US specialist Holiday Bookers ceases trading - TravelMole


US specialist Holiday Bookers ceases trading

Sunday, 02 Jun, 2006 0

Maidstone-based Holiday Bookers has become the latest casualty of the declining popularity of the US market and ceased trading with the loss of 20 jobs.

The firm, founded in 2003, specialised in tailor-made holidays to the US, with Florida accounting for around 50% of its business.

Owner Ian Brooks said: “Unfortunately, we’ve been forced to take this decision because the business is losing money and we can’t afford to carry on like that. We’ve tried retraining staff but it didn’t really work and this is the sensible decision.

“Obviously staff are upset about it, but I wouldn’t say it was a total shock. The Florida market has been really tough for a while now.”

Many operators, including First Choice, have recently reported a slump in bookings to Florida, as families look for an alternative to theme park holidays.

Brooks stressed that all staff at Holiday Bookers had been paid up until the end of May and all those who had made forward bookings with the company – around 1,000 holidaymakers – had been given alternative trips with another operator.

“We’ve made sure that there hasn’t been a call on the bond and people don’t have to claim their money back,” said Brooks. “We didn’t want them to be inconvenienced.”

Brooks, who sold Med Hotels to lastminute.com for £16 million in 2003, said he had put “quite a substantial amount of his own money” into Holiday Bookers.

The company first ran into difficulties last year and recruited industry veteran Roger Allard’s firm, International Rescue, to help restructure the business.

Brooks said he was now concentrating on his other ventures, online cruise retailer Ideal Cruising, and the operator Captivating Cuba.

Report by Jeremy Skidmore (www.jeremyskidmore.com)



Related News Stories:  



 



Most Read

Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene

Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee

Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail

Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats

Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence

Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy

Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida

Tricia Handley-Hughes of Inteletravel announces the location for the TravelQuest 2025 conference

Insights from James Ferrara on Inteletravel’s Growth and Future

Tricia Handley-Hughes on Inteletravel’s Growth and Challenges

Tony from Gatto’s Pizza on Columbus’s Unique Pizza Trail

Sophia Hyder Hock on Global Social Inclusion in Tourism
TRAINING & COMPETITION

Our emails to you has bounced travelmole.com Or You can change your email from your profile Setting Section

Your region selection will be saved in your cookie for future visits. Please enable your cookie for TravelMole.com so this dialog box will not come up again.

Price Based Country test mode enabled for testing United States (US). You should do tests on private browsing mode. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari

true