Travel Solutions being bought out

Monday 15 January 2018

Travel Solutions, a long standing travel agent with its HQ in Guernsey, is being bought out just months after it lost its £2.5m. contract with the States.

Travel Solutions, a long standing travel agent with its HQ in Guernsey, is being bought out just months after it lost its £2.5m. contract with the States.

A spokesperson for CT Travel group said all clients, operators or suppliers of Travel Solutions who may be affected by the changes would be directly contacted, and immediate queries could be directed to 01892 571194.

Fred Eulenkamp, the outgoing Managing Director of Travel Solutions, said the plan was for there to be a seamless transition for all of its clients while the purchase went through.

"The business of the company is being sold on to another travel agency, and they will be taking over the office and the staff in Guernsey and Jersey, who will start to operate under the new name," he said.

"Travel Solutions will be winding up, and any invoices to the company or other similar matters will be dealt with in that process, it is all fairly standard, we are selling our business and I am looking to retire."

In the next few weeks Travel Solutions is set to be rebranded by its new owners.

Until last year, Travel Solutions had a contract with the States of Guernsey to operate a number of its travel services, including medical and corporate flights. It expired at the end of last November, and the States went to tender for a model that was "more self-service in nature" in order to "improve the customer experience and deliver savings".

"After receiving proposals from potential providers HRG Worldwide was appointed," a States spokesperson said, "the new model involves approved travel bookers, either internal for States' corporate needs or islanders for medical travel, booking flight and hotels direct via web-based portals which take care of the administration.

"Staff from Social Security have been available to support people through this process while it is bedded in and the early feedback has been positive. The new model means the States can benefit from changes the business travel industry has experienced in recent years, allowing annual efficiency savings in the region of £200,000 to be delivered against the former contract, which was about £2.5m a year."

The new provider is also the current provider for the States of Jersey, so the States said it hoped to be able to use that to further pan-island collaboration in the future.