@ Darren, a tip for you or anyone else, ring an agent give them the details of what you want before you go and visit. Your experience goes to show what agents do, I taken 6 hours to put one quote together … this is where our experience comes in. The best computer is still the human brain.

Report this comment

You asked what frustrates me when booking online ? Actually it can be when websites try to be too clever. I was on a Tenerife website recently trying to look at a holiday to Los Gigantes. The search form had been set up to automatically look for flights to Tenerife North for that resort, the thing is there are no longer any flights to TFN so they weren’t able to offer me anything unless I booked the hotel only and flights seperately. As you say, ATOL protection is important so I went elsewhere. This is just a small example of one of the 2 problems – 1 is that Travel is very intricate, lots of different suppliers, different systems, various third parties. 2 is that Travel is very dynamic, everything changes.

Report this comment

@ Nick

Its an advert for using travel agents, but even then, from my US booking experience, I found that it was long winded when sat in the shop. It took up a good hour of my lunch time just to get one quote.

The agent was helpful, and if she didnt know the answer to a question she went and asked work colleagues.

I know I am internet savvy and I like to make things sound simple sometimes, but all I want to do is click on A,B,C hotel, book X flight, airport transfer and be protected by ABTA/ATOL in the same breath.

I can do that if I book my own hotel and flight but I’m buggared if the airline or hotel chain goes six feet under.

Report this comment

It depends on the holiday type also – multicentre flights would be far easier to present to a customer in a friendly manner than a multicentre holiday which includes transfers, flights, accommodation and excursions.

Impossible is not a word that is in my vocabulary It’s always possible, but it’s whether you do it for the sake of doing it or do it as close to properly as you can, to give the maximum benefits to the users.

Report this comment

However Darren you made an interesting point, travel agents can do it so why can’t you do it online? Basically at the moment it just to impossible to program we hear shouted….. Not true after all the 4th largest ATOL holder in the UK does it, I know we use there system all the time as a appointed expedia agent, we also work with other major ABTA/ATOL companies that do nothing but this… where the problem comes is how the travel industry grew… we use to have a weeks or fortnight holiday so travel company’s sent a flight to XYZ on a Sunday so people could do this. Now people want 10 days but the only flight is a Sunday..so can not be done, there just is not enough people wanting to go to XYZ for more flights.

Ahhh but you shout but to ABC I can go what ever the day of the week I want, that shows if you put on the flights people will go… well no…. XYZ has 300 passenger weekly arrivals… ABC has 3000 and that was before daily flights came in, all it shows is more people want to go to ABC.

Report this comment