Everybody knows someone who has been on
one and an awful lot of people
have been on one themselves. Yes
we are talking about the age old
Package holiday. The safest, most
common holiday. Package holidays
have been around for years and
I am sure everyone will know someone
that has went to a travel agent
and booked a holiday through them.
Is the tide turning though? Have
people found a better way to enjoy
their holidays costing them a
fraction of travel agent prices?
Villa Holidays is now becoming
the main way to book a holiday.
For the first time since villa
holidays came on the scene more
holidaymakers are booking their
holiday direct with the owner
or through a website that offer
villa holidays than with a Travel
Agent.
Let us have a look at the Pros
and Cons of both types of holidays.
Firstly the Package Holiday.
Most people know this as the
safest way to book a holiday
because travel agents are ABTA
approved and feel more secure
booking holidays through a travel
agent. You do have the added
gusrentee that if anything is
wrong with the holiday you have
some governing body to complain
to and for that peace of mind
you pay a premium for this.
Travel Agents charge customers
per person for their holidays.
On the other hand if you were
to book a villa holiday then
you don't have the guarentee
of the governing body, you deal
directly with the person that
owns the property therefore
you cut out the middle man.
Instead of paying a per person
price for your holiday you pay
for the villa or apartment as
a whole no matter how many people
are travelling. Let's say for
example you were wanting to
go on holiday to Spain. A travel
agent could easily charge about
£300 per person for an apartment
in Cosat Blanca, if 4 people
are going on that holiday that
would cost £1200 and that is
including flights. Okay now
lets look at the pricing for
a similar apartment in Costa
Blanca. 2 weeks at the height
of the season in July or August
would cost £550 but that is
for the apartment, that is £137.5
per person, just for the accommodation.
The days of the internet are
upon us and even flight companies
are offering cheap flights to
their customers. An average
price of a flight to the Costa
Blanca is about £59 so the total
price of the holiday booked
direct with the villa owner
is £196.50 now the total cost
of the holiday for 4 people
is £786 saving you £414 that
is over £100 per person.
Now I hear you cry but you
have no guarentees! If you follow
a few simple steps you can have
the guarentees in writing. We
spoke with Peter Hartley the
Managing Director of Last Minute
Villa Holiday who said "
Villa Holidays are a boom at
the moment, people are wanting
to go on holiday and have more
money to spend when they are
on holiday. You can save a lot
of money by booking a villa
or apartment rather than booking
with a travel agent but I would
advise on following these simple
guidelines to make sure you
have the guarentees you are
looking for. Firstly always
speak to the villa owner by
telephone,it is better than
just talking by email, Before
you phone make sure you have
a list of questions written
down that you want answered.
If you do not feel comfortable
with the answers then you do
not book the villa or apartment.
Always make sure you get emailed
confirmation of the reservation
of the villa or apartment before
you send a deposit or the full
payment. If you are still feeling
unsure about booking with a
certain villa owner contact
the website you found it on
and speak to them directly.
Our Company LastMinuteVillaHoliday.co.uk
always ensure that our customers
are happy before they book the
accommodation. We can put them
in touch with the villa owner
directly or if they would rather
deal with a company we would
make the booking for them. In
Summary if they follow these
simple rules then they are assured
a great holiday."
So is it a Villa Holiday or
a Package Holiday this year.
I would always go for the one
that saved me the most money
and allowed me more money to
spend on Holiday.
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