Hoseasons is giving away eight holidays to travel agents during the peak period as it focuses on getting agents to experience its properties.
The two-month giveaway is a departure from previous turn-of-year campaigns, which have traditionally seen the operator give vouchers to agents.
The campaign, inspired by the company’s new strapline ‘A Better Place To Stay’, will put all confirmed bookings made between January 5 and March 1 automatically into a prize draw.
Every Monday a winner will be picked at random to win a break, to be taken during the off‑peak season this year.
The breaks being given away are: seven nights on a Starboard boat on a Thames Valley itinerary from Coventry Canal Basin; a three or four-night Daisy Door break at Galloway Cottages, Scotland; three or four nights in Evermore-branded Gwenver Lodge at Caddy’s Corner Lodges, Cornwall; a three or four-night Bouja break at Beach Cove, Devon; two nights in a one-bedroom open‑plan apartment in London; seven nights in a lodge at Camping la Croix du Vieux Pont, Berny-Rivière, France; a three or four-night Go Active break at Piperdam Lodges, Scotland; and a four-night Autograph break at Cedar Retreats, Yorkshire Dales.
Head of trade sales Tariq Khan said: “We did a survey on what agents really wanted and out of 100 respondents, 81% of the top‑three responses were for a break away.
“I always hear agents saying it’s harder to sell if you’ve not experienced it – this giveaway will build up our advocates in the trade.”
Khan said there would be a concerted, strategic focus on getting more agents to experience the operator’s product range in 2015 through educationals and holiday incentives.