Cheap Exotic Vacations

Anyone know how I could set up my own package holiday company?

I currently own a hotel reservations website, advertising is expensive and so far it hasn't made a lot of money, even though it's existed for a while. I also own a web design company, thus showing my business experience...but now I would like to set up a package holiday company...a challenge I would enjoy! ..Does anyone know how they work? How they communicate with hotels and how they actually work internally? ...Any help would do! :O)

Public Comments

1. Putting package holidays together is the easy bit. The business model is that you buy the accommodation in bulk, you charter the aircraft (or initially block book on someone-else's charter) and you book the transfers. You can find all of this on the net, although if you know the local language and haggle face to face you might get a cheaper quote. You then sell individual holidays to Joe Public at whatever price the market will stand. As with any business, the hard bit is identifying and communicating with your market. There are a lot of people in this business and if you don't want to finish up being squeezed out by the big boys (as if they'd ever dream of doing such a thing!) you need to find a niche market. You've also got to get the overheads right - insurance, ABTA ATOL etc. Hint - if you do an exclusive deal with an insurance company to flog their travel insurance, they'll give you a discount on PI cover.