Advice for agents on making it through the crisis
Jonathan Wall, managing director at Elman Wall, on how travel agents can continue to stay in business until international travel resumes
As the crisis continues, many travel agents might be thinking: “Just how on earth am I meant to keep in business until my customers can travel again?”
While there is no magic answer to beating the pandemic, remember that we enter 2021 in a better place compared to 2020 – global vaccinations are being rolled out, and that gives us hope that travel will resume.
We all know there is pent-up demand to travel and that this crisis will end. Your sole job is to ensure you are still in business to take advantage of the recovery.
So, what to do? Here are some words of advice.
BE PATIENT
Business owners aren’t programmed to sit tight and not try to grow their businesses, but that’s what we are all being asked to do right now. Hunker down in as hibernated a state as you can until you can fully trade again.
BE REALISTIC
Kidding yourself as to the true state of your business is a recipe for disaster. Do you really understand your cash flow and have you understood your outgoings and liabilities and how you are going to meet them? Make sure you take this time to do so, and to set realistic goals for yourself and your team.
SEEK SUPPORT
Ensure you have maximised all government support available to you. Have you taken a Bounceback Loan or a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan – and are you using it? Leaving it untouched in your bank account is comforting, but it won’t help you survive if it’s needed.
Have you obtained all available local authority grants and reliefs, including those announced in January under the third lockdown?
Are you using the furlough scheme to its fullest extent, and while I hate to mention redundancies, have you made enough cuts to make your business viable?
Are there any conversations still to be had with landlords and suppliers?
PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Have you planned what your business will look like in recovery? What will be different?
It is clear that life will not be the same as it was before. Many key business drivers need to be reviewed, so consider the following:
- Premises – do you need them?
- Technology and systems used – is what you have fit for future purpose?
- Mix and number of staff – do you have the right number of appropriately trained and experienced team members?
- Travel suppliers – have you and your clients had appropriate support during the pandemic from your main suppliers?
SEEK ADVICE
Ensure you have taken as much expert advice as you possibly can. There is lots available to you, and most travel industry professional service firms will be happy to give you some friendly words of wisdom.
STAY POSITIVE
Having determination, resilience, drive and a positive attitude will undoubtedly help you – and those around you – through this period. There are definite opportunities for every agent coming out of this, and the successful ones will identify and act on those opportunities.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
Look after yourselves, your families and your teams. Keep in mind the safety message you hear on the plane about putting your own oxygen mask on first – you need to help yourself before you can help others.
The travel industry will survive Covid-19, so let’s make sure we are in the best shape we can to tackle the recovery when it comes.
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