Our unique move to provide peace of mind for our auction winners: Will Ferguson
At Impulse Decisions, we are delighted to announce that we have become the only auction company in the UK to become a member of the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust (ABTOT).
Whilst it was a lengthy process taking eight months, it has been genuinely worthwhile, both for us and our customers.
Running events worldwide, and also providing packages for silent auctions, we wanted clients to have full peace of mind when bidding for holiday prizes.
Being a member is crucial for ensuring consumer financial protection and regulatory compliance for travel organisers in the UK. It provides government-approved bonding, guaranteeing that customer money is safe and covering repatriation or refunds if a travel firm suffers financial failure.
Whilst it is rare for these kinds of things to happen, we all know people who have won amazing prizes only for the providers to later fold or be unable to honour the prize.
Given the number and scale of packages we now provide, from the Grand Prix events to holidays in Lapland and Iceland, we wanted to ensure that the majority of our events are covered, giving clients peace of mind.
We provide hundreds of silent auctions supporting charities every year, and the partnership with ABTOT also means that any charities we work with have full peace of mind too.
As the only event company to have taken these steps, it is a significant move forwards but shows our commitment to both clients and charities we work with. We have already seen a positive reaction from clients, so it has definitely been worth the time we invested.
Working across sports events, to music and travel, there is a noticeable change in people’s spending habits, however providing special occasions both for companies and individuals is still important. Having ABTOT protection enhances and elevates our overall offering - reinforcing the value for both clients and bidders
We are also extending the number of experiences we are providing this year to include a 5* Camiral Golf Experience, a Premium Royal Portrush Golf Experience and a TPC Sawgrass – Tournament & Playing Experience. We have seen the increasing demand for golfing experiences, so have responded accordingly.
Becoming one of the only providers of Grand Prix packages last year was another coup for us, and for Harrogate where we are based.
Continuing to provide a wide selection in all our auctions is still important to us though, and we have proved to charities that by partnering with us, we can not only boost the prizes available for them but significantly boost their fundraising too.
Membership of ABTOT is a layer of security that benefits both the charities and their supporters when bidding for prizes. It shows that the charities that use us are they’re abiding by industry best practice by only using the most trusted and vetted suppliers.
In a world of so much uncertainty at the moment, trust is absolutely paramount to everything we do. Protecting the majority of our travel prizes through ABTOT is another way of ensuring that all of our clients can have full peace of mind working with us and continuing to enjoy a wide range of both sporting and music events worldwide. Like travel insurance, it is something you rarely need to action but can make a massive difference when you actually do.
Will Ferguson is director of fundraising at Impulse Decisions