Why it is sometimes cheaper to book online?

Probably part of the answer is shown above!

I am often asked why holidays we sell are sometimes cheaper to buy online. The answer is simple. The cost to run a website and call centre is much less than operating from a retail sales environment and better still, if you don’t need any advice or help from a travel expert, the costs are even less.

On average, it costs me £30 an hour to have a member of staff working on your behalf. We fully expect that each customer who chooses to try us will spend at least 60-90 minutes with us to find them the most suitable deal. We do this on the basis that we expect you to book with us and when you do, we are paid a commission of between 5 and 10% by the Tour Operator who have the right holiday for you. Our service costs you nothing.

(The £30 an hour by way is made up of all our overheads including rent, rates, electricity, staff wages and licences etc, divided by the hours our three branches are open).

However, we all love a bargain and with the internet making searching fun and exciting, people think or even assume that they no longer need a travel agent because it is cheaper to book on-line. And it should be cheaper to book online but after reading the reasons below, you may realise that using Andrew Earle’s, should save you time, money and hassle as well as taking all of the risk of booking on-line too.

If you are prepared to search long and hard enough online you may find what appears to be the best deal and you should make a saving because you have done the hard work and you don’t need us to search for you which is the hardest and most time consuming part of the job ( see our Price Promise ). In a similar way, you could choose to decorate your own home without the need for a decorator and you would save money because you save on the labour costs. You might make a mess of it and then get a decorator in, but if you do get it right you will save money. Booking your own arrangements carry a risk if something goes wrong and you have no one to help you, but you may still be happy to risk that.

If you do want to book what you have found on-line, a call centre will handle your booking and the total transaction time will be about 15 minutes because you have already found what you want. The cost of operating a call centre is much less than a high street retail unit as it does not matter where you are based. This reduces costs massively and the cost per hour for a member of staff is about £10 an hour. May be less if that call centre is in India – like Virgin Holidays Florida call centre is!

If I were to offer a call centre to book holidays that you have found on a website, and you were prepared to accept that you will never to speak to that person again, I could reduce the cost of handling your booking from £45 ( 90 minutes at £30 an hour ) to just £2.50 (15 minutes at £10 an hour ). An absolute bargain as I have cut out all but the very basic needs of booking your holiday.

So why don’t I just operate a website and a call centre?

Quite simply, I could but I think that we are better at finding what you want than you are! After all, on average you do it twice a year and we do it three times a day. And we have access to sites you don’t. And we will look after you from the minute you book to the minute you get home. But most importantly, we want to get you the best deal and ensure that you get value for money. We will sit down with you, search all the options for what you require and ensure your money and holiday is financially protected. All for free!

Now that is a bargain. And “Wouldn’t you rather book local” any way.

Andrew Earle
14th February 2010