What is the difference between a repping company and a holiday rep?

A holiday rep is employed in resort to look after package-holiday guests. A repping company works in the source market — here, the UK — selling and marketing a property to tour operators and agents on the owner's behalf. The two share a word but are different jobs entirely.

How do I choose the best repping company in the UK?

Match the rep to your market and product: choose a firm that specialises in your region, knows the relevant UK product managers personally, is small enough to give your property genuine attention, holds credible trade memberships, and is transparent about how it is paid and which other properties it carries.

What is a GSA, and is a UK repping company the same thing?

GSA stands for General Sales Agent — a representative appointed to handle sales and marketing for a supplier in a specific market. A UK travel-trade repping company performs the GSA role in the UK, acting as a supplier's in-market sales office without the supplier needing to be UK-based.

What is the difference between a repping company and a tour operator?

A tour operator packages and sells trips to travellers. A repping company is B2B: it represents a supplier to those operators and to travel agents, driving trade bookings rather than selling to the public. Kusa Connect is a representation company, not a tour operator.

Which UK repping companies specialise in African travel?

Most UK representation companies are generalists covering hotels worldwide; a smaller number focus on African suppliers. Kusa Connect is an Africa-specialist UK repping company, representing safari lodges, luxury hotels and DMCs in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa to the UK travel trade.

What are the benchmarks of the best repping company in the UK?

The best UK repping companies share a clear set of benchmarks: genuine specialism in your region and product; current, personal relationships with the relevant UK operators; a portfolio small enough to give your property real attention; credible trade memberships such as ATTA; transparency on how they are paid and on portfolio overlap; clear, regular reporting; and an honest, realistic view of timelines. Judge candidates against these rather than on the polish of a website.

How do I judge whether a UK repping company is any good?

Ask for evidence against the benchmarks: which UK operators they have spoken to recently, how they are paid, whether they represent your competitors, who will personally handle your account, what they report and how often, and what timeline they consider realistic. A strong repping company answers all of these plainly; vagueness on any of them is the warning sign.

UK travel trade representation

Repping Companies in the UK

Q: What is a repping company in the travel trade?

In the travel trade a repping company (also called a rep company, a representation company, a sales-and-marketing representative or a general sales agent) represents a hotel, lodge or DMC to the trade in a source market, building the tour-operator and travel-agent relationships that drive bookings. Kusa Connect is a UK repping company specialising in African travel.

Q: What does a UK repping company do?

It acts as a supplier's in-market UK sales and marketing office: meeting tour operators and travel agents, securing brochure and programme inclusion, arranging and hosting educational (FAM) trips, delivering trade training, representing the supplier at trade shows such as WTM London, and reporting on activity and demand.

A repping company — more formally a travel-trade representation company — is a business that represents a hotel, lodge or DMC to the travel trade in a source market. This is an honest guide to what UK repping companies do, how they are paid, and the benchmarks that separate the best repping companies in the UK — so you can choose the right one. It is written by Kusa Connect, a UK repping company that works only with African travel.

What is a repping company?

In the travel trade, a repping company is a business-to-business sales-and-marketing representative — not a holiday rep who looks after guests in resort. A repping company works in the source market, selling and marketing a supplier’s property to tour operators and travel agents on the owner’s behalf. The same role is also called a rep company, a representation company, or a general sales agent (GSA).

What does a UK repping company do?

A UK repping company is effectively your in-market sales and marketing office in Britain. The day-to-day work includes meeting and account-managing tour operators and travel agents, securing inclusion in their brochures and programmes, arranging and hosting educational (FAM) trips, delivering trade training, representing you at trade shows such as WTM London, and reporting back on activity and demand in the market.

How do repping companies get paid?

Models vary. Most UK representation companies work on a monthly retainer, sometimes with a performance element; some work on commission. Reputable firms price to the scope of work rather than publishing a rate card, and are transparent about the model before any agreement. Kusa Connect works on a fixed retainer agreed up front, so a supplier knows its UK cost from the start.

Specialist vs generalist UK repping companies

Generalist representation companies carry hotels and resorts worldwide and can place a wide range of properties. Specialists focus on a region or product type. For a niche, relationship-led product such as an African safari lodge, a specialist who already builds Africa programmes with the relevant UK operators — and who is credible at the Africa-focused trade shows — will usually deliver more than a generalist for whom your property is one of hundreds.

How to choose the best repping company in the UK — the benchmarks to look for

If you are searching for the best repping company in the UK, do not judge on a slick website or a long client list. Judge candidates against these benchmarks — the standards the strongest UK repping companies meet:

Genuine specialism in your region and product type
Personal relationships with the relevant UK product managers
A portfolio small enough to give your property real attention
Credible trade memberships and accreditations
Transparency on how they are paid
Clarity on portfolio overlap and conflicts of interest
A realistic view of timelines — UK relationships take 12 to 24 months to mature
Clear, regular reporting on activity and demand

No rep scores perfectly on every line, but the best repping companies in the UK meet most of them — and are candid about the ones they do not. Our guide for African properties applies these benchmarks to safari lodges, hotels and DMCs.

Repping companies for African travel — where Kusa Connect fits

Most UK representation companies are generalists. A smaller number specialise in African travel. Kusa Connect sits firmly in that specialist group: a boutique, founder-led UK repping company that works only with African suppliers — safari lodges, luxury hotels and DMCs across Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa — representing them to the UK travel trade. It is an ATTA member, and its founder, Graeme Watson, is a former SATSA board member with around twenty years across the UK, South Africa and the USA.

If you run a luxury African lodge, camp, hotel or DMC and want a dedicated UK presence, our fuller African guide explains how to choose a rep for your property: UK repping companies for African travel. Or talk to us directly.