READERS’ LIVES YOUR STORIES
THIS WEEK: OLIVER HAMMERER
OWNER, GOCRUISE FRANCHISE, CURDRIDGE, SOUTHAMPTON
OLIVER’S SALES TIPS
TIP 1
TIP 2
Q&A
After years in the cruise business, Oliver, along with his wife Becky, became a GoCruise franchisee this summer. Last month, they spotted a gap in the market and set up a website to sell family-friendly cruises that sail during the school holidays
Q. Why did you set up
Schoolholidaycruises.co.uk as an offshoot from your main business? A. I have two little boys and we love cruise, and when I drop them at school people often ask me when the best time is to go on a cruise in the school holidays. So I put a list together of the most convenient school holiday cruises I could find, then people could see cruises which start and end in the school holidays. I like to find ones that leave from the UK and don’t involve flights, or include flights in the price and have kids’ clubs. I have cruises listed on the site until the start of 2017 and they include destinations, cruise line, dates, duration, prices and a link to a more detailed itinerary on our GoCruise website.
Q. The difference in holiday prices during term time and school holidays is a hot topic at the moment. Do you think term times should be staggered? A. I have no issue with the school terms as they are, especially as I have two children in different schools and would like to have the same term periods for them. But I don’t think prices should double during school holidays, making them too expensive or meaning parents decide to take their children out of school to go away. An example of the price difference for the same cruise to
the Caribbean for 14 nights is £1,200 at the start of December, £2,500-£3,200 during the Christmas holidays and £1,600 after the Christmas holidays.
Q. Why do you believe cruises suit the family market so well? A. You only unpack once and yet you go to lots of different destinations. There are shore excursions geared towards kids and you can expose your children to different cultures, destinations and educational experiences. It’s a great way for families to spend time together and there are good kids’ clubs that are
OLIVER’S CV
2015 to date: GoCruise franchisee, together with Becky Hammerer, Curdridge, Southampton
2014 to date: principal consultant, Hammerer Consulting, Curdridge
2012-14: manager, pre-sales, Carnival UK (Cunard Line and P&O Cruises), Southampton
2006-11: director, beverage and signature services, HAL, Seattle, US
1990-2006: various roles with Seabourn, Silversea and Regent
TIP 3
When setting up on your own, pick the business model that suits you best.
Decide what you are passionate about selling and focus on it.
The devil is in the detail: check the ship is family- friendly, the size of the cabin, and the side of the ship it is on – will they see the coast?
well-staffed. I believe cruises are one of the best-kept secrets in travel for the family market. You get one upfront price at the start, so you know how much you are spending, and it’s a safe and secure holiday. And you can get some good prices in the holidays! I have just booked a week’s cruise to the Mediterranean for a family for £800 per person including flights, food, entertainment and transfers.
Q. Which cruise lines stand out as particularly suitable for the family market? A. The two big UK cruise lines P&O Cruises and Cunard do a great job; they also have a lot of cruises out of the UK. Some people might not think of Cunard but they have fantastic kids’ clubs.
Q. How is
Schoolholidaycruises.co.uk doing so far? A. We are getting up to 100 visits to the site a day. It helps that the domain name is exactly what it does and that’s what people type into the search engine. I am working on some enquiries now but it takes time to complete a booking. I am very pleased with the response so far; I think it was the right thing to do.
Oliver and Becky’s sons James (left) and Samuel
Would you like to appear in Readers’ Lives? Tell us why! Email
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk 42
travelweekly.co.uk 5 November 2015
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80