The Interview


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The group chief executive of the add-ons specialist explains how his ‘geeky’ know-how helped him rise to the top at the company


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WKURXJK WKH EXVLQHVV ũ1R IXQ QR SRLQW Ū Mathew Pack lives by this


message, emblazoned on his office wall, and hopes it fosters an enjoyable workplace for staff at the company that has “always been part of my life”. Holiday Extras was founded by


his father, Gerry Pack, in 1983 when, while working for Saga, he felt it was difficult for leisure travellers to book airport hotels. It was originally named Apple Booking Company. In 1989, the business signed


a deal with Chauntry reservation systems – a company it acquired in 2017 – and in 1994, appointed future managing director Steve Lawrence as marketing director. By 2000, when Holiday Extras


launched its first website, it already had a focus on data and analysis. “It’s all archived,” says Pack. “Every booking going back 20 years.”


12 14 NOVEMBER 2019


founded by his father. Ben Ireland reports Pack traces back his interest in


computers and data to when he was eight and his family bought an Apple Macintosh. He went on to study information systems technology at Cambridge Business School. “I used to be geeky,” he jokes. “I’ve


always been into computers. I still write [programming language] SQL. I’m still very interested in the architecture.”


(DUO\ GULYH It was this enthusiasm that helped him when he joined the company in 2005 with no job title. One of his tasks was to lead a team to build an agent booking portal. “I had nothing on my business


card,” he recalls, along with a fear that he’d be judged as being employed because his father was the boss. But he says this drive to prove his


appointment was not nepotism meant “I had to show I was there on merit. I can assure you that wasn’t easy.” His enthusiasm for technology


remains now that he is in the top job and is clear as he explains how HEHA, the recently rolled-out app


and ‘holiday assistant’, works. “Te idea is to make [bookings]


very simple,” he says. “Tat saves travel agents a large amount of time.” But it’s not just about speed. “We are trying to train the travel agent into becoming a super-user,” he adds, explaining this is by using data. “Seven out of 10 people book


the wrong thing, in our view, when they are leſt to their own devices,” he adds. For example: “A customer who lives in Kent may have booked a car park at Gatwick for an 8am flight. We can show them it’s beter to book a hotel and parking. Using HEHA, travel agents can become super-users and get the best products for their customers. By making it easier we


believe more agents will book extras.” HEHA works for direct customers


too. Data shows 25% of users book more than one product, compared with 6% via traditional channels. Pack hopes all 14 Holiday Extras products will be live on HEHA next year. It currently offers eight. Given that Lawrence, a mentor


to Pack who was group CEO when he joined, “leſt me to get on with the digital side of the business”, it gave Pack time to throw himself into macro technology projects. Success there led to a director role. Tere were four MDs, overseeing


short breaks, airports, and distribution in German and UK markets. As he moved from UK boss


The idea is to make [bookings] very simple. That saves travel agents a large amount of time. We are also trying to train the


travel agent into becoming a super-user travelweekly.co.uk


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