On Holiday Group has fired a warning salvo to established villa companies, promising to trash the market this year by “destroying margins”.
The accommodation-only supplier is introducing villa product this week, allowing providers to upload their content on to its platform.
Owner and chief executive Steve Endacott said: “We’re going to bring commodity to the villa market and completely bugger up the margins.
“We’re adding ranges of villas. We’ve had small amounts in the past – it’s difficult to deliver because operators have traditionally tied them up, so we’ve found local partners in Minorca and Portugal. We’ll be presenting our villa product alongside our other accommodation, and promoting the benefits of villas, such as the space, Sky TV, the internet, etc. The key message will be it’s a cheap home from home,” he said.
On Holiday Group set up a ‘home from home’ brand a few years ago but it did not deliver required results.
“We’ve now built an extranet so local partners can manage their stock on our platform,” said Endacott.
“It will give them instant access to 150 XML links to online players and 5,000 travel agents. It’s now much more of a tech play than a product-buying play – but it means we’ll be able to trash the market.”
And Endacott warned traditional operators: “If you are still printing glossy, 400-page brochures full of pictures, you’re in serious trouble.”
On Holiday Group is also adding destinations such as Croatia and Bulgaria, where new no-frills airline routes have been announced.
“We believe having more properties the better. We have 3,500 that we directly contract and 15,000 overall, with the balance coming from XML feeds. We won’t make money on all of them, but as soon as something starts selling, we’ll contract it directly.”