Time for a new approach to selling UK holidays

Hugo Kimber, executive chairman of Malvern Group, parent to brands Super Break and LateRooms.com, explains why he believes it’s time for the UK holidays and short breaks market to get the recognition and focus it deserves, and for the industry to adopt a new approach.

"Traditionally, the vast majority of love and attention in the travel industry has been focused on people travelling overseas. Anyone looking to book a short break or holiday abroad will find a wealth of wonderful information and inspiration out there and be presented with a plethora of ways to book and plan their trips. But when it comes to UK travel the booking environment has been very poorly served.

Domestic travel often lacks dynamism and isn’t presented in an interesting way, failing to inspire consumers. As a result, most consumers overlook the UK and choose to holiday overseas. Of course, the fact that there is more money to be made selling overseas holidays is a key driver, but recently there’s been a positive shift towards domestic breaks. Diminished salaries and a weak pound mean more Britons are looking to explore what the UK has to offer and, crucially, they don’t just want to go to London, Edinburgh, York and Oxford. They want to be able to access and book everywhere in the UK. Based on bookings via LateRooms.com, we know there is a lot of demand.
There is so much to see and do here in the UK, but it’s a very disparate market that’s not been presented well to the consumer. It’s fine if you want to visit Buckingham Palace or Stonehenge, but not if you want to try axe throwing in Manchester. Events, attractions and activities are out there, but they’re not being presented in a cohesive way. As an industry, we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Since 2016, we’ve been looking closely at the UK market and carrying out research among our customers and our industry partners. We’ve held focus groups and have surveyed thousands of people and, as a result, we believe there needs to be a new approach. Customers told us they want to be able to see and book all aspects of a UK trip from one place, be it events, restaurants, hotels, trains, theatres, museums, attractions or other forms of entertainment. Rather than searching just by date and location, they want to be able to search by theme aligned to what they want to do on the trip, who they are going with, and the occasion. Those travelling with others also want to be able to share and compare ideas with their travel companions through social media.
We need to get to a point where consumers can plan and book every aspect of their trip, but can also be inspired and able to add elements both before and during their trip, all the while sharing their ideas and opinions to the benefit of the next set of travellers. It’s not about simply putting together a package to sell to the consumer, it’s about letting them plan and book their own trip whatever it includes from hotels, theatres and restaurants to axe throwing or making your own gin.

Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly expensive for travel companies to acquire customers, especially in the commodity only travel space, as we have seen from the recent trading statements of major players like Priceline and Expedia. Margins are already under pressure and the industry is soon set to feel the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into effect in May of this year. This will, I fear, have a negative impact on the use of existing customer databases and traditional campaign ROI.~In such a highly-commoditised space, the cost of acquisition has been rising since 2015, putting even greater emphasis on retaining and upselling to customers. The ongoing enquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority into hotel booking sites could bring further implications, although UK-based operations like LateRooms.com will be better placed to deal with any changes. Internal and external factors are creating a perfect storm and I believe a new approach is needed to steer us through.

Here at Malvern we’re taking a more integrated approach to help the industry reimagine UK travel for tomorrow. We’ve developed a booking and planning tool that will help create an open marketplace and will allow us to bring even the smallest suppliers into the mix. Phase one is in test now and due to launch very soon."