundation gears up for massive 2024 with 3 new board members
The foundation looks to invest $200k this year, spurring the TW journos to figure out how to qualify as a charity.
Barking Owl Communications to head up Anantara & Avani in ANZ
Fellow PR competitors had been barking up the wrong tree even thinking of bidding for this job!
Amex GBT to purchase CWT for $871m
It's big deals like this that get a firm handshake - hence the sore hands over at the CWT and Amex GBT offices.
1000MTG’s second global conference reminds agents to ‘strive and thrive’
Alongside messages to 'strive' and 'thrive' were those to 'survive', 'drive', 'arrive' and 'jive' (when appropriate).
Qantas A330 makes “loud bang”, pilots forced to shut down one engine
Qantas refusing to let Boeing have all the headlines in aviation world today!
GX Community Tourism Summit 2024 location revealed!
The new location has arrived and it'll blow your socks off! Time for another trip to Target for more socks then.
Visiting the destination my Mum didn’t want me to
Yet again, this journo has been a stress to his mother. Discover how this trip spurred his mother's anxiety here.
Agents come out of their shells at P&O’s turtle hatchery event
For some, it's a few glasses of bubbles to lure them out of their shell. For these agents, it was a bit more literal.
Boeing cleanout: CEO, chair to go as safety crisis plagues the manufacturer
CEOs are falling thick and fast these days. We should have started up a bingo game with their headshots in the office.
Virgin looks to swap MAX 10 order for MAX 8s amid Boeing delays: Reports
Virgin has changed its order for something smaller. Much like we have to at Maccas following a worrying doctor's visit.
Club Med unveils newest luxury yacht for 2024/25 early bird sale
This yacht is preserved for the early birds! Night Owls may also get onboard depending how late they stay up.
Abercrombie & Kent 2024 Asia Portfolio is here
Round up the family and get planning an Asia jaunt. Or, if they're hard to handle, brush them all and go it alone!
Elevate your earnings: Final days to secure double commission with Inspiring Vacations’ March offer
What could inspire you to sell more Inspiring Vacations? Double commission of course! That's all the inspiration needed.