CONFERENCE NEWS Holidaysplease Conference 2019: Juliet Dennis reports from Stratford upon Avon
Holidaysplease aims to double bed bank range
H
olidaysplease aims to double the number of hotels offered by its own online dynamic
packaging tour operation in the next few months as its core business reports strong growth. Te homeworking company
currently contracts “a few hundred” mainly luxury and long-haul properties, which can be booked by consumers direct via the Holidaysplease website or by its own agents as a standalone product or part of a package. It now plans to add bed banks,
and hopes to have 500-600 hotels available to book online by the end of this year. Speaking at the Holidaysplease
annual conference in Warwickshire, directors Charles Duncombe and Richard Dixon stressed that the
Our online business
is going to grow but it will not be to the detriment of our homeworker business
expansion of its inhouse operator’s product range was in line with overall growth and would not impact business through third-party suppliers. Duncombe said: “We use our
tour operation to fill product gaps, if homeworkers can’t get the price for the customer from our tour operator partners, for example. It’s a small part of our business and doesn’t impact our partnerships with operators. “We are not trying to reduce
the sales we do with our operator partners. We really value our partners.”
HEALTH ON TRACK: Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes urged Holidaysplease homeworkers to talk with others if they suffer mental health problems. Holmes won gold in the 800m and 1500m in Athens in 2004 but, unbeknown to the outside world, suffered from depression at the height of her success. She said: “I still suffer with mental health problems but I have just learnt to deal with it. The moment we share and talk about this we will be a happier nation, because someone can give you help and support.” Holmes (second left) is pictured with Holidaysplease’s Charles Duncombe and agents.
Sales of the online tour operation,
which has been running since 2008, have averaged around 300 bookings a year and an average sale is about £4,000. Dixon said further growth in
the group’s own online sales would also not have a negative impact on its homeworkers.
He added: “Our online business
is going to grow but it will not be to the detriment of our homeworker business. It’s not about changing the way we do business; it’s about supplementing it. “Consumers can also book our
tour operator product through live chat with our homeworkers.”
Group nears 100 homeworkers as agent earnings rocket by 21%
Holidaysplease is likely to pass the 100-homeworker mark in the next couple of months as it reported a 17% increase in bookings and 20% hike in revenues. Te figures, for the past 12
Richard Dixon
16 19 SEPTEMBER 2019
months compared with the previous year, were revealed at the homeworking group’s annual conference. Director Richard Dixon said
its agents’ average sale price had topped £5,000 for the first time. Enquiry numbers for the last
12 months compared with the previous 12 months were up 8%; the conversion rate of enquiries to bookings was up nine points; passenger numbers were up 18%; and homeworker earnings up 21%. Te group now has 97
homeworkers and is continuing to
target around 140 in total. Homeworkers were also told
they were geting closer to a target of £30 million in sales across the board for a rolling 12-month period – when reached, the group has pledged to take the whole company to Mauritius. Turnover for the past 12 months was £26.5 million and was predicted to hit £30 million by April next year.
travelweekly.co.uk
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