Carrentals.co.uk Reports Bumper Summer Season
Posted October 23, 2009 , comments closed) Car hire comparison site Carrentals.co.uk is reporting a 38% year on year increase in its summer bookings, (1 June 31st August), and a corresponding 72% increase in revenue, despite the difficult and unpredictable economic climate.
The company, which compares car hire deals from over 35 rental companies including Alamo, Budget, Holiday Autos and Sixt, says the biggest increases were seen in a number of European locations including Valencia, Cagliari, Gerona and Glasgow airports.
Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of www.carrentals.co.uksays: “Despite concerns over the tourism market at the start of the year, our strategy has seen our sales performance outstrip targets across the board. All of our target locations have delivered booking volumes significantly up on last year’s figures, showing the demand that still exists in the market.”
Carrentals.co.uk, a previous winner of the Travolution Awards, and nominated again this year, has continued to show major growth since it re-launched as a comparison site in 2007. It has achieved strong profit growth year-on-year in the last two years, and is on track for a record financial performance this year, which ends in Jan 2010.
Gareth adds: “I believe that our carefully-managed expansion plans, coupled with a dedicated and experienced team behind us is now showing real bottom-line benefits, and I am very encouraged by the upwards revision of our year end forecasts.”
Carrentals.co.uk’s top rental locations for summer 2009 include Alicante, Faro, Malaga, London, Majorca, Barcelona and Dublin.
“The site is successful because it works for both suppliers and customers,” adds Gareth. “Suppliers know they are getting a fair deal because of its cost-peracquisition (CPA) approach, meaning they only pay for an actual booking, while customers have grown to trust us for the low prices and range of rental companies we offer.
“The travel market is very competitive, meaning companies will only be successful if they offer an easy to use, effective and price sensitive service. We’re proud of the results we’ve achieved, but we know there’s still a lot more potential in the market so the coming year will be focused on building our service further and looking at new sectors where our approach can have an impact.”
About Carrentals.co.uk
www.carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading online car hire companies.
In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 35 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 9,000 locations.
Car Hire Suppliers searched include Alamo, Budget, EasyCar, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk technology quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.
The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.
In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk
Media Contact
Debbie Williams
Context
T: 01625 511966
F: 01625 511967
carrentals@contextpr.co.uk
www.contextpr.co.uk
Roadtrips Announces ‘Follow Your Team’ Soccer Packages as More Teams Qualify for the 2010 World Cup
Posted , comments closed) After a spectacular few days of qualifying football action, there are now 16 new countries that will make an appearance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, bringing the total count to 23 countries, with 9 spots remaining.
Between last weekend and Wednesday, teams like USA, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Chile and Argentina, played their hearts out in order to win their chance to perform at the most highly anticipated football tournament in the world.
Fans of these teams, and others, will be pleased to discover that renowned sports travel specialists Roadtrips, offers ‘Follow Your Team’ packages throughout the round robin at next year’s World Cup. Whether you’re a fan of team USA, or recent World Cup champions Italy, guarantee yourself a spot to cheer on your team in round robin action.
“After personally spending five months in South Africa, myself and Roadtrips are fully prepared to accommodate you at the 2010 World Cup,” said David Guenther, Roadtrips President. “We want our customers - who are enormously devoted football fans - to be able to follow their favorite team during all three round robin games, while also experiencing the beauty of the host country.”
Follow Your Team Package
The Roadtrips ‘Follow Your Team’ package includes:
- 13-night luxury accommodation at the finest hotels - like The Saxon Boutique Hotel and Spa in Johannesburg, or the Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town;
- Tickets to your chosen country’s three round robin matches;
- Hosted roundtrip transportation to each of your matches;
- And the option to customize your trip with safaris and day tours, which will only add to the South African experience, and the vacation of a lifetime.
For more information and rates on Roadtrips’ World Cup land packages and options - as well as our special $995.00 airfare offer, available until October 23, 2009 with this package - call a Roadtrips travel expert at 1-800-465-1765 or visit www.roadtrips.com.
For over 17 years, Roadtrips has been specializing in providing amazing travel experiences to the most exciting sporting events all over the world. From events like the Super Bowl, World Series, Winter Games, and 2010 World Cup of Soccer, Roadtrips takes pride in delivering amazing sports travel experiences for thousands of guests every year.
Feriarte Art Fair in Madrid with LateRooms.com
Posted , comments closed) LateRooms.com can reveal next month will see Madrid play host to its long-running annual art fair - Feriarte - which has been taking place in the city for more than 30 years.
Culture vultures who love a bargain may jump at the chance to take a look at the wide variety of different pieces on offer - including furniture, jewellery and objets d’art.
Feriarte takes place between November 21st and 29th 2009 at Parque Ferial Juan Carlos 1, meaning that it should not be difficult for people to head along to the event and see if anything takes their fancy.
The showcase is open between noon and 21:00 local time, so visitors have the option of attending during the middle of the day to soak up the atmosphere or later in the day when the stalls may be quieter.
Items from a huge array of different styles - including Art Deco and Art Nouveau, as well as more contemporary pieces - will be at the event. As such, there should be something to suit everyone staying in hoteles Madrid next month.
There is no charge to attend Feriarte, so even if visitors are not in the mood to purchase anything, they can still browse the wide range of stalls at the event.
LateRooms offer a variety of hoteles in Spain, in particular Madrid Hotels which is perfect for those heading to Feriarte.
Timeshare Owners Speak Out
Posted , comments closed) With the economy improving, albeit slowly, consumers are continuing to look for ways to stretch their vacation dollars. For budget-minded families, timeshare remains one of the best vacation values.
Four new high-quality videos released by Holiday Resales, one of the nation’s oldest and largest timeshare resellers, illustrate the real world convenience and value of timesharing, as well as the advantages of vacation ownership versus traditional hotel-based vacations. The “Timeshare vs. Hotels” videos average about 3 minutes in length and can be viewed at http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com/2009/timeshare-vs-hotels.
“We invited timeshare owners to talk to us about what they liked about their timeshares,” said Geoff Klein, Holiday’s Marketing Director. “In the videos, which were unscripted, the owners were quite enthusiastic about their experiences, and especially about the price point that timeshare resales provides.”
As over 4 million Americans already know, one of the most wallet-friendly vacation options is timesharing. But the vacation industry’s best-kept secret, timeshare resales, remains relatively unknown to most travelers. Timeshare resales typically sell for 60% to 80% below retail prices and require no high-pressure presentations to purchase. In fact, most resale timeshares can be purchased by consumers via the Internet.
Klein noted that, “Many of the buyers we interviewed stated that if it hadn’t been for the low resale prices and extra amenities that timeshare provides, such as kitchens and a larger living space, they wouldn’t have been able to vacation as much as a family.”
Studies conducted by the American Resort Development Association ( http://www.arda.com ) show that nearly 85% of the 4.3 million US timeshare owners are satisfied with their purchase. It is also clear that, as with other leisure lifestyle products, the more information consumers have before purchasing a timeshare, the more satisfied they are afterwards.
“Holiday has always placed a high value on educating buyers about the timeshare product,” Klein said. “We’ve sold more than 32,000 timeshares over the last 16 years, not just because of our low prices, but also because of our strong consumer approach, which is reflected in the fact that 25 percent of our business comes from repeat buyers.”
On the Web
Holiday “Timeshare vs. Hotels” Videos: http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com/2009/timeshare-vs-hotels
About Holiday Group
Headquartered in sunny Seattle, Holiday has been a leading timeshare resale marketer and consumer advocate since 1992, having earned its reputation by offering an innovative blend of customer service and consumer educational resources, including its well-received series of live Webinars ( http://www.holidaygroup.com/webinar ). Holiday is headquartered in sunny Seattle. Please visit http://www.holidaygroup.com for more information.
Contact:
Geoff Klein
(800) 597-9345
geoff@holidaygroup.com
www.cruise.co.uk Wins ‘Best Cruise Agent’ in Europe for the Second Consecutive Year
Posted , comments closed) www.cruise.co.uk is celebrating success once again at the European Travel Awards with its second consecutive win in the Specialist Cruise Agent Category.
The great and good of the European travel industry gathered on Saturday night at the Marriott Prais D’El Rey Resort, just north of Lisbon, Portugal to see the best of European travel vie for success across a number of different categories. The European Awards form part of the World Travel Awards, the most prestigious, comprehensive and sought after awards for the global travel and tourism industry. The awards celebrate excellence across customer service, innovation and creativity and are generally regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the global travel industry.
Commenting on the unique achievement, Seamus Conlon, Managing Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award for the second consecutive year. We feel this recognises our superior service, higher cruise discounts, and the vast amounts of cruise related information we have on www.cruise.co.uk; over 7000 past passenger photos and over 100,000 cruise related question and answers, the complete Berlitz Guide to Cruising, online and free for all to read.
“This award comes at time when the market for cruises continues to grow and we welcome the recognition by our customers, our peers and those who use our website to research their cruise holiday. Last year alone our site had over four million visits and is now the UK’s largest cruise website for people researching a cruise. This is great example of a British company now leading the new developing online cruise market.”
www.CRUISE.co.uk has ALSO been nominated for the World Cruise Travel Agent 2009 which will be held on 8 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, when World Awards will be announced.”