Lay-by travel – agents are missing a gap

THE lay-by travel model is
an untapped potential
source of income that
most agents aren’t taking
advantage of. According to two
lay-by finance providers, FOMO
and LeisureFin, the market is
expanding. However, agents
remain wary of the risks.
Mark Govindsamy,
operations manager at
Camissa Solutions, speaking
on behalf of LeisureFin, says
the market is expanding, as
more travellers realise they
don’t have to pay upfront for
their travel.
“We recently booked a golf
holiday to Thailand for 60
people. Of that group, around
12 were people who took
advantage of our fly-now, paylater
financing.”
FOMO ceo, Andrew
Katzwinkel, says FOMO’s goal
has always been to act as a
driver of growth for the whole
industry. “We don’t take sales
from the bigger players like
Flight Centre or Pentravel.
Instead, we capture the sales
that would normally have been
lost, because some travellers
simply can’t afford to pay a
lump sum.”
He adds that the offering
is not a threat to established
agents.
“Right now, as we look to
expand, we’re trying to sign
agreements with ITCs so that
they too can capture lost
sales. This means that agents
still have the chance to earn
commission, which in the case
of Bel Aire Travel, one of our
partner ITCs, is split 50/50.”
He says their primary
market is young and first-time
travellers.
Stuart Goodall, owner of
Travel 15, says the lay-by
market is sustainable and that
more agents should look at
offering lay-by options.
“While there is certainly risk
involved in lay-by travel, the
additional income makes it
worth it,” says Stuart.
Like Andrew, Michelle
Bergset, area leader for
Transformers of Flight Centre
Travel Group, says the layby
market is not stealing
business, but has the
potential to grow the local
travel industry by helping
young and first-time travellers
get a taste of travelling.
She adds that Flight Centre
currently does not offer
any lay-by options, but that
requests for lay-by options
from clients are common. “We
get around two requests a
week from clients looking to
pay via lay-by.
“There is definitely an
untapped lay-by travel market
that agents should look
at offering it in one way or
another.”
However, Annemarie Lexow,
sales and marketing manager
at Travel Vision, says the
potential additional income
is not worth some of the risks
associated with lay-by travel,
including paying suppliers in
foreign currencies that can
become a lot more expensive
as exchange rates fluctuate.
Likewise, Ros Chimes, owner
of Ros-4-Travel, says: “The
possible extra revenue is not
worth the risk.”
She says, apart from that,
most of her clients wouldn’t
need to purchase their travel
via lay-by.