Supplier workshops have been in the spotlight, with suppliers complaining that agents RSVP and then do not pitch. But one agent has complained that she gets personal invites, only to RSVP and be told there is no space. The agent penned the letter below, and asked to remain anonymous.
I was recently sent a personalised invitation to a supplier workshop. After confirming that I would attend, and having this confirmation acknowledged, I was told that the supplier had under-catered for the number of agents it had invited and it would no longer be able to host me at its workshop.
This is not the first time I have had this experience with a supplier.
To be honest, I find this incredibly rude. Suppliers are often up in arms when agents RSVP to attend an event and then don’t arrive, yet some seem to think that sending out a personalised invitation, and then retracting that invitation due to poor planning, is an acceptable way to engage with the trade.
It is one thing if an open invitation was placed on Travelinfo and a warning was given that space was limited, it is another when you are sending out invitations directed at specific members of the trade only to change your mind.
It also might be worth the suppliers keeping in mind who they are letting down and what that agent’s track record is.
I have never been a no-show, and always do my utmost to support as many of the supplier workshops as possible. As a result, I was left feeling as though I was investing time and effort in building a relationship with someone who wasn’t even prepared to let me come to the party.
