Brief: An older lady will be on her own at Christmas and wants to spend it somewhere in the UK where she won’t be the only single person around.
Budget: A very strict budget of £500.
Verdict: This week’s winner impressed Mystery Shopper so much she intends to go back with a real booking.
Flight Centre
Flight CentreUnit 26, Prince Bishop Shopping Centre
Score: 68%
When I explained that I was looking for a countryside or seaside location in the UK over Christmas, the friendly agent told me vacancies were mainly in towns. She searched with Superbreak and offered me two nights at the Novotel in Cardiff.
This came in well under budget at £210, but I would still have to pay to get there, or for parking if I were to drive, and also pay for meals, including Christmas dinner.
I left this shop feeling dissatisfied, as this type of hotel is not one I would see being particularly suited to singles at Christmas, and she offered me no hotels with travel included.
Hays Travel
Hays TravelUnit 5, 1-4 North Road
Score: 81%
After the agent asked about my budget and found out I wanted to spend time with other singles, she suggested a coach break might suit me well.
She came up with two five-day trips through Shearings, both within budget. She offered me the Beresford Hotel in Newquay for £429 and the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton for £439.
Both these trips included two excursions, entertainment, four dinners, bed and breakfast, afternoon tea every day and Christmas lunch. She was very helpful and even checked with Shearings that they had double rooms with single room usage, if no singles were available.
She gave me her business card, but didn’t take my details.
Thomas Cook
Thomas CookUnit 34, Prince Bishops Shopping Centre
Score: 91%
This experienced agent looked hard for a holiday to suit me. She recommended a Shearings break, and rang to find out about vacancies for singles with coach connections from the area.
There was a break to Windsor available, but it was £575, so she rang Shearings who told her about a trip to Oxfordshire that wasn’t in the brochure, but was in my budget.
She gave me the brochure, details of the Springs Hotel to consider, and her business card, urging me to ring as soon as possible if I wanted to go ahead. She took my details too.
This was a pleasant visit and I would recommend the agency to others.
Gazelle Travel
Gazelle Travel91 Claypath
Score: 92%
This agent was extremely helpful and had endless patience. She recommended Shearings Holidays and tried many options for me, but a lot didn’t have single rooms available.
She found me the Beresford Hotel in Newquay for £399 travelling by coach or £529 by air, and the Torbay Hotel in Torquay for the same price. I could not fault these as they were just what I asked for, and the agent gave me all the details to take away, saying I should just call her if I wanted to book.
Even though the outside of the shop looked a little old-fashioned, inside it wasn’t, and when the agent saw me glance at their offers for long-haul trips she told me immediately that they had some great prices if I needed them in the future.
I genuinely look forward to going back and using this shop’s services.
Winning agent: Claire Bestford, travel consultant
“We sell such a mix of holidays in our shop – UK, long-haul, flight-only, packages, luxury, cruise. Every day is different and so I’ve built up my knowledge over the three years I’ve worked at Gazelle.”
Top tips: selling solo trips
- Escorted tours are a good option for solo travellers; ones from singles specialist operators even more so. Just You has a Christmas and New Year brochure with eight Christmas breaks in the UK, and Solo’s Holidays offers five. Both offer clients their own rooms and plenty of activities.
- For older clients, over-55s operator Grand UK Holidays doesn’t charge a single supplement on any of its mainland UK trips, and has a wide range of Christmas breaks. Grand UK’s sister brand Glenton Holidays has a range of solo’s tours.
- The majority of Titan HiTours’ UK Christmas departures have no single supplement rooms on offer.
- Shearings Holidays and Leger Holidays have a wide range of Christmas short breaks.
- For more information, see this week’s feature on Christmas in the UK and visit the Christmas section on Gazetteers.com