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Agents play vital role in brand advocacy, says Tui marketing chief

A positive booking experience is more important than hotel quality to customers when it comes to recommending holidays to friends and family, Tui has found.

The operator recorded stronger Net Promoter Scores in store than online, which Jeremy Ellis, marketing and customer experience director at Tui UK and Ireland, described as “an eye-opener”.

He told Abta’s Customer Insight in the Travel Industry conference: “We thought hotels would be the highest driver, but it was the booking process [and] the role we play as a brand in the decision-making process.”

Ellis told Travel Weekly: “Our assumption was that as consumers were buying a holiday their experience of the hotel would be the most important reason they would recommend us.

“But it was the booking process and the explanation of the product.”

Net Promoter Scores measure the likelihood of a customer recommending a firm.

“The numbers online and in retail stores were not fundamentally different, but the scores were stronger through retail stores,” Ellis added.

“Trust in an individual drives personal recommendation.”

Tui has also seen growth in online sales slow. Ellis said: “Offline and online are starting to balance out. People trust people and want expert opinions.

“They still value personal interaction. There is still a need, even for youngsters, to talk to someone to get advice.

“Technology will go on developing, but I guarantee people will play an important part.”

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