Location: Middlesbrough
Wanted: Three friends want to go to the Sonus Festival in Croatia, from August 19-23. Tickets for the event would be a bonus.
Budget: £800 per person
Tui
33 Linthorpe Road
88%
The window display caught my attention and enticed me to enter. I was acknowledged straight away and directed to an agent’s desk. He was engaging and asked lots of open-ended questions, going out of his way to research the festival. Using Tui’s in-house system, the agent provided two quotes using Lufthansa flights from Manchester to Zadar, via Frankfurt. The first option was room-only at the Liberty Hotel in Pag, for £640 per person. I was also offered a B&B option at the Pansion Comfort Bok for £767. Both included transfers and insurance. The quotes met my needs, and although the agent didn’t offer tickets, he was enthusiastic about finding the right holiday.
Hays Travel
49 Linthorpe Road
81%
This shop was tidy but a little dark. I was offered a seat as I walked in by an agent who asked lots of questions but wasn’t overly enthusiastic and didn’t know a lot about Croatia. I was offered two four-night packages in Pag, including Lufthansa flights from Manchester, via Frankfurt: at the Belveder for £566 and Liberty Hotel for £580. Transfers were extra: £47 for a shuttle or £67 for private. I wasn’t offered tickets and no attempt was made to close the sale.
Dawson & Sanderson
5 Newport Road
75%
This clean and well-maintained shop had eye-catching window displays. I was acknowledged immediately, but the agent didn’t make much eye contact or conversation. They put two dynamic packages together, combining hotels from Expedia with Lufthansa flights from Manchester, via Frankfurt. The prices were £880 for a B&B stay at the Hotel Plaza and £894 at the Belveder including shuttle transfer. Private transfers were an extra £15. The agent did not offer tickets.
Winning agent
Connor Knowles, travel agent
“Booking around festivals can be difficult, as the options are limited on dates and location. But I enjoy a challenge and have had bookings like this before.”
Verdict
No agents offered to find tickets, but all used their dynamic packaging skills to put together good quotes. The Tui agent showed the most enthusiasm, so came out on top.
Top-scoring agent each month will win use of a car for 10 days.
The winning agent must be at least 25, for insurance reasons. Winners under 25 will win a week’s all-inclusive holiday at an Elite Islands Resorts property. The prize is non-transferable and the car must be driven only by the winning agent. The winner must not have any serious driving convictions. Elite Island Resorts will endeavour to supply the car to the agency but reserves the right to request the winning agent to collect and return the car from Essex or a central location