Agents question formula about holiday savings

Travel agents have questioned a formula which claims to show holidaymakers how much money they will save from doing their own research rather than booking through an agent.

The formula, reported this week in the national consumer press, claims there is a relationship between the cost of a holiday, the amount a person earns and how much they will save on the holiday.

Devised by airport hotel website BookFHR.com, the formula is based on a survey of 2,000 Brits and says:

Hourly Wage x Number of Research Hours = Minimum Saving on a Holiday.

The company tells holidaymakers that if they are saving more per hour than they are earning at work it is best to take the time to carry out their own research and book independently of an agency.

For example, it says people booking a holiday of up to £200 spent an average of 3.5 hours researching their trip and saved just under £30, or £8.57 per hour, which is more than the minimum wage but below the average wage.

But for the 15% of Britons who booked holidays costing £2,500 and over, an average of 10 hours was spent on research to make an average saving of nearly £240, giving a saving of £24 per hour.

But the claims have been dismissed by trade bodies, who say the majority of the time agents don’t just help save time, but also get a better deal.

A spokesman for ABTA said ultimately the calculation is flawed because it assumes that we are all self-employed, but it also overlooks the fact that agents can often help save money, not just time.

"Using a travel agent saves people money not because they’re having to take half a day off work to book a holiday, but because the agent is in the best place to get them a good deal," he said.

Advantage managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said agreed.

"Travel agents have access to a plethora of content which in most cases is more comprehensive then you can find on some websites," she said.

"They are able to use their expertise to determine holiday combinations that can offer their customers a better price and the right holiday compared to online sites which simply use algorithms to present options for customers based on the data they have keyed in."

BookFHR.com director Graham Greenaway defended the formula, saying it was based on the assumption that users valued their time at the same rate they were willing to work for.

Responding to claims that agents can often get better deals, he said: "Perhaps it’s down to the perceptions of people responding that they believe they can get a better deal online. The research was based around whether people believed that they had made a saving by booking online, and if so how long they had spent doing so."

The survey also found that when it came to researching holidays, younger travellers were more likely to consult travel agents than the older generation.

While 36% of 16-24-year-olds sought advice from travel agents, either online or in person, this figure fell to just 19% of 55-year-olds and above.

Older holidaymakers were more likely to book over the phone – 16% of the 45-54-year-olds and 21% of the 55-year-olds, compared to 7% of 16-24-year-olds and 9% of 25-34-year-olds.

Overall, nearly half (48%) of the 2,000 people surveyed chose to book their holiday online, saying it was easier, much quicker, less stressful, and more flexible.

This compared to just over a quarter (28%) who said they use a travel agent, either online or in person, because of their expert knowledge, because it was an easier way of doing things, and to save money and time.