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UPDATED FOR 2006-Get cheaper deals for your Hols!
TRAVELMAN_2
Posts: 864 Forumite
(N.B-This is an UPDATED post from the original-posted Feb 2004-permissions were given my the Mod's (see original post) for this post as it is relevant to moneysaving).
Hello Moneysavers,
I'm a Travel Consultant working from home & feel that the following information will help you 'bag-a-bargain' for your Holidays.
I notice that if you search under 'holidays' on this site it says, in a nutshell- to haggle to get the price down. This is true in some respects & call centres/Tour Operators direct MAY go this way-obviously depending on what commissions/margin they have built in.
Where it won't work is if the deal is say, £149, the agent makes 15% commission max. on this will not discount-for obvious reasons!
A thing to realise with this industry is that many people you call from the Internet/Teletext, are self-employed,typically earning 30% of the gross commission for themselves, so consequently if during a busy time, say June/July/August someone wants to haggle the agent will just refuse-knowing another call will come soon!
The reason for my mail & the above is that there is ANOTHER money-saving way that is overlooked by most (if not all) High Street Agents & a lot of Net/text Agents-& that is 'self-packaging'. By this I don't mean customers getting an Easyjet flight & accommodation separately, BUT by going through one of the specialist Agents who have their own ATOL licences a complete 'package' can be made for the customers-including reps/transfers, often at MUCH LESS than a Tour Operators package price (even if already reduced). This not only saves the customers the task of haggling & ringing round but also provides the financial protection that ATOL gives. As an example, if say Easyjet flights were booked & you booked the accommodation separately, & you received a call/mail saying that the Hotel was full, there was a mistake with the booking, or you arrived & had been 'overbooked' (i.e. owner got a better offer on the day-it happens!)-you would have no comeback as the flights & accommodation were booked separately-so you could be left with a flight that was impossible/very expensive to change & no Hotel! In this situation as the Hotel was not booked with an ATOL flight or as a package-you'd have no legal redress for the accommodation costs! Also, many web-based accommodation providers have a UK office but the registered office is overseas-meaning claiming back ob your credit card would be difficult!
If the holiday is put together by an ATOL holder as an ATOL package, the Agent becomes a Tour Operator with booking conditions-so the AGENT would be responsible for getting money back/or finding another Hotel! Also, as an ATOL licence holder the Agent gets Hotel rates that in many cases are less than on many websites-so in most cases they'll be cheaper or the same but with the advantage of ATOL protection.
That's the boring bit out of the way....here's the moneysaving bit! By packaging up through an ATOL Agent as an ATOL package it SAVES a great deal of money in 90% of cases. The savings that can be made now for Holidays from May onwards-especially for families in peak season (Canaries self-catering are great for July/August)-is staggering! As an example, for a 4* brand new Luxury Hotel in Gran Canaria for May/June, half-board, Sovereign Holidays want £1800 for it for 2 adults & 1 child, (before any discount-they give 14% to agents so I'd guess max. discount would be 6/7%) , though as an ATOL package with a private taxi transfers-£1150 with no need to haggle! By taking advantage of the good exchange rates (especially for Dominican Republic/Mexico-we pay in $'ss!) people can save a massive amount against the High Street by getting a quote on an ATOL 'packaged' deal.
Packaging under ATOL will not beat ALL quotes (a very small amount of the Tour Operators direct deals/the internet are impossible for an Agent to beat) but will (in most cases) beat 90% of high street prices & include that nice private taxi-no milk round coaches!
I feel this is a real 'money-saving' opportunity for canny customers who are looking for a good deal.
I'd be very interested in your thoughts on the above or your travel experiences & if anyone needs help/advice please post-I'll do my best to help. Please note I'm usually off Sundays/most of Mondays! There is a separate thread on here titled 'want a quote on something specific?' where you can get prices from myself &/or other Travel experts.
Kind regards,
Chris.
2006 Travel Industry Update!
Hi all! The ethos behind the above still stands. To give you an 'insider' view of the best 'moneysaving' way to get a good deal we need to look closely at 2005. I've done many years in the industry & August is always a good month for late bookings. Obviously prices (& revenue) are higher & the kids are on holiday. One big change though for 2005. The Tour Operators were not 'greedy' & resisted the urge to 'buy-in' extra beds/seats for July/August-they just sold the stock they had. Consequently-there was much much LESS AVAILABILITY in the peak periods so what was left sold at a vastly inflated price. Many many families who've previously booked 'late' for the Summer School Holidays either could not afford to go or paid 25-40% MORE than before. Motto definitely is for School Hols-BOOK EARLY. You can capitalise on the fact that if you book EARLY that the low cost flights are MUCH cheaper than leaving it till later. An example (for 2 adults + 2 kids. 14 nights), 8/8/2006-Ryanair, BLACKPOOL/GIRONA (Costa Brava), £287-16 total. THOMSON charter flight (with chargeable flight meals removed!)-£996! So anything 'packaged' together will be over SEVEN HUNDRED pounds cheaper by booking EARLY-real moneysaving!
Lates in 2005.....anytime away from School holidays & especially if you travel Mon-Thursday & book very close to departure (as little as a day if your nerves can stand it!) & you'll ALWAYS get somewhere hot & cheap if you are flexible-especially with your destination & departure Airports. My feeling is the same will apply this year-although the final % discount will depend on market conditions, etc...
Haggling (as per Martins TV prog in 2005 & a long post on here!). Ok....obviously the honest answer is that Agent's do not like to discount but see it as a necessary evil to close a sale-so it does still apply & in many cases DOES work. One tip for you (& every Agent will agree with this albeit they don't like it!), if you get a quote for say Thomas Cook, Airtours, etc etc from a High Street Agent-go straight on to that Tour Operators web-site & in 50% (not all) of cases it will be CHEAPER. I know other Agents might want to 'string me up' for this but it unfortunately (for Agents) is true in up to 50% of cases. I've had a few cases in the Summer where the price on the Web-site is at nett (ie no commission on at all) so obviously the Agent has no 'scope' to discount further. Also....Agents that are OWNED by a Tour Operator WILL get you better prices than ones that are not-ie Going places are owned by MY TRAVEL, etc...Obviously if it really is just that one specific property you want then this is the way to go. However, if it's just say the RESORT you want & for example, a 3* all-inclusive Hotel with kids clubs, try an Independent ATOL Agent or post on here. The savings are huge in most cases compared to even a discounted Tour Operator package.
So-THE 4 GOLDEN RULES FOR BARGAINS IN 2006
1-)For School Holidays-BOOK NOW. UTILISE the low-cost seats NOW while they are reasonable, either package yourself or ask for help on this board (want a quote on something specific thread). Yes-there are sales with the low-cost airlines but most School Holidays are 'blacked-out'
2)-Out of School Holidays for a 'late' deal-hang fire as late as poss. Key to a good deal is flexibility with destination, travelling Monday-Thursday, flexibility with departure Airports (it can make a HUGE difference-check out the BLACKPOOL vs. MANCHESTER example above).
3) HAGGLE on the High Street. For late deals though-VERY risky-hol. can go or indeed GO UP in price. For advance bookings always worth a go if it is a high Value Holiday.
4)- TOUR OPERATOR WEB-SITES. Get the best haggled price you can & check on the Tour operators web site-in 50% of cases it will be CHEAPER. Again-be careful with lates as 4 seats for example can sell in a split second. Balance the budget against how much you really want the holiday-but BE CAREFUL-if it's a 'late' it could go.
Well...that's me done. Hope this is of interest!
Happy new year!
Chris
Hello Moneysavers,
I'm a Travel Consultant working from home & feel that the following information will help you 'bag-a-bargain' for your Holidays.
I notice that if you search under 'holidays' on this site it says, in a nutshell- to haggle to get the price down. This is true in some respects & call centres/Tour Operators direct MAY go this way-obviously depending on what commissions/margin they have built in.
Where it won't work is if the deal is say, £149, the agent makes 15% commission max. on this will not discount-for obvious reasons!
A thing to realise with this industry is that many people you call from the Internet/Teletext, are self-employed,typically earning 30% of the gross commission for themselves, so consequently if during a busy time, say June/July/August someone wants to haggle the agent will just refuse-knowing another call will come soon!
The reason for my mail & the above is that there is ANOTHER money-saving way that is overlooked by most (if not all) High Street Agents & a lot of Net/text Agents-& that is 'self-packaging'. By this I don't mean customers getting an Easyjet flight & accommodation separately, BUT by going through one of the specialist Agents who have their own ATOL licences a complete 'package' can be made for the customers-including reps/transfers, often at MUCH LESS than a Tour Operators package price (even if already reduced). This not only saves the customers the task of haggling & ringing round but also provides the financial protection that ATOL gives. As an example, if say Easyjet flights were booked & you booked the accommodation separately, & you received a call/mail saying that the Hotel was full, there was a mistake with the booking, or you arrived & had been 'overbooked' (i.e. owner got a better offer on the day-it happens!)-you would have no comeback as the flights & accommodation were booked separately-so you could be left with a flight that was impossible/very expensive to change & no Hotel! In this situation as the Hotel was not booked with an ATOL flight or as a package-you'd have no legal redress for the accommodation costs! Also, many web-based accommodation providers have a UK office but the registered office is overseas-meaning claiming back ob your credit card would be difficult!
If the holiday is put together by an ATOL holder as an ATOL package, the Agent becomes a Tour Operator with booking conditions-so the AGENT would be responsible for getting money back/or finding another Hotel! Also, as an ATOL licence holder the Agent gets Hotel rates that in many cases are less than on many websites-so in most cases they'll be cheaper or the same but with the advantage of ATOL protection.
That's the boring bit out of the way....here's the moneysaving bit! By packaging up through an ATOL Agent as an ATOL package it SAVES a great deal of money in 90% of cases. The savings that can be made now for Holidays from May onwards-especially for families in peak season (Canaries self-catering are great for July/August)-is staggering! As an example, for a 4* brand new Luxury Hotel in Gran Canaria for May/June, half-board, Sovereign Holidays want £1800 for it for 2 adults & 1 child, (before any discount-they give 14% to agents so I'd guess max. discount would be 6/7%) , though as an ATOL package with a private taxi transfers-£1150 with no need to haggle! By taking advantage of the good exchange rates (especially for Dominican Republic/Mexico-we pay in $'ss!) people can save a massive amount against the High Street by getting a quote on an ATOL 'packaged' deal.
Packaging under ATOL will not beat ALL quotes (a very small amount of the Tour Operators direct deals/the internet are impossible for an Agent to beat) but will (in most cases) beat 90% of high street prices & include that nice private taxi-no milk round coaches!
I feel this is a real 'money-saving' opportunity for canny customers who are looking for a good deal.
I'd be very interested in your thoughts on the above or your travel experiences & if anyone needs help/advice please post-I'll do my best to help. Please note I'm usually off Sundays/most of Mondays! There is a separate thread on here titled 'want a quote on something specific?' where you can get prices from myself &/or other Travel experts.
Kind regards,
Chris.
2006 Travel Industry Update!
Hi all! The ethos behind the above still stands. To give you an 'insider' view of the best 'moneysaving' way to get a good deal we need to look closely at 2005. I've done many years in the industry & August is always a good month for late bookings. Obviously prices (& revenue) are higher & the kids are on holiday. One big change though for 2005. The Tour Operators were not 'greedy' & resisted the urge to 'buy-in' extra beds/seats for July/August-they just sold the stock they had. Consequently-there was much much LESS AVAILABILITY in the peak periods so what was left sold at a vastly inflated price. Many many families who've previously booked 'late' for the Summer School Holidays either could not afford to go or paid 25-40% MORE than before. Motto definitely is for School Hols-BOOK EARLY. You can capitalise on the fact that if you book EARLY that the low cost flights are MUCH cheaper than leaving it till later. An example (for 2 adults + 2 kids. 14 nights), 8/8/2006-Ryanair, BLACKPOOL/GIRONA (Costa Brava), £287-16 total. THOMSON charter flight (with chargeable flight meals removed!)-£996! So anything 'packaged' together will be over SEVEN HUNDRED pounds cheaper by booking EARLY-real moneysaving!
Lates in 2005.....anytime away from School holidays & especially if you travel Mon-Thursday & book very close to departure (as little as a day if your nerves can stand it!) & you'll ALWAYS get somewhere hot & cheap if you are flexible-especially with your destination & departure Airports. My feeling is the same will apply this year-although the final % discount will depend on market conditions, etc...
Haggling (as per Martins TV prog in 2005 & a long post on here!). Ok....obviously the honest answer is that Agent's do not like to discount but see it as a necessary evil to close a sale-so it does still apply & in many cases DOES work. One tip for you (& every Agent will agree with this albeit they don't like it!), if you get a quote for say Thomas Cook, Airtours, etc etc from a High Street Agent-go straight on to that Tour Operators web-site & in 50% (not all) of cases it will be CHEAPER. I know other Agents might want to 'string me up' for this but it unfortunately (for Agents) is true in up to 50% of cases. I've had a few cases in the Summer where the price on the Web-site is at nett (ie no commission on at all) so obviously the Agent has no 'scope' to discount further. Also....Agents that are OWNED by a Tour Operator WILL get you better prices than ones that are not-ie Going places are owned by MY TRAVEL, etc...Obviously if it really is just that one specific property you want then this is the way to go. However, if it's just say the RESORT you want & for example, a 3* all-inclusive Hotel with kids clubs, try an Independent ATOL Agent or post on here. The savings are huge in most cases compared to even a discounted Tour Operator package.
So-THE 4 GOLDEN RULES FOR BARGAINS IN 2006
1-)For School Holidays-BOOK NOW. UTILISE the low-cost seats NOW while they are reasonable, either package yourself or ask for help on this board (want a quote on something specific thread). Yes-there are sales with the low-cost airlines but most School Holidays are 'blacked-out'
2)-Out of School Holidays for a 'late' deal-hang fire as late as poss. Key to a good deal is flexibility with destination, travelling Monday-Thursday, flexibility with departure Airports (it can make a HUGE difference-check out the BLACKPOOL vs. MANCHESTER example above).
3) HAGGLE on the High Street. For late deals though-VERY risky-hol. can go or indeed GO UP in price. For advance bookings always worth a go if it is a high Value Holiday.
4)- TOUR OPERATOR WEB-SITES. Get the best haggled price you can & check on the Tour operators web site-in 50% of cases it will be CHEAPER. Again-be careful with lates as 4 seats for example can sell in a split second. Balance the budget against how much you really want the holiday-but BE CAREFUL-if it's a 'late' it could go.
Well...that's me done. Hope this is of interest!
Happy new year!
Chris
0
Comments
-
good work travelman..........
i am looking to travel 24th of june for 2 weeks
not sure where to u yet, somewhere suitable for kids, not spain tho
there are 3 adults and 1 child traveling
2 room wanted
any tips of when to bookTreat everyday as your last one on earth! and one day you will be right.:D0 -
Loates-is this ALL of Spain?? Or would you look at Majorca, Ibiza, Canaries?0
-
TravelMan....I have been searching for the Paradisus Rio de Oro
in Cuba for end of feb/march returning no later than 20th MARCH with extra leg room seats or prem econ.
Max price 2600
Its not urgent because we have to wait till mom in laws out of hospital soon I hope.
I have searched none stop now for about 2 mths and cant seem to find it cheap enough any pointers?If you look anything like your passport photo....Your too ill to travel0 -
Hi-hope you are well! Has your Agent friend done the likes of Trust, Hol brokers, Barcelo destination services & the like?0
-
yep been through the lot ...tried DIY and direct sell companies with no joy
best thats come up is with Thomsons at 1300 + but no extra leg roomIf you look anything like your passport photo....Your too ill to travel0 -
Hi Travelman - Happy New Year to you:)
Just wondereing if you have any views on who to book travel insurance with please? Son going to SA in March for 28 days adventure type of holiday i.e. camping/trekking etc. He hasn't taken out insurance yet but intends to soon. Thanks.0 -
TRAVELMAN wrote:Loates-is this ALL of Spain?? Or would you look at Majorca, Ibiza, Canaries?
well was thinking of greece(not corfu or rhodes tho), usa, or mexico or far east but must fly on the 24th or 23rd (night only)
it would have to be a great hotal and resort and fab price if i picked spain
airport any in ne england
or if long haul ne england or manchesterTreat everyday as your last one on earth! and one day you will be right.:D0 -
So I guess that means I've no chance of getting something for the Easter holidays - without digging deep ?HLK
"Karma - it's a wonderful thing" - Just ask Earl!0 -
duplicate removedHLK
"Karma - it's a wonderful thing" - Just ask Earl!0 -
HLK,
Certainly if you book NOW for Easter it will be cheaper than leaving it & tailor-making/packaging will be cheaper than a Tour Op. Will work you out a price if you like! We're quiet no so the beer is calling...(!) If you could follow the format below (from the 'want a quote' thread) that'd help me greatly!
If any MSE 'posters' require quotes/help from me can you please include the following information to allow us to find you the best 'moneysaving' deal!
1-All airports you can fly from
2-Duration
3-1st & last dates to leave the UK
4-Are night flights acceptable ? (Big point as night flights usually cheaper!)
5-Party size & kids ages
6-Board basis you require (ie self-catering, all-inclusive, h/b, bb...etc)
7-Type of resort, ie quiet, lively
8-Any resorts/countries you WOULD NOT go to
9-Any other neccesary factors, ie must have kids
10-Prices required by what day/time?
club, pool, be within 'x' metres from sea...etc
11-Max. budget FOR THE WHOLE PARTY!!! Now I know there is a preconceived idea that if you say maximum £1000 we'll quote £999-99-NOT the case! It just saves us all time, for example if you were looking at peak Season or Whitsun for £125 pp it's a non-starter. Just 'as cheap as posssible' is not a help I'm afraid.
HLK if you get the info to me before 5pm I'll reply by 6pm....after that the beer starts...(!!)0
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