Ocean Holidays Group Hails the Trade as They Report Record-Breaking Peak Booking Period

Romford, 02 February 2023: Ocean Holidays has confirmed a record-breaking January with sales up more than 50% compared to 2020, the last peaks experienced prior to the pandemic.

Ocean Holidays group, the long-haul and luxury specialists, also reported that 20% of their January revenue came from trade distribution compared to 10% pre-pandemic. 

Harry Hastings, Co-Founder, and Co-CEO, of Ocean Holidays, said: “It’s incredible after such a turbulent few years to finally see, not only a return to normal, but a bumper peaks. This January has been a jolt of confidence the industry needed after so much uncertainty.” He continued “We are so grateful for the support from our relatively new trade partnerships of which we are so fortunate to be enjoying mutual success together.”

Following feedback from several listening groups with key trade partners, Ocean Holidays has adapted their trade programme to provide agents with best-in-market working practices and incentives to help them increase sales as we enter 2023. New initiatives include a market-leading incentive to earn up to £600 per booking and quick response times to all calls, with the operator reporting over 95% of calls from travel agents were answered in under 30 seconds. 

Hastings said, “As the largest independent specialist to Florida, we pride ourselves on our service levels and we are extremely proud that despite experiencing the largest ever volume of calls in our 20-year history we managed to answer over 95% of calls from travel agents in under 30 seconds.” 

As Ocean Holidays looks to expand its destination portfolio, the operator reported almost half of bookings in the last month included destinations outside of Florida, including the wider USA, as well as growth from Winged Boots to luxury hotspots such as UAE and Indian Ocean. 

This bumper January follows a fantastic start to the year as the operator was recently awarded the prestigious accolade of Employer of the Year at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards. 

On the award, Hastings said, “Our people are at the heart of everything we do and we believe that is reflected in our exceptional service levels we are able to offer both the trade and customers alike.” He continued “As a business, we are constantly listening to our staff so that we can continue to evolve with them and make this a place where all employees can thrive.”