INSIDE THIS


WEEK Contents


NEWS Hot Stories


Cook sunbed trial splits travel opinions; Cook ‘needs Spanish hoteliers’ support’; ‘Action needed on gender pay gap’; Starkie leaves Althams after 61 years; Calls to give apprenticeships levy time


WIN!


Round-up Hays apprentices; Travel Weekly charity 08 P&O seeks trade support; Brighton rocks 10


A visit from Love Island’s stars and £500 worth of Celebrity Rewards points page 40


Special Report Travel Technology Europe 2018 preview 14 Face to Face: Ulla Hefel Böhler


16 Talk Back Sunbeds, PTR, P&O Cruises, diversity


NEWS YOU CAN USE Product Wendy Wu, Carnival Cruise Line 23


Operator Inspiring Journeys, Esprit Cruise Victory Cruise, Tauck, Emerald


24 28


Aviation Jet2, Carlisle airport, Ryanair 30


FRONTLINE Comment Miles Morgan: Cruises in Med 34 Readers’ Lives Martyn Allen, Hays Travel 36 Mystery Shopper Harrogate, N Yorkshire 44


DESTINATIONS


The US North Carolina: Bluegrass, BBQs and B&Bs 46 Denver: 48 Hours in the Colorado capital 54 Napa & Sonoma: Uncork the wine regions 58


COVER STAR Hays Travel’s Martyn Allen steers a sailing yacht in California


page 36 PHOTO: STEVE HOCKSTEIN


Short Breaks One-off Weekends: 10 of the Best Croatia: Done Dubrovnik? Try Korcula


BUSINESS


Round-up Lauda buys Niki; US shares fall 79 Back page Operators fight fake claims 80


64 69


WHAT


LUCY DID THISWEEK


Feb 1 1


2 3


19 04


A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Will sunbed trial take off? T


here is little doubt about the biggest travel story at the start of this week. Thomas Cook’s introduction of


bookable sunbeds in its own-brand hotels made national news headlines on TV, online and in print. It was not bad publicity for a trial in just three hotels that adds £22 to the cost of an entire holiday. Anyone planning a fortnight away might consider £1.57 a day a bargain. Much of the media coverage was tongue in cheek, with


footage of holidaymakers sprinting for pool loungers, pundits declaring the end of “towel wars” and the Daily Mail reporting Cook’s German customers will also be able to book sunbeds online under the headline ‘Zis means war’. Industry responses ranged from dismissing the move as a “publicity stunt” or “purely a commercial move” to suggesting it was not before time. How Cook will manage customers booking sunbeds they subsequently leave free when other clients want a place by the pool is unclear. But that is the point of a trial, after all. Cook’s intention to offer customers the option six


days before departure makes sense, although it cuts out agents. But retailers can still add value for their clients by explaining they will have the choice. Whether pre-booked sunbeds take off will depend on demand, and some would argue that Cook should have offered it as added value rather than as an additional money maker. Ultimately, if people pay, it will prove a good idea. If they don’t think it’s worth the money, Cook will quietly move on. Would I pay an extra £88 for sunbeds for


my family? Not to be in the sun. But if it was the way to ensure I could have a sunbed next to the pool to be able to see my kids, then I guess I probably would.


Lucy Huxley Editor-in-chief @Lucy_Huxley


Had the pleasure of sitting beside Princess Cruises brand ambassador Phillip Schofield at Carnival’s UK Cruise Awards. Lovely chap!


Had great meetings with a cruise line, a big group with lots of travel brands, and two consumer media outlets.


Was lucky enough to join industry colleagues on the Inspiretec ski trip in Andorra and the conditions were perfect!


1 February 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 3


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