Agents

I was looking at Danielle's blog the other day, and saw that she allowed herself a bit of a rant. So I guess that I may be entitled to a rant too. Plus, I feel motivated to write just what I think at this moment.

Riding holidays are often sold by specialist agents. I have some excellent, fair agents who sell my trips in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. I have a good agent in North America. The European continent is another matter.

One would think that a client approaches the agent, receives advice on holidays that might suit him or her, and makes a booking. The client pays the agent, who takes a commission that reflects the work involved and the value added. Sometimes that is the case.

And sometimes not. Our continental European agent has just demanded a whopping annual fee to appear in his brochure, as well as a fee to appear on his website, as well as demanding the highest commission of any specialist equestrian agent that we deal with. It seems that these people aren't living well enough off the backs of the outfitters and clients. On one hand they chivvy the outfitter to drop prices, and on the other hand they claw money from the outfitter. Trimming their own costs does not seem to be on their agenda, meanwhile. Then they just sell rides from a catalogue with no obvious attempt to fit the rider to the ride.

Have you ever wondered why some outfitters cut corners, why some trail riding horses aren't all in the best of condition, why some staff and horses are worked harder than is good for them? There is one very big reason why. A greedy agent selling the holiday is taking a commission that is double or treble the operator's margin. That "margin" is the money that buys new horses and new tack, allows older horses a decent retirement, and provides the outfitter (who is often the owner and guide) with an income. Very often, knowing how narrow the margins can be, every extra euro that is clawed from the outfitter is a euro clawed from the welfare of the horses. In a bad year, operating costs (including items such as hay, grain, shoeing and tack repair) simply have to be cut so that the outfitter can make a living. Remember, welfare is a sliding scale. It isn't black and white. A horse isn't necessarily only in "good condition" or "bad condition". There is a grey middle ground, reached by the painful cost cutting that comes from being squeezed financially.

There is some basic maths to be done. When an agent forces the price down, the outfitter's margin is slashed because the fixed costs of a riding operation are high. A 10% price cut makes a big difference to a 15% margin. At the same time, just how much more trade does a 10% price cut bring about? Not very much for the outfitter. The unscrupulous agent wants all his offers to be cheaper, so that he claws trade from other, better agents who won't drop prices. If he gets more trade, then what happens? The outfitter needs more horses, more hay, more grain, spends more on accommodating clients, and ends up with higher fixed costs and higher operating costs - and a margin that is still lower than before. So, most of the "gain" goes to the agent. Which is the whole point of the exercise.

Now, I know that there are other enemies of equine welfare: ignorance, carelessness, bad staff, selfish clients who want to gallop everywhere, unsuitable climate, lack of good farriers in a locality, and so on. Still, the squeezing of the outfitter is a major issue that compromises the horses, and doesn't help the client to get a good quality ride either.

I'm happy that we can keep our horses in good shape, and the premises in good order. Still, there isn't money to throw around (is there ever?). And I don't like the agent who thinks that we can be squeezed. I think that I might spend the chunk of my money that he covets on a new and better website, which will bring in more trade without his involvement.

NOTE: In the above, I am explicitly NOT referring to several agents with whom I have excellent relations, who promote my best interests and those of my horses, and whose commission levels reflect the value that they add - Ride World Wide, Equine Adventures, Zara's Planet. They offer correctly priced, good quality rides. These agents take time to find out what their clients want, and sell them a holiday that they will be delighted with. Having the "right" clients is good news for the outfitter too.

I see that a new subscriber is employed by an equine welfare organisation. Welcome, Caroline. I hope that your organisation can take a good look at the issues that affect equine welfare in the riding holiday industry. That will be a useful service to horses and outfitters alike.

Comments

[Mike Artherton]

Nice stuff... tough to keep track of all that is happening. I end up reading 100 odd blogs daily. Plus there is news. You could also enrich your blog by adding current news on your blog... try out the news widget from widgetmate.com

[Victoria]

how very interesting!!! i think the UK agents are all being quite fair with their clients.....ill have to watch out for the others!!!!! what a lovely photo of the horse resting, with yourself?

[sue]

I love reading your blogs. Is there a link to Danilelle's blog that you mention?