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Bevan back with online discount holiday club
Tuesday, 14 May, 2010
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An online travel club offering discounted four and five-star holidays has been launched in the UK by former lastminute.com UK boss John Bevan.
Free to join Voyage Privé, founded in France in 2006, runs “flash sales” of travel offers for a period of five days to members.
It claims to provide discounts of up to 70% per cent on a range of luxury holidays.
Voyage Privé negotiates exclusive deals on a daily basis with selected tour operators and four and five-star hotels, making these available to members through flash sales.
Members are sent exclusive offers each week.
The company says it is able to negotiate such exclusive deals from travel industry partners because it has a defined membership group.
The company has 85,000 members in the UK and is expanding through word-of-mouth and strategic direct marketing.
The aim is to increase membership to 500,000 by the end of the year.
The UK team behind Voyage Privé includes: head of marketing Greg Olszowski (previously at International Travel Connections and First Choice), senior contracting managers Paul Conroy (formerly at JAC Travel and lastminute.com) and Ali Blackman (formerly Orbitz Worldwide and lastminute.com).
Bevan, UK managing director, said: “Voyage Privé caters for a growing number of people who want inspiration and great value when they are booking holidays.
“We know that most people visit numerous websites and spend hours online researching where to go. We cut through the clutter with our handpicked selection of luxury holidays.
“Our online travel club is the first to offer the flash sale model in the UK travel sector and represents an exciting new way of purchasing a holiday. Every Voyage Privé holiday offers a range of dates up to nine months in advance, giving plenty of choice to members who like to plan ahead.
“Because this is a closed user group we are able to negotiate great exclusive deals from travel industry partners such as tour operators and hotel groups. Not just anyone can click through to view the offers meaning that we’re able to get opaque offers which we can then broadcast to our members.
“This is a strong advantage to our travel partners as they’re able to be more flexible with pricing without risking price parity or their brand. It’s a very strong proposition for both the member and the travel partner.”
The availability of the offers is staggered and not all are open for the same five-day period. Members can choose to be reminded by email when its five-day sales period is open.
Olszowski says: “Most people join Voyage Privé through referrals from friends, and so the membership group tends to be of the same mindset.
“The typical Voyage Privé member is aged between 30 and 60, and a regular traveller who is comfortable buying online. The average spend is £850 per booking."
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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