How do we compete with online discount holiday companies that offer cheap prices to clients for the travel they buy?

If, at the end of the day, you are just looking for a cheap deal and don’t care how you get it, we are able to obtain discounts with the large online companies. We would be pleased to let you benefit from these discounted rates. Just let us know.

It is, however, worth considering the following points:

We spend a lot of time telling people about our dedication to providing a first class customer service and how we provide support before, during and after you travel. Our clients always comment on our excellent customer service and how we look after them.

For new clients who have never travelled with us before, they are keen to know that they are getting the best possible price.

We will always be competitive and offer Great Value for Money but what does this mean?

The cheap online holiday companies will use cheap hotels that are far outside the central location in order to make their prices cheaper. A similar trick is to use cheap flights that fly into airports located nowhere near the final destination. We have extensive knowledge of our destinations and we always use centrally located hotels and quote for the best flights available. Do you really want to pay £20 or £30 less and spend half your time with airport transfers and commuting to and from your hotel?

We are able to offer good quality hotels and other services at competitive prices. NOT cheap resorts with poor service. We treat you as an individual and not a number in the several hundred people travelling to the same destination. This is what Great Value for Money is all about.

How do we respond when customers say, “I can get that holiday cheaper online”?

We had a client send us a quote from a large online travel company asking if we could beat it. We looked at the flights she had opted for and the return flight home left at 7:30 am. We asked her if she would be happy leaving her hotel at 2:30 am to get to the airport. She had no idea how far away the airport was. We explained that it was nearly three hours away. She ended up booking with us and using a nearer airport. Our experience along with knowing the destination won over price.

“Many people don’t realise that when they think they have a cheap holiday bargain they very often don’t. Something has been compromised in order to achieve the “cheap” price. More often than not CHEAP equates with NASTY.”

Other tactics used by large online travel companies is to quote for hotels that are a considerable distance away from the central location. These hotels can cost half as much as a more centrally located hotel but do you really want to spend most of your holiday time commuting to the central location before you can begin to enjoy yourself?

“If you make it about price, it's about price. We make it about customisation, specialisation, connections and service. It's like saying I am shopping for a car. A car is a car – isn’t it?.”

“We recently had a client fall victim to an airline strike in Thailand. She was panicking, of course, so we did what we do: Dropped everything and made it right. She gets an extra day in Chiang Mai, covered by her travel insurance, and we get to make it a hiccup, not a nightmare, in her otherwise perfect trip. An automated holiday booking website won’t do that – they don’t care.

Having your own personal ‘fixer’ who answers the phone at 4 a.m. is worth every penny.