What a start to the new century. Go along to your high-street multiple to book your holiday on January 6 and receive 15% off plus all of the other giveaways to go with it.
Walk past your travel agency on Monday January 10 to find out that if you had waited, your discount would be 20%. What a nice message to send all of the early bookers!
And what is going to happen in July and August when those same early bookers find out that if they had waited they could probably go on holiday paying next to nothing! When will tour operators learn and get it right. Stop discounting.
One of our clients booked early in January last year for their Christmas flights, at a price of £324. They then added their daughter to the booking in early December at a much lower cost of £179 and by the time they flew on December 30, there were people who had paid £59 for the same flight.
The company we booked the flights with have made an effort to lessen the anger of our clients by offering them a voucher to travel with them this year. But what sort of messages does this give everybody? Our client is now asking when is the best time for her to book for next Christmas to use her voucher.
Here at Select World Travel we’re pleased to say that since we reopened on January 4 to January 8, our sales are well over 30% higher than the same period last year and there’s not a discount in sight.
Why can’t the major players make a new year’s resolution and watch their profits grow. Their mission statement should be: ‘We will not offer any discounts or free insurance and will launch four editions of brochures. The first edition will have the lowest prices, the second edition will have a 10% increase, the third will have a 12.5% increase and the late-bookers’ edition will have a 20% increase.”
Lee Harrison, managing director, Select World Travel, Great Malvern Worcestershire