Travel Rants in the Independent

By Darren Cronian on Saturday, March 24th, 2007

Yep, last week I was interviewed by Rob Griffin, about my thoughts on the price of holidays, and there are a few quotes in this article and also I am lead to believe in today’s Independent newspaper. Unfortunately, Rob has spelt my name wrong! [don’t worry you aren’t the first Rob!]

Prices charged depend on the destination chosen, the travel operator, the departure airport and flight times, explains Darren Cronin, editor of Travel-Rants.com. “Saying it’s all about supply and demand is a cop out,” he says. “They should be working with local authorities to make holidays more affordable.”

Much of this research can be done online, points out Cronin from Travel-Rants.com. “Spending a few hours comparing prices can save you hundreds of pounds,” he says. “It’s also worth considering independent travel agencies as they concentrate more on the customer.”

It’s true; everyone is famous for 15 seconds he-he

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22 responses to “Travel Rants in the Independent”

Debbie | 24 March, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Famous at last!

Karen Bryan | 24 March, 2007 at 8:39 pm

Yes Darren you are keeping a high profile in the industry!

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 10:25 pm

Thanks Karen,

its a great feeling knowing that people are reading and whilst not agreeing with me, let me have an opinion in places like the Independent. When I started I wanted to get my name and this blog in the media, and I seem to have achived that.

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 10:33 pm

Darren: I think your comment needs to be explained. How can travel companies (assuming they are the “they” in the quote) work with local authorities to drive down prices - if that’s what you meant?

klm, ed, travo

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 10:40 pm

Thanks for letting me expand on my comment Kev.

Basically travel companies should be working more with local authorities to help reduce the price of holidays during the school holidays, because parents have no choice - they either pay a fine or pay extra for the holiday.

Take Leeds as an example.

The local co-op travel agency has worked with the local education authority and has reduced 10% of their holidays for parents for kids in Leeds schools. This has helped parents, okay 10% is not an earth shattering discount, it’s a discount none the less.

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 10:41 pm

to add..

Do we want holidays to become only for those who can afford them? Depending where you take your child on holiday, couldn’t travelling have a positive effect on their education?

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 10:46 pm

I went to Bournemouth every year for a fortnight until I was 13 - didn’t damage my edukashon.

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 10:51 pm

“Local travel agency strikes discount deal with education authority”. Got a nice ring to it, but can you imagine some of the world’s biggest travel providers slashing their rates in order to help out parents. No, you cannot.

And in a world of globalised ownership of travel brands, locally coordinated deals with individual education authorities just isn’t going to happen.

Do you think the travel agency in Leeds launched this initiative to help out the local parents or did they do it claw back some custom into their bricks and mortar agency?

Just being the objective hack here…

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 10:53 pm

Haha! Yep, the first time I went abroad was at 21 to Benidorm, and I was brought up at Skegness Butlins, fun times had there.

Karen Bryan | 24 March, 2007 at 11:01 pm

I know people may snear at Butlins but when our sons were young they loved going there, great swimming pool, funfair rides, kids clubs etc included in the price. Kept the kids entertained so I could watch Wimbledon on TV in peace. Also because we lived in Scotland where the school holiday start at the end of June, if we came on holiday to England before the middle of July we could get some fantastic deals.

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 11:06 pm

Do you think the travel agency in Leeds launched this initiative to help out the local parents or did they do it claw back some custom into their bricks and mortar agency?

I’d like to think it offered the discount to help out local parents. I’m not gullible, and yes, your probably right that they probably are additional reasons for them to offer this discount.

Obviously, I am looking at this from a consumer perspective, and don’t have knowledge of the financial constraints that travel companies are up against in this competitive industry, but I am sure some of you will tell me

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 11:14 pm

Karen, I agree. My parents loved Butlins for that same reason, in that they could leave us and feel confident leaving us whilst they went for a walk and had sometime to themselves.

I’m not sure that parents can feel as confident leaving their kids nowadays, and your right it’s a type of holiday that has been sneered at by some. Don’t you think thats Butlins fault in some way though?

They have changed their image a little, and offer these adult weekend breaks, and moved away from the kid friendly holiday image, I think.

Karen Bryan | 24 March, 2007 at 11:15 pm

I think that if the Co-op get positive publicity and therefore more bookings because they offer a 10% discount to parents then it is a win-win situation. If parents get a cheaper holiday and the travel agency gets more customers booking through because they are seen as being socially responsible then the Co-op should be congratulated on this initiative.

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 11:18 pm

surely you are going “off-topic” now, D?

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 11:21 pm

Your right, let’s leave the Butlins topic til tomorrow, I feel another blog writing session coming on tonight.

Back on topic

Karen, I agree, and I am looking forward to Lee Harrison’s comments from Select World Travel, about this from an independent travel agents perspective.

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 11:23 pm

…and surely it’s about time someone mentioned the fact that many travel companies operate at a loss during term time, meaning that they can only put the pounds/dollars on the bottom line during the period when most people want to travel.

supply and demand. economics. market forces. often not very nice, but that’s the business…

Kevin May | 24 March, 2007 at 11:26 pm

perhaps you should get the agency in Leeds to write a guest blog for you, outlining how much they stand to lose by offering a 10% discount during the school holidays rather than charging the consumer the full price.

would be interesting to see some product comparisons.

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 11:35 pm

Kev,

Why more than a 50% increase though?

10-day self-catering trip for a family of four at Candia Park Village in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, would cost £1,244 during the first week of May, according to the website of Thomson Holidays. However, the exact same holiday more than doubled in price to £2,748 in the first week of August.

I don’t know how Thomson and other travel companies can justify such a large increase because more people travel during the school holidays.

Darren Cronian | 24 March, 2007 at 11:36 pm

I’ll try and find a contact and contact them next week. Your right it would be interesting to see the result of this discount.

Charles | 27 March, 2007 at 9:24 pm

Great achievement Darren.

Darren Cronian | 28 March, 2007 at 1:12 am

Thanks Charles

I’ve contacted co-op today, and they are going to get someone to call me back from HQ.

Will report back my findings.