The On Holiday Group claims it will be one of the first companies to sell holidays to privately-owned accommodation through travel agents on a large scale.
The group, which owns trade brand Holiday Brokers and consumer brand Fresh Holidays, has secured a deal with specialist MRI Overseas Property.
The deal will make 5,000 private villas and apartments in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Morocco and Cape Verde- available to book through agents.
On Holiday Group chief executive Steve Endacott said much of the privately-owned accommodation was located in areas where low-cost carriers fly to and often in areas that aren’t served by traditional hotels. He added that the accommodation was often superior quality and comparable on price.
The ‘Home from Home’ product has already gone live and travel agent training is being rolled out, he added. “We are talking to agents and explaining to them how to sell it,” he said.
The company is in talks with a number of hotels and an airline about partnership deals related to the roll out of travel video site Fresh TV. Hoteliers are being urged to help source content for video footage for the group’s websites by asking staff to film interviews with customers alongside the On Holiday Group’s own staff.
An airline has been approached to help take On Holiday Group staff to resorts to film holidaymakers. The company recently signed up PortAventura theme park as its launch partner.