George Papaioannou CEO of Excite Holidays has cautioned agents advising “There is undoubtedly a conflict of interest with wholesalers that are also trying to target consumers. The intention of wholesalers to capture the consumer market means they ultimately take business away from their own agent network. At Excite, we only serve our agents, and therefore protect our agents’ database 100%.”

Wholesalers that aim to serve both agents and consumers are leaving their agents vulnerable to client loss. When agents book through a consumer site they open the door for their clients to book directly with that site in the future.  Not all agents are aware of the potential dangers involved when booking on such sites.

Mr Papaioannou continues “It’s concerning for the future of the industry when wholesalers are trying to sell to both retailers and consumers direct. Many agencies are encouraged by their Head Offices to book solely through preferred dual consumer and business-to-business sites, but is it really worth the risk? At Excite Holidays the relationship with our agents comes first and we will always try to protect and maintain this”.

AFTA 2012 Wholesaler Finalists, Excite Holidays, provides this security to agents across Australia and New Zealand, offering arguably the largest hotel inventory available online plus a huge range of activities and transfers.