The large tour operators have many thousands of employees working in a range of functions such as marketing, operations, sales, administration, IT, contracts and product development; they also employ significant numbers of representatives located on the spot in each resort to provide information and support to holidaymakers. Smaller tour operators employ a handful of people who perform a wide range of duties. Couriers or tour guides are usually engaged on a self-employed basis to accompany groups of holidaymakers on tours.
TUI Profiles
Tour operations Agencies Airlines
Thomson holidays Lunn Poly-750 outlets Thomson-31 aircraft
Budget travel (Ireland) The Travel House-60 Thomsonfly-4 aircraft
Freestyle Callers-Pegasus-32
Just Sibbald Travel-10 Cruise
Portland Direct Thomson cruises
Skytours Call centre brand
American holidays (Ireland) Lunn Poly Direct
Austravel Team Lincoin
Crystal holidays Thomson Direct
Headwater holidays Portland Direct
Impulse holidays Founders Club
Jetsave
Magic travel group Teletext/internet/digital TV
Simply travel Lunnpoly.com
Something special holidays Skydeals
Spanish harbour holidays Thomson Flights
Tropical places Budget Holidays
Villadeals.com
Tour operations Agencies Airlines
Airtours Holidays Going Places-623 outlets My Travel Airways-45 aircraft
Aspro Travelworld-55 My Travel Lite-4 aircraft
Bridge
Cresta Call centre brand Cruise
Direct Holidays Go Direct Sun cruises- four ships
Escapades Airtours Direct
Manos Going Places Direct
Panorama
Tradewinds Teletext/internet/digital TV
Going Places TV
LateEscapes.com
MyTravel.com
Tour operations Agencies Airlines
Thomas Cook Holidays Thomas Cook-616 outlets Thomas Cook
JMC Thomas Cook Travel Warehouse- 7 Airlines-24
Sunset
Neilson Call centre brand
Club 18-30 Thomas Cook Direct
Sunworld Ireland
Blue Sky Holidays Direct Teletext/internet/digital TV
Thomas Cook Signature Thomascook.com
Cultura Thomas Cook TV
Style Holidays
Tour operations Agencies
First Choice Holiday & Flights First Choice Travel Shops-335
First Choice Ski First Choice Holiday Hypermarkets-36
Citalia Hays Travel-23
Connoisseur
Crown Blue Line Call centre brand Airlines
Eclipse First Choice call centre First Choice Airways
Emerald Star First Choice Flights 32 aircraft
Exodus First4flights Cruise
Falcon Island Cruses-one ship
Vertical integration
Is when a company has control over other companies that are different levels in the chain of distribution. Some of the larger tour operators also own airlines, giving even greater control over the component parts of package holidays, e.g. Airtours plc owns Airtours international.
Vertical integration in the travel and tourism industry
Horizontal integration
Occurs when companies at the same level in the distribution chain, or in the same industry sector, merge voluntarily or are the subject of a takeover bid. For example, in the airline sector, British Airways is seeking to achieve its ambition of becoming the world’s biggest airline by mergers and take-overs with other tour operators, including American Airlines, Qantas and TAT, a French domestic airline. Horizontal integration is also common in the hotels sector, where companies such as Forte and Bass achieve economies of scale by controlling the operation and marketing of large numbers of individual hotels.
Different types of tour operators
Outbound
When travelling from the UK to an overseas destination. For example a group of young people travel from Milton Keynes for a holiday in Greece.
Inbound
When travelling from an overseas country. For example a businessman from France stays in Southampton.
They deal with tourists coming from overseas and handle their arrangements within the destination. They offer a range of services. They meet and greet at the airport/terminal, organise excursions and offer specialist services e.g. guides for Japanese tourists.
Domestic
When a person normally resident in a country, undertakes a journey for the purposes of tourism within the borders of that country. A person is considered to be a resident in a country, if the person: has lived for most of the past year in that country; or has lived in a country for a shorter period and intends to return within 12 months to live in that country.
For example a family from Birmingham taking a summer holiday on the Sussex coast.
Travel retailers hold a membership with trade associations such as ABTA.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) is the UK's Premier Trade Association for Tour Operators and Travel Agents. ABTA's 1052* tour operator and 6310* travel agency offices are responsible for the sale of some 85% of UK-sold holidays.
ABTA deals with around 60,000 enquiries per year on all travel-related subjects, from Foreign Office advice to requests for information about destinations and holidays.
COMPLAINING
ABTA provides assistance to you if you have a complaint against companies that carry their logo. The quality of the holidays and services provided by ABTA companies is crucial to the reputation of the industry - ABTA tour operators and travel agents are responsible for the sale of the vast majority of package holidays.
When you send a complaint to ABTA:
- They need to see all the documentation. This includes confirmation invoice, relevant parts of the brochure containing descriptions of the holiday, and copies of all relevant correspondence
- They will immediately make a record of your complaint
- They aim to reply to you within 7 working days and will give you an exclusive ABTA reference number
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They look for evidence of any breaches of their Code of Conduct and take appropriate action.
- They will deal directly and informally with you and the company
- They may be able to help you settle your dispute by bringing you and the company together. If this doesn’t work, they can offer the Independent Arbitration Scheme. This is a low-cost alternative to court action.
INDEPENDENT ARBITRATION
Key facts about the Independent Arbitration Scheme:
- The complaint must be about an ABTA regulated company
- Your arbitration application form must be sent to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within 9 months of the date your problem arose, or of the date of your return from holiday, whichever is the later.
- Applications can be made by post, online, or a combination. Before applying you must have your own exclusive ABTA reference number.
- Professional arbitrators who are members of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators handle claims. Like the courts system, the Scheme is entirely independent of ABTA.
- Your claim will be dealt with on the basis of the documents (including any video evidence) so there’s no need to attend a hearing or present any evidence in person. This means that some matters are not suited to this format. For example, serious illness or injury claims need expert medical evidence.
- In making a decision the arbitrator will look at what the law says as well as ABTA’s Code of Conduct.
- The objective of the arbitrator is to arrive at a conclusion that is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, looking at all the evidence presented by both parties.
- The award is issued in writing and gives a summary of the facts, the conclusions and reasons for reaching them. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding on you and the company, and is enforceable directly through the courts.
CODE OF CONDUCT
A Guide for Consumers
As a regulatory body, ABTA maintains a strict Code of Conduct. ABTA companies agree to be bound by the Code, which governs the relationship between you and a company, and also the company’s relationship with them.
The Code aims to ensure that you receive the best possible service from your ABTA Travel Agent and Tour Operator from before you book your travel arrangements, through the booking process and the after-sales service and information you get, to the way they handle any complaint you may have.
Benefits of being a member of ABTA
Benefits to Members (Travel Agents):
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Financial Protection: customers will be reassured and are therefore more likely to book with an ABTA member.
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Representation: ABTA will fight for the rights and interests of Travel Agents in the UK and EU parliaments.
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Arbitration: low cost independent arbitration, corporate insurance, reduced credit/debit card charges etc.
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Information: ABTA magazine, regional meetings.
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Annual Conference: open to all members.
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Training: ABTA offers training and certificates at various levels, in partnership with the TTC.
Benefits to customers:
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Financial Protection: if the travel agency goes out of business, ABTA will step in and pay any outstanding bills to make sure the customer gets their holiday or their money back. If they are abroad, then ABTA will make sure they get home.
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Regulate Industry: ABTA has codes of conduct for its members who should mean that they offer good service and conduct their business fairly and professionally.
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Training: customers should be dealing with knowledgeable and professional staff.
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Arbitration: in the event of a complaint about a Travel Agent or a Tour Operator, which cannot be resolved, ABTA will offer a low cost independent arbitration service in order to settle the dispute.
Federation of Tour Operators (FTO)
The vision from the Federation of Tour operators (FTO) is to ensure the continued long-term success of the air inclusive holiday by influencing governments and opinion formers on the benefits to consumers and other stakeholders of air inclusive holidays compared to other forms of holiday arrangements.
What does FTO do?
- They bring about change and improvement in all areas affecting overseas holidays, from the UK departure point, through the journey, to the accommodation and standards of safety, health and hygiene overseas
- The point of contact for government (UK, EU & destinations) on all UK outbound tour operating related issues
- They co-ordinate members' activities, and therefore the activity of the UK outbound travel industry in key areas of operational delivery – crisis handling, health & safety, sustainable tourism, operational issues, and establishing best practice standards
- Co-operation and co-ordination with other trade associations and interested parties to support the delivery of the short term & long term requirements of FTO's membership
- Lobby to ensure that the tax burden on holidaymakers is as low as possible
- Promotes the professional and positive image of the industry and the FTO membership in the UK and to overseas destination countries
- Provides public relations support, including acting as a spokesman for members where appropriate on issues affecting more than one member
- Currently acts as a regulator of financial protection on behalf of its membership in relation to their non ATOL business
- Represents its members at meetings of the International Federation of Tour Operators (IFTO), the European trade association for tour operators. And provides secretariat facilities for IFTO.
The impact that technology has had on tour operators
The growth of the Internet has increased the collection of information about travel and tourism products and services. There is an estimation of 30 to 100 million worldwide users, this makes the Internet an important part of the travel and tourism industry. Anybody can access information on travel destinations, transport, accommodation and attractions on the Internet; they can also make bookings direct with travel and tourism companies using secure credit card facilities.
Customers can also get up to date information on a wide range of services such as flight schedules, train timetables, compare costs of similar products and find information about holiday destinations.
Since the Internet has given customers the ability to plan and book their own travel there has been a decrease in business in travel agents, therefore there is a decrease in business for tour operators.
Advantages of the Internet:
- Gives travel agents the opportunity to have their own sites and greatly expands their contact.
- The Internet is an information and transaction source.
- The Internet can be used by anyone, therefore reaching a much larger audience.
Disadvantages of the Internet:
- Direct sales channels reduce distribution costs by having the consumer do the booking, therefore eliminating travel agency commission and computer reservation fees.
- The Internet produces too much information therefore customers will be put off.
- Customers sometimes question the privacy and security of the Internet, therefore will not purchase.
Travel agent
They sell a range of leisure and business travel products and services to outgoing, incoming and domestic tourists to meet their requirements. There are about 7,000 travel agencies in the UK, which are members of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
There are different types of travel agencies, which include multiple, independent, maniple, e-agent and holiday hypermarkets. Travel agents are the link between the customers and the tour operators, and other principals such as airlines and hotels. Customers go to travel agencies in order to buy a holiday and other travel services. Therefore travel agents advise customers, they suggest possible holidays, they answer questions and make bookings for the customers. It is the travel agents job to ensure that they are selling the right holiday or travel service to the right customer.
Travel agents also offer coach, flight, rail or ferry bookings, independent travel arrangements and specialist services for business travellers e.g. travel, car hire and accommodation. Some travel agencies may also provide their clients with ancillary products and services such as travel insurance, foreign currency and travellers cheques, arranging for passports and visas, booking airport parking and advice on health requirements.
Multiple Retail Company: These are large retail organisations that own in excess of 100 travel agencies and their travel shops network gives them the opportunity to achieve a national level of distribution. They are privately owned, typically by a group of directors or another company, and are likely to be public limited companies.
Multiple travel agencies are national companies with branches throughout the UK. Often they are part of a much larger, vertically integrated organisation, that owns several other different organisations and types of businesses e.g. the TUI Group owns Lunn Poly. Multiple Retail companies normally have a head office where central functions such as marketing, personnel, accounts, etc. will be located and, because they have a national network of branches, they will have a number of regional and area managers, each responsible for a number of branches in their allocated region or area. Each branch will also have its own manager and assistant/duty manager plus a number of travel consultants. An example of their structure is shown in the following diagram. They are usually located on the high street, as they have the financial strength to afford the higher rent prices. They mainly aim to provide leisure travel services to the mass market; therefore, they mainly sell package travel products, e.g. package holidays, cruises and cheap flights. However, they do offer other products such as specialist holidays.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Independent Retail Travel Agent: These are agencies of 1 to a maximum of 6 travel shops. They are privately owned, typically set up by 1 or 2 individuals with practical experience of the industry, who have entered into a limited partnership, or may be a family business. In all cases they are usually managed by the owners, who are actively involved with the business on a day-to-day basis, and are in direct contact with their staff, with which they work daily in the same environment. They aim to provide travel services to the population of specific locations and, therefore, focus on offering the range of services, which would appeal only to that particular catchments area. They are more likely that the large multiples, to offer a wider range of specialist travel services, e.g. special interest package holidays, such as wildlife tours, walking holidays, etc. They place particular emphasis on providing a personalized service and specialist advice to their customers, most of whom they will know personally and who are more than likely to be regular, repeat customers.
The offering of the independents tends, therefore, to be specialized and tailored to the needs of a small market segment. This enables them to compete more successfully with the large multiples, which tend to concentrate on mass-market travel services and methods.
Miniple Travel Agencies: These are agencies of more than 6 and up to 100 travel shops. They are privately owned, and may have started as a family business that has grown and expanded to cover an area of region of the country, e.g. Callers Pegasus.
They are usually medium-sized enterprises and the larger ones tend to have a management structure similar to that of the multiples but on a smaller scale, while the smaller ones of the maniples resemble the independents in many ways. Their branches tend to all be located in a particular part of the country, meeting a regional demand, e.g. Woodcock Travel, with branches mainly in Yorkshire. They aim to provide a range of travel services that are in demand primarily within their specific area or region. This is likely to include leisure travel services for the mass market as well as a range of specialist travel products and services. Maniples do not benefit from economies of scale to the same extent as the multiples, but they are able to build close ties and relationships, with business and leisure travellers in their area or region and to operate very successful business. Their success, however, often makes them the target of takeovers or mergers. They are often bought up by large multiples, e.g. Callers Pegasus being bought by Thomson.
The Guild of Business Travel Agents (GBTA)
GBTA began with six member companies in the late 1960s. Today it is made up of 35 of the largest and most influential travel organisations in the country including American Express, P&O Travel, Portman Travel and Bath Travel. At its recent Shanghai conference, a vote was taken to change its name by early 2005 to the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC).
Airlines and Airports
Airlines, and therefore airport play a vital role in the travel and tourism industry since they are both the start and end points and mode of travel of a large part of all leisure travel.
More than 235 airlines travel in and out of UK airports every year. Airlines are responsible for: check-in, hold baggage handling (from check-in through to delivery at final destination); cargo; provision and fuelling of the aircraft, boarding of passengers (including those with special needs); passenger’s safety and catering on board the aircraft.
There has been a rapid growth in one particular sector of the airline business, namely budget airlines or ‘no frills’ airlines, which sell direct to the public and offer a basic service at a very competitive price. Companies such as Easy jet, Go, Ryanair and Buzz are proving to be extremely popular with leisure and business travellers, posing a serious threat to the more established scheduled airlines. The ‘no frills’ airlines are at the cutting edge of electronic commerce, offering information and reservations on the Internet, thereby keeping their costs to a minimum.
Scheduled flights
They operate regularly according to published timetables or schedules, which are fixed in advance. Most international scheduled flights offer seats in two or three different classes, economy, business or club, and sometimes first class.
Charter flights
They operate by offering aircraft flights to and from destinations for particular purposes, for example, to carry holidaymakers to Spain. The charters are often tour operators who book blocks of seats or whole flights to transport their customers to their holiday destinations. Charter airlines are often operated by the major tour operators.
No-frills
EasyJet is a non-frills airline. EasyJet keeps costs low by eliminating the unnecessary costs and 'frills' which characterise 'traditional' airlines. This is done in a number of ways:
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Use of the Internet to reduce distribution costs easyJet was one of the first airlines to embrace the opportunity of the Internet when it sold its first seat online in April 1998. Now approximately 95 % of all seats are sold over the Internet, making easyJet one of Europe's biggest Internet retailers.
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Maximise the utilisation of the substantial assets Maximising utilisation of each aircraft significantly reduces the unit cost.
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Ticketless travel Passengers instead receive an email containing their travel details and booking reference when they book online. This helps to reduce significantly the cost of issuing, distributing, processing and reconciling millions of tickets each year.
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No free lunch Eliminating free catering on-board reduces cost and unnecessary bureaucracy and management. It is also an important differentiator between easyJet and other airlines and a potent reflection of their low-cost approach. Passengers can purchase food on-board and, ironically, they have won awards for their catering service. The concept of a 'simple service model' also reflects a more general point about eliminating other unnecessary, complex-to-manage and costly services, such as pre-assigned seats, interline connections with other airlines and cargo/freight carriage.
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Efficient use of airports easyJet flies to main destination airports throughout Europe, but gains efficiencies through rapid turnaround times, and progressive landing charges agreements with the airports. By reducing turnarounds to 30 minutes and below, easyJet can achieve extra rotations on the high-frequency routes, thereby maximising utilisation rates of its aircraft.
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Paperless operations Since its launch easyJet has simplified its working practices by embracing the concept of the paperless office. The management and administration of the company is undertaken entirely on IT systems which can be accessed through secure servers from anywhere in the world enabling huge flexibility in the running of the airline.
The Internet plays a vital part in the easy Jet business plan, and is critical to its ongoing success. As a low-cost operation, controlling the cost of doing business is crucial to the airline's ability to offer low fares. Because the Internet provides the most cost-effective distribution channel, easy Jet has aggressively pursued its strategy of encouraging passengers to book their seats online.
Two thirds of UK travellers, around 122 million, pass through seven airports in the UK- Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton- in the course of a year.
BAA’s UK airports statistics
Heathrow
Is the world’s busiest international airport, the world’s second busiest cargo airport and a hub for the world’s biggest industry- travel and tourism. When complete, Heathrow’s fifth terminal will increase capacity by 30 million passengers a year.
Gatwick
Is the busiest single runaway airport in the world, second largest airport in the UK and seventh busiest international airport in the world. It opened in 1958, and BAA plans to expand the airport to handle around 40 million passengers by 2008.
Stansted
Is London’s third international gateway-one of the fastest-growing airports in Europe and home to many of the UK’s low-cost airlines. The airport is currently handling over 14 million passengers with plans to grow to accommodate 25 million passengers by 2010.
Southampton
Is one of the most modern regional airports in Europe. It is the premier business airport for central southern England, with direct rail connections from London Waterloo, and boasts the shortest train to plane connection of any European airport.
Glasgow
Is the busiest of BAA’s Scottish airports and the sixth busiest international airport in the UK, with over 90,000 air transport movements a year. Opened in 1996, BAA took ownership in 1975 and has invested £200 million in the airport since 1989.
Edinburgh
Serves over 30 cities directly, with over 90% travelling on scheduled UK and European services. In the mid-70’s, BAA built both a new terminal and new runway at Edinburgh, but has recently invested £100 million in a terminal extension to upgrade facilities.
Aberdeen
Serves Europe’s oil capital and is the world’s busiest commercial heliport, with more than 36,000 rotary-wing movements a year. Flying from the airport started in 1935. Today it has one main runway, three helicopter runways and one main terminal building.
Map showing UK airports
It’s extensive worldwide network and world-class service makes British Airways (BA) one of the world’s leading airlines. With flights to 168 destinations in 75 countries BA offer great value for money.
Long-haul business customers can choose between four separate cabins:
First class: customers are treated to impeccable service and attention to detail at every stage of the journey. Before boarding customers can relax in the elegant sanctuary of the dedicated first lounge where they can enjoy a drink at the Champagne bar. In the spacious and peaceful cabin, crew provide a tailored service so customers can dine, work and sleep whenever they wish.
Club World: each seat has its own phone and laptop power, 18 channels of entertainment and flexible dining options, including pre-flights supper on selected flights. Club World also gives business travellers access to more than 190 lounges worldwide.
BA also offers travellers a great choice and service in its economy cabin. The airline is the only major international carrier to offer customer four different cabins. In 200, BA introduced its premier economy cabin, World Traveller Plus. With extra leg room and a wider seat, 12 kg hand-baggage allowance priority service.
British Midland International (BMI) is the second largest full-service schedule airline which operates over 2000 flights a week and holds one-in-seven of Heathrow’s landing slots. BMI now serves more than 35 destinations in 12 countries, and in 2003 carried over 6.5 million passengers.
Short-haul network
BMI has introduced nine new short-haul route including Aberdeen to Heathrow and Naples from Heathrow.
Business class
- Separate business cabin with spacious seating
- Priority check-in
- Lounge access
- Unique ‘food on the go’ in flight cabin dining
- Complimentary drinks and newspapers
Economy class
- Lounge access for full-fare Y-class passenger
- Pre-assigned seats
- Contemporary in-flight catering
- Complimentary drinks
Long-haul network
BMI has launched five fantastic long-haul route in 2004.
Business class
- Access to exclusive lounges offering complimentary drinks, snacks and business facilities
- Priority boarding
- A welcoming glass of champagne on board
- Wide, comfortable seats
- A fully qualified onboard chef
- Telephones, laptop power and dataports at each seat
- Each seat has an armrest mounted video screen
- Comfort kit
‘New economy’ class
- Separate cabin
- 38 inches of leg room
- A choice of international and modern cuisine
- Telephones, laptop power and dataports available at all seats
- Individual seat bask screens
- Complimentary newspapers and magazines
- Comfort kit
Economy class
- 32 inches of leg room, adjustable head rest, foot rest and lumbar support
- A choice of international and modern cuisine
- Individual seat back screens
- Comfort kit
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
IATA is one of the most dynamic and fastest-changing industries in the world. IATA brings together approximately 270 airlines, including the worlds largest. Flights by these airlines comprise more than 95% of all international schedules air traffic.
Since these airlines face a rapidly changing world, they must cooperate in order to offer a seamless service of the highest possible standard to passengers and cargo shippers. Much of that cooperation is expressed through IATA, whose mission is to ‘represent, lead and serve the airline industry’.
For consumers, IATA simplifies the travel and shipping process. IATA contributes to cheaper tickets and shipping costs. Individual passengers can make one call to reserve a ticket, pay in one currency and then use the ticket on several airlines in several countries or even return it for a cash refund.
IATA allows airlines to operate more efficiently. Airlines knit their individual networks into in to a world-wide system through IATA, despite differences in language, currencies, laws and national customs.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
The CAA was established by Parliament in 1972 and its principal responsibility is for the economic and safe regulations of British civil aircraft. British tour operators who sell package holidays which include flights are required to obtain from the CAA an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence or Air Travel Organisers Licensing (ATOL). Those who hold an ATOL are examined each year by the CAA to ensure that they are fit to continue to hold the licence.
The CAA is the UK’s independent aviation regulator, with all civil aviation regulatory functions integrated within single specialist body. There is no direct Government funding of the CAA’s work.
The impact that current issues has had on the industry
In recent years the strength of the pound against many other currencies has made it expensive to travel to the UK. The fact that Britain has remained outside the single currency (euro) has made it costly for Europeans in particular to visit.
Inbound tourism has been affected by September 11th, Foot and Mouth in 2001 and the Iraq War of 2003. Recent figures show that British tourism has weathered these storms.
While aftershock from September 11th touched nearly everyone and everything across the U.S. and beyond, no industry has been more affected than the travel and tourism industry. Images of commercial airplanes piercing Manhattan's skyline, horror stories of airport security, and accounts of nervous airline passengers subjected to a gauntlet of persistent check-in procedures upset the traveling public.
Despite increased security, travelers remain wary. Although a number of travel and tourism companies have reported a decrease in demand of 30% and more following the terrorist attacks, the long-term outlook for travel and tourism demand is expected to slowly brighten as consumer confidence about safety and security recover.
Accommodation
Hotel play a vital role on the travel and tourism industry since all virtually all leisure travel requires the provision of accommodation. Often referred to as ‘hospitality’, it includes all types of accommodation that people use for leisure and business tourism, plus the full range of catering outlets available to visitors, from restaurants to fast-food premises. The accommodation sector in the UK is dominated by commercial enterprises, providing a wide range of hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation. The main non-commercial suppliers of accommodation are the Youth Hostels Association, universities and colleges, and premises operated by religious groups.
Visitors to Britain and UK residents can choose to stay in a wide range of establishments, all of which can be classified as ‘accommodation’. There are city centre hotels, motels, farm guesthouses, country house hotels and self-catering cottages. UK accommodation can be classified in a number of ways, for example commercial or non-commercial, static or mobile, urban or rural. However , it is most commonly classified as either serviced or self-catering, depending on the level of service offered. As its name implies, the term ‘serviced accommodation’ is used when a service is provided along with an overnight stay, for example meals and housekeeping.
Serviced accommodations include:
- Hotels
- Motels
- Guesthouses
- Bed and breakfast establishments
- Youth hostels
- Farm guesthouses
Hotels are the most common type of serviced accommodation found in Britain. One type of serviced accommodation that has grown rapidly in recent years is the budget hotel sector, with brands such as Travelodge and Travel Inn.
Hilton is the proud flagship brand of Hilton Hotels Corporation and the most recognized name in the global lodging industry. Conrad Hilton purchased his first hotel in Cisco, Texas back in 1919. Since that time they have grown to over 500 hotels in cities all over the world. “Be My Guest” is still the gracious and warm way they want for their guests to feel at Hilton hotels and resorts.
Hilton fact sheet
Travel inn services include:
- Comfortable king size beds
- Good quality duvets and pillows
- En suite bathroom with bath and shower
- Remote control TV and radio alarm
- Tea and coffee facilities
- Heater control facility
- Spacious desk area should you need to work
- Smoking and non smoking rooms
- Cots available
- Adapted rooms for customers with disabilities
- 24 hour reception
Full breakfast for £6.95
Kids under 10 eat free
Self-catering or self-serviced accommodation includes:
- Cottages
- Villas and apartments
- Chalets and log cabins
- Camping and caravan sites
- Hired motor homes
- Second homes
- Timeshare
- Canal boats
- Educational institutions
- Camping barns
- Home ‘swaps’
Self-catering accommodation is usually cheaper than serviced accommodation because less is provided. Many people prefer self-catering as it gives them more scope to plan their days as they please. Holiday centres that combine self-catering accommodation with activities and entertainments on a single site are also popular.
They offer good quality, spacious bedrooms, comfortable surroundings and friendly service.
Bibliography
Ray Youell Vocational- A-level Travel and Tourism
Tourism and Hospitality in the 21st century A. Lockwood and S. Medlik
