ON-LINE travel auctions are an adventurous way of booking holidays for Internet users with a bit of time and money on their hands.
At present, they may appear to be a bit of a novelty but they look set to take off as the concept of e-commerce catches on.
Travel auctions offer the thrill of live ‘e-bidding’ – deciding how low a bid you can get away with, waiting to see if anyone puts in a higher one, wondering whether to raise your price if they do and anxiously waiting as the deadline approaches.
One traditional travel agency, Midlands Co-op Travel, seized the opportunity to exploit this new sales channel by setting up the UK’s first auction Web site dedicated solely to travel last September.
Holidayauctions.net puts a minimum of 100 offers a week on its site. It features products from around 50 UK operators, including the top five, but is trying to recruit more.
Midlands general manager of Internet travel auctions Gill Peachey said: “It does take some organising. Some companies don’t think you can make any money on auctions but we would not continue with it if it wasn’t profitable.”
She is aiming for a turnover of £10m and 20,000 bookings in the first year of the site’s operation. Peachey claims that by last November, the site was already receiving 1m hits each month.
Another major player in the sector is auction specialist QXL.com which recently organised a month-long sale of British Midland flights.
Travel product director Marc Charron said it had sold British Midland tickets for as little as £5 for a return to Paris. However, a more representative price would be £169 for a weekend in Paris in a four-star hotel, travelling on Eurostar.
He claims auctions offer great benefits to operators. They are a good outlet for offloading distressed stock and companies get the opportunity to gather information about their customers and cross-sell other products to them.
“Suppliers know early on what is selling,” Charron added. “They can see whatthe demand is in the marketplace.”
Bidding on-line
n There are plenty of companies running on-line travel auctions these days so have a good look at what they are offering before you start bidding.
n Read the offer detailscarefully. Make sure you know whether your bid is per person or for a group booking and check whether flights are included. You may not be able to correct a mistake later on.
n Most sites ask for your credit-card details before they allow you to bid so make sure their facilities are secure. If the address at the top of the page starts with ‘https’, it should be fine.
n In virtually all cases, there will an undisclosed ‘reserve price’ which the highest bidder has to reach if they are to get the holiday. There are some great deals are out there but you won’t get away with bidding £2 for a week in the Caribbean.
n Usually a bid is regarded as legally binding, so be prepared to pay up if you win the auction.
n Companies will telephone or e-mail you if you have won. Often they will send automated e-mails if you are
outbid during the auction or if you have lost.
web watch
holidayauctions.net
Site layout: simple, cheerful style with palm tree and auction hammer graphics. It’s relatively easy to navigate.
Site content: as well as auctions, the site includes a fixed-price section and extras like car hire and insurance are available. The auction offers are accompanied by short descriptions and large pictures. Holiday categories include ski, cruising and city breaks.
Registering: casual users just type in their name, e-mail address and telephone number every time they bid. More details are required if you want to become a member.
Bidding: had a few teething problems getting my £140 bid for a seven-night self-catering holiday for two in Majorca accepted. I upped my bid three times then rang the helpline which confirmed my highest bid had been processed. It was below the reserve price so I couldn’t win. Bid £360 for a self-catering week in Tunisia for three, with no obvious hitches.
QXL.com
Site layout: bright orange and pretty brash but at least it’s obvious where everything is. QXL has several international sites so you have to make your way to the UK section. The travel offers appear in tiny, indistinct writing but when you click on an offer to get more information it gets much clearer.
Site content: QXL is dedicated to auctions of all kinds and other products include computers, cars and fitness equipment. There were 30 offers listed in the travel shop when I visited, including trips to the Lake District, Canada and Bali. Each offer has its own page with reams of information on it, so there is no excuse for saying you didn’t know what to expect. There is a facility for forwarding information to a friend via e-mail.
Registering: there is a lengthy registration form to fill out. If you want to bid for travel offers, you must include your credit-card details.
Bidding: I was the first person to bid on a two-night break for two at the five-star Radisson SAS St Helen’s Hotel in Dublin. I typed in £182, entered a member ID and password, and clicked. I was told I had met the reserve price and would be sent an e-mail if someone outbid me.
lastminute.com
Site layout: clean, inviting layout. Lastminute specialised mainly in fixed price offers, so you have to find auctions and then click on the travel section.
Site content: there are only six offers up at present, all UK hotel breaks except one self-catering holiday in the Algarve. I opt for a two-night break for two on the shore of Lake Windermere. A previous user has bid £190.
Registering: I entered my name, address and credit-card details and clicked. No message appeared to say I had registered successfully. I decided to start bidding anyway.
Bidding: I typed in my bid of £200 and clicked – several times. There seemed to be a very long delay. Finally the offer page came up again and my name and bid were listed at the bottom.
Bidding on-line
n There are plenty of companies running on-line travel auctions these days so have a good look at what they are offering before you start bidding.
n Read the offer detailscarefully. Make sure you know whether your bid is per person or for a group booking and check whether flights are included. You may not be able to correct a mistake later on.
n Most sites ask for your credit-card details before they allow you to bid so make sure their facilities are secure. If the address at the top of the page starts with ‘https’, it should be fine.
n In virtually all cases, there will an undisclosed ‘reserve price’ which the highest bidder has to reach if they are to get the holiday. There are some great deals are out there but you won’t get away with bidding £2 for a week in the Caribbean.
n Usually a bid is regarded as legally binding, so be prepared to pay up if you win the auction.
n Companies will telephone or e-mail you if you have won. Often they will send automated e-mails if you are
outbid during the auction or if you have lost.