Simpson Travel plans fam trips and unveils agent portal

Villa and boutique hotel specialist Simpson Travel has launched an agent-only portal as part of its drive to strengthen relations with the trade.

It has a released a new trade brochure featuring highlights of the operator’s properties for 2024 and plans several fam trips for next year.

A key feature of the new portal is the option for agents to reserve villas and hotels online and hold them for 24 hours, in addition to being able to book villa and hotel packages and accommodation-only holidays.

Agents can also download and print documentation including travel documents and invoices.

The portal is currently being trialled with several existing trade partners before being fully introduced to the trade in the next month.

Hannah Naylor-Vane, head of trade sales, said: “Our agent portal has been in the pipeline for some time and is part of our ongoing commitment to the trade.

“We know from talking to our existing agent partners that there is demand for trade-friendly villa specialists, something that is likely to increase with the sad news about James Villas.”

European managed vacations business Awaze announced on Monday that it is to close its James Villas brand, putting 40 roles at risk of redundancy.

Simpson Travel’s 2024 programme features villas in Greece, Turkey, mainland France, Corsica, Mallorca and Italy as well as boutique adult-only and family-friendly hotels.

“We believe that the ability to hold properties for 24 hours – including some of our most sought-after villas – will be of particular benefit to home-workers and those working outside core office hours,” added Naylor-Vane.

“Our relationship with agents is going from strength to strength and we are committed to building this still further.

“We are planning a number of fam trips for 2024, starting in spring with a visit to one of our Crete properties.

“We consider agents for our fam trips on a case-by-case basis, and I would encourage agents who feel they have the right clients for our product to get in touch to see if we can work together.”

The trade team can also arrange training sessions online or in person.