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Holiday Extras Group has made a strategic investment in Amsterdam-based airport transfer provider Transferz as part of a new long-term partnership. Holiday Extras will also be taking a board seat and working closely with the founding team to grow the Transferz business. The deal also boosts its own airport transfer product offering for Holiday Extras’ customers and B2B partners. The new strategic partnership sees the companies teaming up to offer airport transfers in more locations, backed by Holiday Extras’ money back Transfer Guarantee. Matthew Pack, Group CEO of Holiday Extras said: “We loved the business, the tech and the Transferz team. They share our sense of fun and purpose.” “Their fresh approach to transfers solves a bunch of customer problems through great tech and delivers a global supply chain we can truly rely on.” Simon Hagger, Chief Business Development Officer for Holiday Extras brokered the deal and said; “Our investment in Transferz signals how serious Holiday Extras is about delivering the very best products.“ Johan van Vulpen, CEO of Transferz added: “Transferz is delighted to bring Holiday Extras on board, not just as a key investor but as a major strategic growth partner. “

Travel ancillaries provider Holiday Extras has today called for the government to make a proper long-term plan for migrant accommodations. It comes as nearly a quarter of airport hotel rooms are still booked out indefinitely at some airports. This is making pre-flight stays for holidaymakers more expensive. It says over 10,000 rooms, or more than 24% of those normally available, are currently booked out indefinitely. The company says this current approach places unnecessary costs and pressures on the airport hotel sector. Matthew Pack, Holiday Extras CEO said, “Millions of UK holidaymakers every year need an airport hotel before they fly, either because they live a long way from the airport or are flying early in the morning.” “We can’t compete with government block-booking contracts, so we’re being crowded out of our core market.” Holiday Extras says it provides airport hotel stays for millions of customers. This short-term solution during the travel lockdown has lasted more than three years, Holiday Extras says. Airport hotels in the southeast are hardest hit with room shortages leading to big price rises. A budget hotel room at Gatwick is up 75% since 2019. Pack says this is ‘simply not sustainable.’ “The government needs to agree a proper long-term solution that is fair and humane.”

Holiday Extras is tapping AI to help customers pick the perfect theatre show. The AI-powered theatre show finder allows customers to work out what show they would be best suited to. This is generated by answering six simple questions about how they want to spend their evening. Theatregoers are presented with a personally-curated list of recommendations. The Show Finder searches more than 2,500 combinations of theatre tickets and hotels to package a theatre break. The tool also searches for the best price on tickets and pre-show dinner deals. Sean Hagger, MD said: "We realised there were so many shows this season, our customers were asking us for a hassle-free way to pick the one that was right for them.” “With a multitude of genres, we wanted to make it effortlessly fun to curate a personalised selection of shows.”

  Holiday Extras, the travel ancillary provider that promises to make every holiday extra special, has agreed a revised borrowing facility with long-term banking partner NatWest to facilitate its ambitious growth and acquisition plans.   A lending facility worth approximately £20m has been approved. NatWest has also stated it will explore the provision of further support to fund investment opportunities presented to them.   The Kent-based travel technology business, known as the market leader in airport parking, airport hotels, insurance and other holiday add-ons, celebrates its 40th birthday this year, and for most of those 40 years regarded its credit facility as part and parcel of the travel industry’s seasonality. During the travel lockdowns that started in 2020, that facility instead became a lifeline. But with travel booming since the spring of 2022, when the last UK travel restriction was lifted, Holiday Extras has rearranged the facility with its bank to power acquisitions and its ambitious plan to double the size of the business over five years.   CFO Hugo Loudon commented:   “Our last financial year was the most successful we’ve ever seen in our 40 years’ trading and given our plans to grow our business we decided that rather than simply closing the borrowing facility we no longer needed for seasonal cash flow, we’d keep it to acquire businesses that we believe support our growth strategy. The funding support of NatWest will enable us to power our growth plans and deliver the ambitious strategy we have in place.   “Holiday Extras operates in several areas including car parking, insurance, UK breaks and travel technology, so our new funding is likely to pursue growth and acquisition opportunities in one or more of these areas.”   Grahame Wells, NatWest’s Corporate Relationship Director, added:   “I’m delighted NatWest has been able to support HX over the last few years, which have been very challenging for the travel industry. Not only do we believe in the team and their unique vision, but we value the huge contribution our business customers make to their local communities and wider UK economy. NatWest highly values its banking relationship with Holiday Extras Group, and we are delighted to support their growth strategy including any potential M&A activity.”

 

• New tool uses AI to suggest best theatre picks
• Uses diverse range of genres to appeal to people of any age or demographic 
• Also finds the best hotels and pre-show dinner deals 
• Brief questionnaire removes the difficulty of choosing a show and makes it fun 

  Acknowledging that many theatregoers might not know whether they’d be more keen on ‘Six’ or ‘Les Mis’, Holiday Extras, today launches its AI-powered theatre show finder. The fun software allows you to work out if you’re better suited to defying gravity in ‘Wicked’ or making sure you’re in the room where it happened in ‘Hamilton’.   By answering six simple questions about how they want to spend their evening, theatregoers are presented with a personally-curated list of recommendations. Holiday Extras uses its 40 years’ experience of using technology to match people with the right break to find hidden gems and unique performances as well as all the most popular shows.   The Show Finder searches more than 2,500 combinations of theatre tickets and hotels to deliver the perfect solution. It’s a versatile tool that can be used to find the best price on tickets and theatre break pairings alike, allowing customers to take in a show with a nearby hotel or grab dinner before the curtain goes up.   Launching Monday July 24, Holiday Extras’ show picker is available at: https://www.holidayextras.com/uk-short-breaks/theatre-ai-recommender.html   Sean Hagger, Managing Director of Holiday Extras Shortbreaks said: “We realised there were so many shows this season, our customers were asking us for a hassle-free way to pick the one that was right for them. With a multitude of genres that appeal to diverse groups and ages, we wanted to make it effortlessly fun to curate a personalised selection of shows. With our expertise in travel technology and our experience matching extras to holidaymakers it was a simple step from there to building an AI show-picker, so anyone who wants to take in a show but isn’t sure which one’s for them now has a solution.”  

 

Beat the cost of living crisis and save on next year’s holiday with new Holiday Swap Index by Holiday Extras

  With the nation planning next year’s holidays to a backdrop of the falling pound and cost of living crisis, a new holiday destination index has been launched to help holidaymakers make their money go further and get more value out of their next big break.   Created by Holiday Extras, the UK market leader in holiday extras, the Holiday Swap Index shows alternatives to some of the most popular international destinations for UK holidaymakers. It follows research^[1] by the brand that found that 54% of travellers would spend more time researching destinations to make sure they were getting the most value out of every trip, and that half (49%) plan to swap to cheaper destinations.   Taking the exchange rate, flight time and climate into consideration, the index recommends like-for-like locations that will give sun-seekers everything they love in their summer escapes, in destinations where their money will go quite a bit further. The holiday swap suggestions include:  

•   Skiing: try Borovets (Bulgaria) or Białka Tatrzańska (Poland)

  While it’s not in the nature of skiing to come cheap, those hoping to hit the slopes could try Borovets in the Bulgarian Rila Mountains or hit the slopes in Poland’s Białka Tatrzańska.   In Bulgaria, prices are generally lower than that inside the Eurozone while the resort itself is set in stunning forest with red runs and above available to skiers.   With Poland also outside the Eurozone, prices are lower than in your more common skiing destination counties. Whizz Air, Ryanair and Easyjet fly direct in around 90 minutes, you could easily enjoy the slopes in Białka Tatrzańska, widely regarded as the beginner’s budget resort of choice.  

•   The Canaries or Balearics: try Senegal

  With TUI’s new route from London to Dakar, holidaymakers can be soaking up Senegal’s sunshine in just five hours – only an extra half hour from Tenerife or Gran Canaria. One of the safest countries for tourists in West Africa, package holidays to Senegal allow holidaymakers to enjoy the luxuries of their resort or explore a country that Lonely Planet calls "simultaneously exhilarating and tranquil".   Whilst package holidays are priced much as you’d expect, the West African currency – CFA Francs – is up against the pound and makes for an affordable exotic break.  

•   Italian city breaks: try Zadar in Croatia or Luxor in Egypt

  With Croatia not planning to move to the euro until January 2023, a late trip to Zadar will be cheaper than escaping to Italy. Zadar, a quieter, lesser-known Croat city than Dubrovnik, is just over two hours away and is a great budget friendly alternative.   If you’re willing to travel slightly further to get your fill of an ancient culture and see famous ruins, Egypt is the perfect switch destination. The impressive temples, reliable weather and the fact your money will go a lot further, will make the five-hour direct flight to Luxor more than worth it.   Base yourself at a Nile resort in Luxor and you will have a number of options to go and visit including the temples of the Valley of the Queens, the Karnak Temple Complex, or you could take a hot-air balloon over the Sahara Desert.   Seamus McCauley, Editor-in-Chief at Holiday Extras, explains:   “While the cost of living challenge is something that everyone will keep in mind when planning their holiday, the economic downturn hasn’t dented the country’s enthusiasm to get away – they will just be more diligent and considered with where they go.   “The Holiday Swap Index has been designed to help holidaymakers find viable alternatives to their usual holiday destination, where they can both explore a new setting and get better value for money – with us doing all the hard work for them.”