Three Trends the Luxury Travel Industry Should Keep Front of Mind to Prepare for Success

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In the first of our Founders Series, David Ox, Managing Director of luxury holiday company Winged Boots, discusses three trends of the travel industry you should keep in mind for success…

There’s no escaping the fact that the world is in a cost-of-living crisis, as challenging headwinds continue to affect many industries. The luxury travel sector has so far proven itself to be resilient; we’ve seen steady demand, but it’s important to be prepared for what comes next, especially after the unexpected events of the last few years.

With this in mind, it is more important than ever to understand and get ahead of the trends influencing the luxury travel market and consumers. Doing so will stand any luxury business in good stead to ride out potential challenges. Here are my predictions for three luxury travel trends businesses should be mindful of, to prepare for success over the Easter and summer months.

1) Accepting there will be unexpected changes and having the capacity to pivot quickly will be key:

There have been a number of hurdles for the travel industry, whether that be the travel chaos we saw last summer, climate disasters impacting holiday destinations or the cost-of-living crisis, just to name a few. It would be unrealistic to think it will be entirely smooth sailing – travel, and the luxury sector in particular, is an exciting industry to be in and unexpected challenges certainly keep you on your toes. But the key to being able to successfully navigate these hurdles is the ability to pivot quickly as a business. For example, the travel chaos we saw during the summer months last year led to an increased demand for long-haul travel.

At Winged Boots, we spotted this trend early and pivoted our portfolio quickly in order to meet this growing demand. As airports struggled with resources and capacity, we provided complimentary Fast Track to all Winged Boots clients for both existing and new bookings to ensure their holiday remained as seamless as possible. Similarly, following the pandemic, we spotted an increased desire for privacy and adapted our offering to meet this need. It is through accepting there will be changes and being able to pivot that luxury businesses will be able to weather the cost-of-living crisis.

2) The demand for wellness and mindfulness holidays will increase:

With the growing demands of everyday life and increased focus on mental health, holidaymakers increasingly want to switch off whilst abroad. This couldn’t be more relevant for the luxury travel sector, and this is a trend we will see continue to grow. Luxury clients will be increasingly interested in mindful holidays, whether that be yoga breaks or silent retreats and luxury travel businesses should look at how they can adapt their offerings to meet this growing demand.

3) The rise of the personal travel manager:

Taking a personal approach and maintaining trust with clients has always been critical in the luxury travel sector. At Winged Boots, we grew thanks to word of mouth and recommendations, and it is that bespoke, personal approach that helped maintain the business’ success. But with the constant challenges the industry and consumers have faced, the one-to-one approach with clients that personal travel managers provide is more important now than ever before and will continue to be. Luxury travel businesses need to be all the more conscious to take a bespoke, personal approach to each and every booking.

Ocean Holidays Win Big at The Travel Weekly Annual Globe Awards

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We are honoured to be the inaugural winners of ‘Employer of the Year’ at the Travel Weekly UK Globe Awards. This award is particularly special as this is our very first Globe Award.

When choosing Ocean Holidays as the winner of the award, Travel Weekly said, “The winner’s submission particularly impressed with an authentic approach to people, sustainability, D.E.I., and community. Judges felt this approach was underpinned by a strong commitment to honest and transparent communication which allowed staff at all levels to feel involved. They were also impressed by the way the company’s values flowed through to every decision taken, with an ongoing drive to ensure all employees were engaged and constantly encouraged and supported to do… and be… their best. And they commended the engagement of senior management, with a specialist team member driving company culture and working impressively with the chief executive to implement its strategy. Finally, the judges were impressed by our winners’ commitment to fair wages, with plans to increase starting salaries from next year to better attract and support staff.

Our Co-Founders Daniel Ox and George Hastings were on hand to pick up the award, where George said “It’s such a surprise to have won and this the first Globe Award we’ve received so it’s exciting. We have done a lot of work in the last two years finding out what our staff want and need and then worked to implement all of that so to have that recognised is amazing. He went on to say, “This award will be front and centre at our town hall next week and the staff is going to be buzzing – at the end of the day, this award is all about them.”

When told about the award, Ross Swallow, Trade Sales Consultant said, “It may have only been 6 months since I’ve been with the company, but it really makes me proud to see Ocean Holidays winning this especially as I wholeheartedly agree with it!”

This prestigious award would not have been received without Ocean Holidays’ Head of People, Karen Sheehan, who has played a crucial role in implementing several new initiatives to improve the lives of our colleagues in both the workplace and personally.

Co-Founder & Co-CEO Harry Hastings said, “I couldn’t be prouder of Karen Sheehan and the entire team at Ocean Holidays for winning the special award for Employer of the Year by Travel Weekly UK Globe Awards last night. We know we have so much more work to do to continue to improve the lives of our colleagues at Ocean Holidays.”

Our employees have always been at the heart of everything we do, and we attribute our success as the UK’s fastest-growing travel company in the last two years to this people-first approach. Whatever the future holds, it’s vital to us that we continue to listen and act on what our employees need to make them not only productive but happy too.

Redefining All Inclusive: How We’re Helping Disabled People Plan Stress Free Holidays

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• 51% of respondents with a disability said going on holiday was associated with stress, whilst 36% related it with frustration

• Negative experiences when booking or going on holiday have impacted 65% of disabled people’s attitudes towards travelling

• Nearly half (49%) of those surveyed have submitted an accessibility-related complaint, but for a fifth (21%) nothing was done about it

New research by Ocean Holidays has revealed the stress and uncertainty disabled people face when planning a holiday.

Over half (51%) of people with disabilities find holidays stressful and a third (36%) find them frustrating to plan and book. These negative experiences have impacted 65% of disabled people’s attitudes toward travelling, with 1 in 10 going as far as avoiding leisure travel, due to not being confident that their additional needs could be met.

The data highlights that the holiday stress for disabled people begins before they even depart, with nine in 10 (90%) experiencing problems when booking a trip. Difficulties during the booking process often include finding affordable and suitable accommodation (32%), lack of information on websites about support available (31%), staff’s lack of knowledge (26%) and hidden fees (25%).

The lack of help or facilities at the airport (33%), and simply getting to the airport in the first place (22%) were among the concerns disabled people felt towards travelling. Over 8 in 10 (81%) of disabled people stated they have experienced difficulties while travelling on holiday.

Almost half (49%) of all disabled people surveyed stated that they had made a complaint relating to accessibility whilst on holiday. For more than two in five (43%), nothing was actioned as a result of the complaint they raised.

As the UK’s fastest-growing travel company and Europe’s leading Florida holiday expert, we undertook the research needed to shed light on the issue. We also became a registered member of the global Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network and we have recently announced our new Accessibility Programme. Launched after twelve months of thorough research and development, the programme offers a service and resource hub dedicated to making holidays accessible for all, no matter the disability.

Following investment in rigorous staff training, customers can now book holidays knowing that every additional need is taken care of – whether at the airport or in resort – by staff with an unrivalled knowledge of accessible options in the Sunshine State, all at no extra cost. The programme takes a holistic approach, covering everything from mobility, visual and hearing impairment through to cognitive challenges with accessibility champions in all areas of the business.

The new Accessibility programme on our website is also designed to be a resource for disabled travellers and their families, with information on everything from accessible restaurants to wheelchair-friendly sightseeing options while abroad.

“These findings underline the opportunity the travel industry has to make travel a better experience for the one in five individuals with disabilities in the UK,” said Harry Hastings, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Holidays whose son Rudy has a rare genetic condition called MCAHS1.

“It’s great to see niche holiday operators serving the needs of so many but we also believe that it’s time that more mainstream travel companies step up with a more inclusive approach to supporting people with disabilities, and their families. As an industry, we have so much to do to vastly improve the holiday experience for people with disabilities. At Ocean Holidays, we are at the start of this journey, and we’ve taken steps to improve the experience across the board. We promise to do our best to provide people with disabilities the support they need to enjoy their dream holiday.”

Paul White, CEO, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower said “We are delighted that Ocean Holidays has become a member of the global Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network to ensure that travelling abroad is accessible for all. The launch of Ocean Holidays’ accessibility programme demonstrates how businesses are starting to take disabilities seriously by reviewing their current offerings and practices. As the findings in this research show there is still further to go for the wider travel industry to become fully inclusive for people with disabilities, but this is a positive step in the right direction.”

Research conducted in partnership with Opinion Matters
1,007 people who have a disability were surveyed – 02.09.2022-06.09.2022

How We Made It: Our world fell apart, but now we’re flying high again

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We’re proud to share this Sunday Times article, featuring our very own Co-CEOs and co-founders, about the trials and triumphs of Ocean Holidays.

The last Friday of October 2012 is forever etched in the memories of Harry Hastings and Daniel Ox, co chief executives of Essex-based Ocean Holidays. That’s not only because it was Ox’s son’s first birthday; it was also the day they discovered that the travel firm they had built up from scratch over the previous eight years was at risk of imminent collapse.

“We got the call that Friday to say the business had run out of cash,” said Hastings, now 39. “We spent the next 72 hours trying to figure out what on earth had happened. We discovered a hole of about £1.8 million in the end.”

It was a do-or-die moment, every entrepreneur’s worst nightmare. The four founders – Hastings and his brother George and Ox and his brother David – decided to try and save their floundering firm. With an emergency, insurance-backed loan from industry bonding body the Travel Trust Association, Ocean Holidays was able to continue trading while the two pairs of brothers feverishly worked on the rescue effort.

“We had seven days to write a business plan to show we could get out of where we were — to cut costs, sell assets, rebuild the business and pay off that special arrangement over a number of years,” says Ox, now 42. “Harry and I had a few very late nights doing that.”

The grim news didn’t quite come out of a clear blue sky — at the time, the firm’s finances were managed by an experienced older shareholder (who subsequently left the business) and the brothers had been concerned over a lack of financial information for a while. But the discovery of the extent of the cash shortfall was a huge shock. “We were very young when we started the business and none of us had really had proper jobs before that,” said Hastings. “Dan and I were university drop-outs. We were completely and utterly self-taught. We thought we were doing well — we didn’t know any better.”

In the end, 28 staff out of a total at the time of 85 had to be made redundant, and one of the company’s crown jewels — a successful online booking platform for travel agents called Beatthebrochure, which Ox had built himself — was hastily sold to a competitor to liberate some cash.

“It was so painful. We were in total chaos for about 12 weeks,” said Hastings. But it bought the founders time to get back on an even keel — and to realise the potential of a restructured Ocean Holidays based on two key markets. One was mid to long-haul holidays to destinations such as Florida and Dubai, and the other a bespoke travel agent, called Winged Boots, aimed at high-net-worth individuals.

“People ask why we didn’t just pack it in and start again,” said Hastings. “We had invested eight years in the business. We had thousands of customers who trusted our brands, and an incredible team working with us. Once we had built the business plan, we could see there was a tremendous opportunity right there, and we were really, really hungry for it.”

Another crisis hit in March 2020, of course, but one that was industry-wide rather than specific to Ocean Holidays – the pandemic. The company made a pre-tax loss in 2020 of £1.25 million as the world went into lockdown and travel ground to a halt. It did keep its call centres open, however, talking customers through their options and resulting in 85 per cent of them rebooking rather than claiming a refund.

After a couple of weeks, Ocean also bucked the trend by turning its online advertising back on and looking for business. “In April 2020, we started to sell holidays for beyond Easter 2021 up to 2024,” said Hastings. Few other companies were doing so, resulting in a flock of locked-down customers easing their frustrated wanderlust by booking a holiday a year or two hence. “In 2020, we ended up selling £40 million worth of holidays,” he adds.

Fast forward and the company is going strong. Ocean Holidays said its revenues were £78 million last year, when it was named the fastest-growing travel business in the UK by ATOL, the holiday protection scheme. It now has 200 staff and claims to be on track to generate revenues of almost £100 million this year, with earnings before debt interest, tax and non-cash items of “between £6 million and £7 million”, said Hastings.

The business has its roots in the 1990s, when the Ox brothers set up a business selling holidays to Dubai on Teletext, the TV-based forerunner of the internet whose pages looked like they had been drawn with Lego bricks. Daniel Ox was 19 at the time, enjoying life as a sometime DJ in Spain but not really going anywhere career-wise. “I had just dropped out of university and was messing around,” he said. “My dad was a bit of an entrepreneur — the family had fruit and veg stalls on Romford market for generations — and he said to me and my brother, ‘Why not start a travel company?’ ”

So with £30,000 from their parents, the pair set off, selling holidays to Dubai. When they decided to start doing US packages as well, they met the Hastings boys — then sales agents for a Florida villa specialist — and went into business together. “Somehow, my brother and I cobbled together 20 grand,” said Harry Hastings. “They sold the holidays and we processed the bookings, and we all got a cut.”

How does a company run by not one but two pairs of brothers manage to avoid a double dose of family squabbling in the boardroom? Each of the four owns an equal 25 per cent stake, and the business is structured so that they don’t tread on each other’s toes, Hastings explains. “We all have our own, very well-defined areas of responsibility. David is managing director of Winged Boots and George is managing director of [subsidiary company] Ocean Flights – on long-haul holidays, the vast majority of the cost is the flights. I’m the co-CEO who works closest with the finance director and head of people on product and commercial stuff, while Dan is the co-CEO of technology, operations, process and strategy.”

Now a few years older and hopefully wiser than back in 2012, when the money almost ran out, what tips would the founders give to others about to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey? “For me, I’d say double down on your strengths and accept your weaknesses,” said Ox. “Things move faster if you quickly accept what you can and can’t do.”

“Try to think long-term, even in a crisis,” added Hastings. “Making decisions based on fear is a really bad idea. One thing we discovered is that, when the thing you are most scared of happens, it can actually end up being the best thing for you. So be optimistic, but with rigour.”

Long Haul Holidays Set for Boom as Short Haul Continues to Suffer Further Disruption

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As Europe’s largest Florida travel specialist, and the UK’s fastest-growing travel business*, we are seeing demand for long-haul holidays skyrocket as consumers seek better value holidays with less risk of disruption:

· Further cancellations and disruption to short-haul forecast while long-haul flights continue to be prioritised by airports and airlines

· Carriers are looking to the horizon by investing in capacity and offering great value 2023 prices to destinations like Florida and New York

· Ocean Holidays on track for record-breaking summer with +170% growth vs 2019

Our US holiday bookings increased 25% following the lifting in June of pre-departure Covid test to the US as travellers took advantage of restriction-free travel, with the company experiencing growth of 170% for departures between 1 May and 31 October 2022 compared with the same period in 2019. That demand looks set to soar requirements as holidaymakers seek better value and greater reliability.

Customers eager to take trips this summer have been plagued by disruption as cancelled flights to Europe play havoc with travel plans which led the UK Government to intervene in an attempt to try and prevent further disruption. With airports and airlines continuing to struggle with recruitment, short-haul flights will continue to be the first flights to be cancelled or changed, predicts Ocean Holidays’ Managing Director, George Hastings, making long-haul not only a safer bet but better value too:

“Airlines are rightly recognising that their salvation lies in long-haul, which is where they are investing. We’re seeing the likes of BA and Virgin upgrading their fleet and unlocking significantly more capacity and better value flights to popular long-haul destinations like Florida and New York.”

“When faced with disruption, airlines will tend to prioritise long haul flights, meaning they are less susceptible to cancellation – less than 2% of our transatlantic bookings were cancelled in 2022. When you factor in the better value offered to many long-haul destinations, it’s a no brainer. Consumers are starting to realise that great value, hassle-free holidays lie beyond Europe. Our phone lines have never been busier.”

Long haul Florida holidays set for boom as short haul continues to suffer further disruption

This year, British Airways increased its capacity to Orlando by 50% and reduced its seat prices while United Airlines has increased its capacity by 40% between London and Newark – and have added capacity to their Premium Economy and Business Class products.

Ocean Holidays, with a stable that includes US specialist Ocean Florida and luxury travel management company Winged Boots, is also seeing a trend towards more luxury travel experiences, with consumers looking to spend more on the holidays they do go on. UK travellers spent £1,500 more this Easter than in 2019 and Winged Boots has experienced six record months in a row for luxury travel bookings.

Fortunately, Ocean Holidays is one of the rare travel success stories of the pandemic, as we retained 85% of our bookings and in 2020 took £40m of new bookings, resulting in the business doubling in size.

Our Essex-based company, which serves the whole of the UK, is set for a record-breaking summer with group revenue up from £22.4mil to £60.1m for departures between 1 May and 31 October compared with the same period in 2019 (representing +170% growth).

“Despite the cost-of-living crisis, we’re seeing holidaymakers continuing to prioritise their trips abroad. More than ever, customers are gravitating toward better value, more reliable flights” said Harry Hastings, co-CEO, Ocean Holidays, and brother to George.

“We’re seeing record-breaking demand for family holidays to Florida and as a result, we’re expanding our villa portfolio in Florida by over 150% by the end of 2022. The airlines are offering fantastic deals for 2023 and I’d encourage people to jump on those opportunities now and lock in their holidays for next year.”

Ocean Florida is currently offering 7 Nights Disney Area Executive Villa in Kissimmee from £629pp with flights, villa, ATOL and TTA Protection included as well as dedicated 24/7 Florida-based support teams.

*ATOL

U.S. Travel Industry Recognises Ocean Holidays as a Top International Tour Operator

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We are proud to have been recognised by the US travel industry as one of America’s best International Tour Operators.

On Monday 6th June 2022, the U.S. Travel Association and Brand USA honoured 51 of the world’s highest-producing tour operators and buyers of U.S. travel at its annual Chairman’s Circle Honors awards reception. Held at SeaWorld Orlando during the association’s 53rd annual IPW, this exclusive awards event—co-hosted by Brand USA—honoured international travel buyers for outstanding efforts to bring global travellers back to America.

Remarks thanking the select companies for boosting international inbound travel to the United States were delivered by U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow and Brand USA President and CEO Chris Thompson. They praised the work and partnership these organizations deliver to rebuilding inbound travel and tourism has never been more important following the challenges of the past two years.

The U.S. Travel Association’s Chairman’s Circle-level members, including top U.S. travel businesses and destinations, nominated the honourees.

“The work of our Chairman’s Circle honourees is vitally important to bringing visitors back to the United States and accelerating the recovery of the inbound travel sector,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “Their efforts extend well beyond the benefits realized by the U.S. tourism economy and include reuniting Americans with the world and re-establishing cultural ties that we have missed these last two years.”

“Consumer confidence is key to recovery, and tour operators and buyers play an incredibly important role in helping increase travellers’ ease in exploring new destinations,” said Brand USA President and CEO Chris Thompson. “This year’s Chairman’s Circle honourees are essential to helping people navigate the new travel landscape with their expertise and deep connections to those across the industry.

Co-CEO of Ocean Holidays, Harry Hastings, offered this response, “We are delighted to be recognised as one of the top international tour operators in the US in 2022. From closed borders to the return of holidays, it’s been a rollercoaster few years for everyone, not just our theme park enthusiasts. So as a family-run business, we couldn’t be prouder to have helped loved ones rediscover their favourite US destinations. And as the fastest-growing travel company in the UK, we hope to remain among this esteemed list of fellow honourees for many years to come.”

Best Companies Survey Upgrades Ocean Holidays from ‘One to Watch’ to ‘One Star Accreditation’

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Ocean Holidays is delighted to announce it has achieved ‘One Star’ status from Best Companies, improving on its previous accolade of being ‘One to Watch’ in 2021. Considering the difficulties the travel industry has faced since 2020, demonstrating year-on-year improvements in workplace engagement is an especially rewarding achievement. 

Scoring a total of 694.3 points, an increase of 35 points from 2021, and just 2.2 points away from reaching 2-star accreditation. We believe this breakthrough is a testament to us putting employees’ well-being at the heart of all we do, and we shall keep striving to incorporate their feedback into positive changes for the future.

Harry Hastings, Co-CEO of Ocean Holidays commented “We are extremely proud to have been upgraded to a One Star accreditation, and we’re thrilled our employees recognised the improvements we have implemented since 2021. To us, Best Companies is not just a survey but a springboard for honest and open discussions about how we can continue to place employee engagement at the forefront of our business.”

“As we emerge from the most challenging time in the history of the travel industry, we recognise there will be further difficulties ahead, but we take comfort in knowing our incredible team are behind us as we aspire to be the best company for both employees and customers alike.”

Beyond employee well-being, Ocean Holidays also scored highly with regards to giving back to the community, with 96% of staff agreeing that the company encourages charitable activities. To this end, for every survey completed we donated to our chosen charity of Haven House Children’s Hospice, raising £1,280. This is in in addition to the £47,000 that was raised for Haven House during 2021. 

For more information visit – Best Companies | Ocean Holidays Company Profile

Ocean Holidays appoints Angus Bond as Strategy Consultant

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ROMFORD, Friday 29 April 2022: Ocean Holidays, the long-haul holiday and luxury travel specialists, today announces the appointment of Angus Bond, ex-Virgin Holidays, as a Strategy Consultant on a contract basis. The existing leadership structure of Ocean Holidays remains unchanged, with Angus joining in a consultancy capacity, working closely with the rest of the team.

Angus previously held several diverse senior roles throughout an 18-year period at Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic, where he was responsible for various commercial, e-commerce and digital functions and for successfully transforming working practices and leading experts to work collaboratively as high performing teams.

In his new role at Ocean Holidays, Angus will be tasked with providing counsel and strategic recommendations across key areas of the business to drive future growth, namely across Product, Marketing, Tech, and Sales. He will support the business in evaluating further growth opportunities and distribution beyond its core offering, reporting into the co-CEOs.

Ocean Holidays, the largest Florida holiday specialist in Europe and the fastest growing travel business in the UK, recorded its busiest Easter period for bookings in its 19-year history. The business is now set to expand and diversify its product offering both through the trade and direct to consumer, with plans in place to grow existing sectors outside of Florida , including but not limited to California, New York, Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as Cruise and Stay. Similar to its Florida programme, holidays will be available as far as 36 months in advance with guaranteed pricing.

Harry Hastings, Co-chief Executive, Ocean Holidays, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Angus to the team. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and this appointment is evidence of our continued growth and success as the fastest growing travel company in the UK.”

“We’re focused on continuing on this growth trajectory and Angus’ consultancy will be invaluable as we continue to diversify the business to make travel experiences the best they can be for our employees, customers and partners.”

Commenting on his appointment, Angus Bond, Strategy Consultant, Ocean Holidays said: “It’s an exciting time to be joining Ocean Holidays with the brand poised for the next chapter in its growth story. The business showed its resilience during the pandemic, which is testament to its staff and culture the leadership have created here. I hope to broaden the existing expertise within the team, and support the business in its ambitions to further scale and diversify.”

DREAM JOB: Theme Park Tester shares top five insider tips.

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After 21 days and a packed itinerary, Ocean Florida’s Official Theme Park Tester, 27-year-old Alexandria Adamson from Glasgow has now returned home from her role to share her top five insider tips for exploring the exhilarating theme parks on offer in the sunshine state and crowns her favourite park…

Alexandria’s top five insider tips for exploring Orlando’s theme parks:

1. Get app ready

“Before you head to a park, check what apps you may need. Most of the parks have their own apps to help you navigate during your time there and make the most of it! You can find useful information like wait times and maps as well as the entertainment and food on offer.”

2. Remember there is more to parks than rides

“Although I love an adrenaline rush, there is so much more to the parks than just the rides! I would recommend taking the time to explore the parks and especially make time to try the food and drink, this will also help you to break up the day so you’re not just spending time queuing for rides – just because one ride has the longest line doesn’t mean it’s the best attraction in the park either!”

3. Book, book, book!

“As part of planning ahead, book reservations at the restaurants you’re keen to try. Theme parks can get crowded and busy, meaning it can be really difficult to secure a table at the best restaurants. If you’re eating on the go, make the most of mobile ordering if possible to save time for enjoying the attractions!”

4. Go resort hopping

“Although the parks are great, make sure you spend some time resort hopping if you can. Resorts offer something different to the parks and you can usually find some of the best bars and restaurants. My personal favourites on Disney Property are in the Disney resorts, Enchanted Rose at Grand Floridian, Jellyrolls at Boardwalk, and Trader Sam’s at Polynesian need to be on your list! The same can be said for Citywalk, I think the food and drink options available here are amongst the best in Universal Orlando Resort.”

5. Become a pro-planner

“I’ve mentioned the importance of planning ahead already but it is so important to pre-plan before you venture out to Florida, it can make or break your trip! Orlando tends to be in a ‘busy period’ for most of the year so the parks can be overwhelming at times, with so much to try the key is planning ahead. 

“Take note of what you want to do, book dining and check out any seasonal events which may affect or disrupt your plans. Preplanning and booking as much as possible before you even arrive will make your trip run smoother.”

Alexandria’s favourite park revealed

Sharing which park and attraction took the top spot for Alexandria during her role, she said: “After deliberating and looking back at my itinerary, my favourite two days of the trip were those spent at Universal Resort Orlando. I love the layout of the Universal Resort and the ability to jump between the two parks and their CityWalk area is a really unique offering compared to other theme parks in Florida.

“The experience of the resort is truly magical and immersive and I think this is best represented with Diagon Alley in Universal Studios which then flows into Hogsmeade and Hogwarts in Islands of Adventure with the help of the Hogwarts Express to join them together.

“My three favourite rides are Islands of Adventure – The Incredible Hulk coaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the brand new Jurassic World VelociCoaster. These are three unbelievable coasters with unique distinctions from one another and well-told narratives which only add to the magic. This makes Islands of Aventure one of my ultimate favourite parks for rollercoasters.”

“I would recommend visiting Islands of Adventure both in the day and at night if you have the chance because the rollercoasters offer totally different experiences depending on the time of day – and I always ask for either the front or back rows for an extra adrenaline boost!”

Harry Hastings, Co-Ceo at Ocean Florida comments: “We are delighted to have finally been able to send Alexandria over to Orlando to complete her role as our Official Theme Park Tester. It’s been great to see her daily updates and take a look at all of the activities she’s been getting up to during her role.

“For anyone looking to visit Orlando, definitely keep Alexandria’s review of the top parks and attractions in mind for the inside scoop!”

To find out more about Alexandria’s time in Orlando as Ocean Florida’s Official Theme Park Tester, visit: https://www.ocean-florida.co.uk/theme-park-tester/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

About Ocean Florida

https://www.ocean-florida.co.uk

Part of the Ocean Holidays group, Ocean Florida is the leading independent Florida travel specialist.

Ocean Holidays Group is a privately owned, family-run business founded in 2004 by two sets of brothers: Daniel and David Ox, and George and Harry Hastings, who are still very much active in the business today.

From its humble beginnings, Ocean Holidays Group has grown significantly year over year and according to the latest ATOL report, for 2022 Ocean Holidays is the largest growing travel group in the UK, when compared to pre-pandemic levels. The group consists of three unique and distinct travel brands:

·        Ocean Florida is Europe’s largest independent Florida travel specialist thanks to its proprietary CRM technology and offline customer acquisition model. Specialising in package holidays to Florida with a focus on villa rentals, Ocean Florida will send more than 45,000 passengers to Florida in 2022

·        Winged Boots is a personalised travel management company that specialises in worldwide luxury travel for leisure and business clients.

·        Ocean Beds is the largest worldwide provider of Florida vacation home rentals to the global travel trade.

With headquarters in Romford, and an office in Orlando, with 24/7 availability, just a few miles from Walt Disney World Florida, Ocean Holidays Group continues to innovate and evolve within the travel industry.

In 2018 the company was named the fourth fastest-growing travel company in the UK by BDO and won ‘Best Holiday Company to the USA’ by the British Travel Awards in 2018, 2019 and again in 2020.

Optimisation is the key for success for the travel industry

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GUEST POST: Travolution asked Daniel Ox, Co-chief Executive of Ocean Holidays, to discuss why Optimisation is the key to success.

As the travel sector continues its recovery, the industry continues to experience a period of transformative change. Business models are being adapted to be fit for purpose in the post-pandemic world and travel bosses are looking at ways to future-proof their businesses. 

However, there are some lessons I’ve learned over the years around best practise for operating a travel business which are still relevant in today’s environment, and which will stand the test of time. Ocean Holidays is now the fastest growing travel business in the UK and our desire to continually optimise, even the minutiae, has been pivotal to its success. Below are my top tips for optimising a travel business. 

  1. Do sweat the small stuff

I remember when I was 15, at the dinner table of a friend’s house, discussing with his parents what jobs we might be interested in when we left school or went on to university. His dad went on to explain his role as a consultant for Ford Motor Company. His job was to walk the factory floors and find ways in which he could optimise the manufacturing process. He explained that the smallest of changes to even a workers’ walking pattens on a production line could save the company hundreds of thousands per year by either saving overheads or increasing output.

Fast forward a few years and my day-to-day looks similar in many ways to my friend’s dad’s, just swapping out factory floors for call centres and the manufacturing process with the customer journey. When looking to optimise a travel business, even the smallest modification can make a huge difference – whether that’s related to online booking conversion, call generation, customer service, or any other aspect. 

2. Break down fundamental business processes into key stages

Optimisation comes in many forms across different areas of the business, but naturally we started our journey at the front-end website, constantly looking to generate more and more sales leads for our agents – and we did this very successfully. 

But with sales success comes operational burden, and so, as we matured, we started to apply the same A/B testing logic across other areas of the business. We broke down fundamental business processes into key stages, following the customer along their interactions with us, from start to finish. 

Breaking down each significant part of the business processes and overlaying these areas with data allows you to see where the biggest points of KPI influence are within the journey. It’s usually this point at which to identify opportunities to 2X, 5X or even 10X a company’s key KPIs in a very short period, dependant on the operational change or technological requirement.

An example of this is the quote process. By testing the response time of sales agents to customer enquiries, you will quickly conclude that responses sent in seconds, as opposed to just one hour later, can result in a 2X conversion outcome.

3. Set up a dedicated optimisation team 

Creating a dedicated optimisation team of an eclectic mix of stakeholders across the business from tech, marketing, operations, and sales, and bringing this group together on a regular basis, can really help to move the dial. 

The results of these meetings should be a mixture of operational change, technological development and policy making. The quicker these changes can be rolled out to test, the faster your metrics will increase. Of course, as your business scales, these optimisations have a more profound impact on margins.
Identifying optimisations can be very exciting, and very quickly you will have a long list of projects. But almost as important as identifying optimisation opportunities is the management of delivery to the business. The best way to do this is using a scoring methodology against each opportunity.

There are lots of methods used for scoring project management or technology timelines, I.C.E being a common and useful one; Impact; Confidence; and Ease. At Ocean Holidays we use a form of I.C.E, but also layer in further scores for: Sales Impact; Automation impact; Customer Experience Impact; and one of our newer scoring metrics, ESG Impact. By scoring each potential optimisation, it gives you confidence that you’re delivering the biggest outcomes in the shortest amount of time. A skilled project manager needs to be able to balance small impactful projects that may take days, against long-running projects that can take months or even years.

At Ocean Holidays we obsess over the continuous optimisation of the customer journey which I believe has played a major role in making us the fastest growing ATOL holder in the UK. I’m sure within your business there will be multiple optimisations that can 3X or even 10X your KPIs over time. It’s just a case of identifying them and planning the quickest route to delivery.