Responsibletravel.com will change part of its business model to start operating like a traditional travel agent next month.
Justin Francis: "Shattering" assumptions
The change will see the online sustainable tourism pioneer joining the Travel Trust Association, using Worldchoice to run back-office systems and selling flights supplied by Gold Medal and other consolidators.
Responsibletravel currently operates by referring customers who visit its website on to the sites of the suppliers it lists, who pay a commission if the customer books.
But from next month the business will sell flights and accommodation itself for about 60 properties, which founder Justin Francis said were more mainstream than its traditional inventory.
The properties are mostly in the Caribbean and south-east Asia. Francis said they catered for customers who wanted a comfortable beach holiday but wanted to know their hotel was environmentally and socially responsible.
They will be listed in a microsite with the provisional title of "Responsible hotels of the world". The 60 properties are now a small proportion of the more than 3,000 listed on the site, but Francis said the number of properties it sold would grow.
Francis said the move would “shatter” assumptions that Responsibletravel was only about a small niche of customers interested in trekking or visiting tribes off the beaten track.
He added that the move was prompted because many of the relatively small independent hotels in the programme had difficulty doing the administration to track where referrals came from. They preferred Responsibletravel to take the commission when clients booked.
Responsibletravel will sell the holidays as an agent rather than principal. Francis said customers would be protected if his company, a hotel or an airline went bust because of insurance cover arranged through the TTA.
Before leaving a comment, please read our rules for commenting online. Please note that comments made on ttglive.com may be reproduced in TTG, including your company and job title.
