There have been lots of comments from Travel Professionals and indeed articles in various trade publications regarding the well known debate of "Last Minute Deals".
I don't know if anyone will agree, but do you think the likes of Thomas Cook, TUI and even smaller operators like Olympic Holidays help the industry when it comes to Last Minute Deals?
We all know the industry has evolved and developed so much over the last 5 years that long gone are those "Cancellation Holidays" where you could pick up a week all inclusive for as little as £99 or even the dreaded "Allocation on Arrival Holidays" have all but disappeared from the Market.
I am in the tailor made industry and wanted to know if others like me are getting gasps of horror from clients looking at last minute deals for long haul or tailor made holidays? "what happened to last minute deals?" or "Don't you have any cancellations??" are some comments I get nearly on a daily basis at the moment.
Do you think the charter tour operators are damaging this industry with last minute deals. Alot of clients I speak to say "will the prices come down if I book last minute?" And everyone in my shop and company advises customers that it is better to book earlier to secure the lower prices, but we always get looks of doubt and comments like "well I booked last minute with Thomas Cook/First Choice/Thomson/Co-Op last year and saved XXX amount of money"
What can we as an industry do to educate customers that these days are long gone and by waiting you are not only losing a holiday of your dreams but may also pay more by waiting?
All comments gratefully received.
The real answer, should be offer lower prices earlier..but there will always be a market for late deals.
Not unlike New Year Sales, where folk que for days to get Bargins not seen during the rest of the year.
Just seen numberous late deals,on a Self Catering Accommodations from just £6.pp//pn..Yes Only £42.Each!! per week..Ex-flights & transfer's..
1centives - Yeah, the accommodation looks cheap and then flights and transfers are really expensive and on top of that, booking it all independently your not fully bonded and therefore not financially protected!
azzie - We have over the years had a lot of clients seeking 'late deals' for longhaul. The majority, however, do seem to understand that their expectations are unrealistic in the modern market. I dont think Thomson/Thomas Cook etc are damaging the industry. I think it essentially comes down to what sort of quality your clients are expecting.
The big mass market companies offer holiday experiences that simply are run of the mill and are going to be a lot cheaper than doing a Shangri-La type hotel in Langkawi, for example. I think its more about identifying your client types and selling appropriately.
Personally I advise customers looking for something that is not direct from a Thomson/Thomas Cook brochure to book as early as possible, airlines prices are only ever going to rise in price!
Dave, you are absolutely right!! But even adding-in those extra's..flights etc!! The Prices are still way out....against the High Street names..To-day you can purchase insurance policies to protect every
aspect of Holidays..flights are ATOL Protected in any event..using credit-cards..protect you..Under the 1974. Credit Consumer Act..the list goes on...only scare-mongers advocate NO protection.
1ncentives - You are correct in that flights are ATOL protected and you will be covered if they stop trading etc. However, I think you will find that if you read the small print carefully on the insurance policies that any costs for accommodation, car hire, excursions etc are not coverable. By booking as a package you ensure you get full monies paid back.
It's not scare mongering, its being sensible
Dave, Lets agree to disagree...while you might receive 1 full payment on package deals..should the entire entity, fall apart at the seems..so to speak! Its untrue to say the other elements cannot be protected in there own right...sure you might receive monies back..Re- Car-hire, flights etc separately, But should the worst happen you will get your monies back...even if its more drawn out!
Hello Guys, I work for one of the major companies and in my opinion there isnt really late deals out there. I get people coming in on a daily basis at the moment wanting holidays for £200 AI for a wk and its just not there. I get the same response when i tell them that its not there, they say but it was there last year, or they ask about cancellations. So you are not alone, i wish customer would just realise that these deals dont exist. Yes we are probably cheaper than a scheduled flight tailor made, but not as much as what people think.
I think the day of last minute cheap deals have long gone. You can still get them if you look hard enough but they are few and far between from my experience.
Regarding the issue about been covered about the different aspects, Section 74 of the Consumer Credit Act, and insurance policies. If you book flights, hotel, car hire seperate and the flight provider went bust, then your insurance would very unlikely not cover your hotel or car hire as these services are still available, but would cover the flight. The consumer credit act also only applies to purchases over £100 so if the hotel was only £60 then it would not be covered. Ideally it is better to book as package as it then it would cover all aspects.
I used to work for both of the big multiples and in times gone past the contracts they had with the hotels meant that they had to pay for the rooms whether there were people in them or not. So rather than losing money they would sell these for low prices to get some money rather than no money at all.
Fortunatley both of the Multiples have seen the light on this and moved away from these types of contracts. However customers still remember the long gone days when you could get that fantastic 2 week AI deal for £200.
Leaving financial protection aside (just for clarification the company i works for provides full financial protection - same as a package does), as its not really related to the point I'm making.
What I am saying is due to heavy discounting that the multiples have done in the past on late deals consumers now have it in their heads if they book last minute they will get that fantastic deal, you only have to read trade press, speak to friends, family, customers to know that this is still rife.
So what can we do, as an industry, to minimise the late booking culture and encourage people to book early? How can we educate consumers that late booking deals of the past are long gone and are not coming back anytime soon?
Deffo agree with that one.
I have worked in the commercial teams of several major travel companies, including one of the big two.
I personally dont think Late Deals are wrong, both of the big two have in house airlines, on which the tour operator has usually got the whole plane allocation, so better to get some money in than fly those seats empty.
As the previous poster mentioned both Thomas Cook and TUI have contracts at some hotels which they have to pay whether they fill the room or not, so again better to recovrt some money than have emptyy rooms.
Independents work in a different way, buying seats from airlines that go up nearer to the time of departure, and hotels are booked often through bed bank, and are often not comitted.
I really dont think its easy to companre and say the big two are killing the industry when they operate on such different business models.
Ive just had a customer looking for a 'late deal', who ended up spending £6000!!!!
If only all late bookings were like this!!!!
I can only wish to have customer like that
Ha Ha!! £600..Would Not Go Amiss..lol
Bibao - I understand the business models for charter and tailor made as do most travel professionals. Unfortunatley the travelling public don't and this is the point I am trying to make. People see these fantastic deals that the charters offer and come into a tailor made agency like ours and have these expectations, that they can get a last minute deal for a ridiculously cheap amount and are shocked when they see the prices.
This is what I mean by effecting the market.
I dont know about anybody else, but this time of year is the worst for people trying to get a 'late deal'! I have lost count the amount of times I have had the same enquiry for people wanting to go away in a few days time! There is no availability!! And when I can find some its sooooo expensive!
Times really need to change!!
Dave where have you been hiding?
I agree its all for about the 9/10th sept and there is nothing at a good price it starting to annoy me lates!
Ha ha!! Natty - Ive had a few stressfull weeks off moving house!!
Coming back to a lot of late deals has not helped!!
ohh right poor you - am just getting stressed with all these people for lates!! haha
This has been coming for years, but for us the crunch happened last year not this. Maybe because we have changed over the years and do not compete on price.
As to the comments about ATOL and Insurance, ATOL is an insurance. Credit cards are next to useless I seen so many people loose money due to not being ATOL protected and counting on the credit card.
Examples would include a £40 per person Credit Card refund to cover new flights of over £200 cost; for the family over £1000. A refund of flights and no refund of hotel etc. Cost to family again over £1000 and so on and so on. Just look at the Ash cloud problems to see the real difference. The trouble with insurance is there is too many get outs.
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