Barter For A Bargain Beach Holiday

Rasor_2

I,ve been using most of Martins methods for years [I never haggle] and it has gotten me some marvellous holidays. Just spent a week in a 4 star + hotel in Maderia half board for a total price of £244 each.Brochere price over £600.
Methods used,1 flexability on destination
2 flexability on week
3 Time spent trawling the holiday company internet sites [one thing to note is travel companies may own more than one site and can be charging different prices on them] ie Thomsons have the Travelhouse internet site as well as there own.

alupton

I've just returned from a Kuoni holiday that I booked via an agent in Birmingham following a quick Google search. The agent discounted the price by 6% - which saved me £150 - and will do so on loads of different companies' holidays.

I am a genuine customer who was impressed by their price and their service - check out their website at https://www.traveleconomy.com for a list of current deals.

gilt

I've been in business for 35 years (not travel agency!) and unlike Martin I've never felt it necessary to lie in order to obtain a good deal. And I dont respect him for recommending it.

jesterstear_2

gilt wrote:

I've been in business for 35 years (not travel agency!) and unlike Martin I've never felt it necessary to lie in order to obtain a good deal. And I dont respect him for recommending it.

Yawn.... Well on a low income single parent and 3 kids. this site is close to my heart any way to save money is good, I cant see what your problem is with this and lets face it the travel world it littered with gready BAzterdz, why the hell do you think these companys say they will beat any quote ? you obviously have too much money, As for Martin - keep up the good work, its not an illegal tip just common sence anyway......

Jon

darrell

HI fellow moneysavers.
I have just returned from Taba in Egypt. I stayed at the Marriot 5* hotel and had very good half board. I paid £189 for 1 week. B4 that I went to Morroco for 1 week, 3* full board at £89, at Agadir. Agadir is not too nice but it's well placed to use as a base. Marrakhesh on Friday night is 1 of the cultural wonders of the world, in my humble opinion. Last summer I paid £99 half board for 2 weeks on a sleepy Greek Island, self catering apartment on the beach and £89 for a week in Turkey half board. These holidays are easy peasy to get hold of.
The secret is simply using teletext and a late booking can be had 6-8 weeks before travelling, although they do get even cheaper 2 weeks prior to travel. DO NOT be too choosy on your resort though. I tend to not be fussy on even the country I visit but prefer to consider which counties I do not want to visit and then avoid those teletext pages. This way I have always found a considerable bargain.
If you have to take your hols during busy times it will be only slightly more expensive. My hols listed above were mostly taken in July/August and I spend only between 1 and 3 hrs max finding the bargains. It is not hard work.
Another tip is to check out the place you have found a bargain holiday on the internet before you book. For a Greek Island, for example, the info on the net is as good as a brochure, if not better and there are unbiased web sites. Try and find a brochure that dishes the dirt on a resort or city!
Haggling with a travel agent may save you some money but nowhere near as much as I save. My holiday in Morroco was listed full price at £419, theres no way a travel agent would barter down to £89.
To search on Teletext go to page 200 and you can search by region or on the late booking pages.
Good luck and Bon vacance!

TRAVELMAN_2

Darell,

I agree! Only thing I WILL say is that 'these holidays are easy peasy to find' does not ring true all the time-it's all down to market forces. At the moment, with a lot of people looking for the warmth, for example Canaries/Egypt ARE NOT cheap & also as you say 'if you book 2 weeks before it's even cheaper' this can sometimes work the other way-if demand is there then prices can RISE.

A refreshing post though-emphasising that the key is not so much in the haggle but in the flexibility!

Chris

dan8

MSE_Martin wrote:

The following discussion relates to the Barter for a Bargain Beach Holiday article.

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Thanks to Martin's input on the Tonight with Trevor Mac programme I decided to give holiday price haggling a go. However, this was not for a bargain 2 week holiday, but a top of the range fully escorted tour for 17 days with Thomas Cook Signature. Its basic brochure price was £2255 per person and with fuel supplements and all the other 'extras' that are now added on especialy to long haul flights the brochure cost per person was £2450. I wanted the holiday for 2 adults which would have meant paying nearly £5000 for this holiday. I didn't have much time at the point of booking to ring several operators and it was not on teletext as bespoke packages such as this rarely are. So, I asked Thomas Cook if they would consider selling me the holiday for a little less than the brochure price and I was laughed at as the 'Signature' holidays are apparently so sought after that they are never reduced at all and have only limited availability!

So, I decided to change tack. Instead of ringing several operators I called Thomsons and asked them if they would price match a holiday I wanted. They said 'no' at first then rang me back to say 'ok'. I then quoted them an imaginary price that I said I'd been quoted by Thomas Cook of £1600 per person for this holiday, £3200 for 2. They were suitably horrified at this but to cut a long story short I agreed to pay them the entire amount in full up front for a holiday beginning on 26 November 2005 and I got it at that price. Imagine that! I'd never have had the nerve to do this before Martin's programme, so thanks a bunch. I saved £1800 on the holiday of my dreams.

eileenamcc

Dear Martin Thank you very much for all your advice.I love the many ways with which you save us all money.I feel it is wrong that people like myself who need a mobility scooter on holiday ,cannot take advantage of the allocated on arrival holidays.I was quoted ,just last night ,for the choice between 3 holidays saving £200. if I would be prepared to take any of the three.But when the operator who was absolutely so kind and conscientious looking for me[freephone number 08000278938 https://www.latedeals.com], investigated all she could find about the hotels for me using the gazeteer, one of them was totally unsuitable for scooter/wheelchair use.So that meant I couldn't have the £200 off. Also Martin it is difficult finding out using the web or teletext whether some hotels are mobility friendly.With all your skills is there any way you can help us get a better deal for our holidays if we do have some genuine mobility needs please?Like the majority of people I want to be totally independent but finding out whether a hotel or the surrounding area is mobility friendly is very important.Very best wishes to you eileen mccarthy[mrs]Ps Shouldn't all hotels be rated mobility friendly or not?

jimmy_2-2

dan8....that was brilliant.

I tried to be extra cheeky last weekend when booking next years summer holiday in Cyprus.

I was originally quoted £2682 pounds at the co-op for my family of three all inclusive during summer holidays. I walked straight into Thomas Cook to see if they coul dbeat it which they did by about 40 quid (not bad). I then went home and rang Thomas Cook TV to see what they could do, they went and gave me a price of £2531 before I had even mentioned anybody elses prices. Immediatley I told a porky and told them that I had already been quoted £2432 by a web site. They asked me what web site. After a couple of seconds silence I quickly remebered Laterooms.com (phew). They then took it down to £2387. I told them that I will probably take it but I must just make sure that my bank will allow me to withdraw the deposit so please give me half an hour (this was so I could look round a bit more). I then got a phone call from the 2nd travel agent that I went into (Thomas Cook) asking if I wanted the holiday or not. I blagged it again and told them that co-op travel has quoted me £2350, they went down to £2348. Thams Cook TV then rang me back on my mobile to see if the funds were available (Ha Ha) and I said yes but a travel agent has offered me £2348 can they beat it.

So I had Thomas Cook (High Street) on my landline and Thomas Cook (TV) on my mobile. I explained this situation to them although I told them both that the other party was co-op travel. One would give me a price, I told the other one the price and they woul dbeat it slightly until Thomas Cook TV gave up.

I got it for £ 2331. I knew that I was in a win win situation, I just didnt know who would give up first, and to be honest I really didnt care either.

Thank you Martin for making me the sly cheeky money saver that I am.

Please note that I woul dnot have done this in a private Travel Agents as I like to support my local businesses, not screww them.

shelagh

Hi, anyone got any ideas for a travel site to book 3 people for Iceland for any length of time after 21/8/05 The Teletext deals don't seem to mention Iceland, probably because its not as common a place to go in summer as say Greece or Spain.
Thanks, Shelagh