[Travel] Thomas Cook

[Boroseagull]

So, so easy to blame BREXIT, but TC lost it when they bought up the MyTravel brand from downmarket Airtours in 2007. They changed tact and went for the cheap end instead of exploring the more distant, growing market of India, South America etc.

How would I know? Well Mrs BS worked for a specialist walking holiday company for years and several of the staff there were ex TC and to a man and woman they couldn't understand how it still traded! The borrowings were eye watering and the slim margins on package deals meant they could never be repaid.

Sorry BREXIT haters - but blame it on very poor management, particularly over the past dozen years.

 

[afcb]

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[Dave the OAP]

Maybe we are one of the problems, but we always found the Tomas Cook website a nightmare to navigate and book, so we didn’t bother.

Most importantly though was that two years ago, we were told in the press etc that Thomas cook were having financial issues. At that point, we took the decision never to book with them as we could not guarantee our holidays. That was an issue then and it has been an issue since with many people we talked to on holiday not risking Thomas Cook. As sad as it is, if the general public lose confidence then that spells the end for a company.

You can blame brexit or the collapse of sterling or people’s attitudes changing to package holidays over self booked holidays, but this was not wholly unexpected.

We have booked and used TUI - Thomson ( German Company) for the last few years and will continue to do so. Excellent product!

 

[Bry Nylon]

If you book the hotel direct they offer you a loyalty card giving 10% off but you have to fill in boxes and the catcha thing to prove you're not a robot

Bit unfair on robots looking to get away from it all for a bit.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Bit unfair on robots looking to get away from it all for a bit.

I found one up in the mountains West of Colter a couple of weeks ago. Proper sad he was too.

 

[Stat Brother]

Sorry KG, but that whole travel agent/holiday rep thing really doesn't do it for me.

Part of the fun of the holiday is not knowing anything about the place you're going and finding out as you go along. We tend to get a flight, hire a car and then get lost trying to find the villa or apartment. (Definitely don't take a Sat Nav, that's no fun).

Then trying to communicate with the person you've hired the villa from. (A lot speak English, but a couple of months ago we were trying our best with our extremely limited German talking to a Croatian woman, who I suspect spoke less German than us !).

Go into the local town and wander or drive round trying to find the Market, beaches, restaurants, all part of the Holiday.

Luckily, we have never been caught out by the lack of ABTA booking separately, and I do recognise that is important for some

After a couple of holidays in France, Le Famille du Stat went to Menorca.

Pa Stat is on his hols.
It's great weather.
The food is excellent.
Everyone else is a foreigner.
Ergo:-

I'm in France.


By the end of the week I must have been well known around our village:-

'Here he comes, that lunatic Englishman who insists on speaking very bad French to us Spaniards - just humour him'.

 

[LlcoolJ]

My daughter works at Gatwick and say loads of Thomas Cook staff are hanging around not knowing what to do, said its really sad.

Their holidays to Cuba were excellent value, we did one earlier this year but a technical fault on one of their planes and a delay meant we got over a grand back in compensation.(50% of the holiday price) Back then staff in Cuba (locals) were worried about their jobs. Its been coming for a long time.

They were ridiculous value (we went last year). To the point where I couldn't see how they could do it. Clearly they couldn't......

 

[theonlymikey]

So, so easy to blame BREXIT, but TC lost it when they bought up the MyTravel brand from downmarket Airtours in 2007. They changed tact and went for the cheap end instead of exploring the more distant, growing market of India, South America etc.

How would I know? Well Mrs BS worked for a specialist walking holiday company for years and several of the staff there were ex TC and to a man and woman they couldn't understand how it still traded! The borrowings were eye watering and the slim margins on package deals meant they could never be repaid.

Sorry BREXIT haters - but blame it on very poor management, particularly over the past dozen years.

Sorry my fellow Boro friend, but I've already explained on the Brexit thread how/why Brexit is partly to blame.

Mismanagement is a factor yes, but debt can be managed based on futures. People booking less holidays for the sake not wanting to suck up the additional cost of spending money and hotel prices blows a hole in any debt management plans.

 

[Boroseagull]

Sorry my fellow Boro friend, but I've already explained on the Brexit thread how/why Brexit is partly to blame.

Mismanagement is a factor yes, but debt can be managed based on futures. People booking less holidays for the sake not wanting to suck up the additional cost of spending money and hotel prices blows a hole in any debt management plans.

I'm also sorry, sorry for all those people who will lose their jobs, but TC couldn't service their debts back in 2007 - don't think the word Brexit existed then. Sure the situation has worsened since 2016 (don't I know that!) but all it's done is to hasten the ending.

 

[Chinman3000]

Package holidays are surely dead. Why pay a premium when SkyScanner & Trivago are so easy to use?

 

[West Upper Seagull]

Maybe we are one of the problems, but we always found the Tomas Cook website a nightmare to navigate and book, so we didn’t bother.

Most importantly though was that two years ago, we were told in the press etc that Thomas cook were having financial issues. At that point, we took the decision never to book with them as we could not guarantee our holidays. That was an issue then and it has been an issue since with many people we talked to on holiday not risking Thomas Cook. As sad as it is, if the general public lose confidence then that spells the end for a company.

You can blame brexit or the collapse of sterling or people’s attitudes changing to package holidays over self booked holidays, but this was not wholly unexpected.

We have booked and used TUI - Thomson ( German Company) for the last few years and will continue to do so. Excellent product!

Totally the same here. I hated the TC website so stopped using it and as a company they never came close to TUI. I have only booked through TUI / First Choice for the last few years. Their all inclusive resorts i’ve been to have proven excellent.

 

[schmunk]

Their holidays to Cuba were excellent value,

Sadly you won't get to Havan'other one...

 

[Springal]

Package holidays are surely dead. Why pay a premium when SkyScanner & Trivago are so easy to use?

Are package holidays a premium? My parents use them for 50% of their trips and one example was Montenegro recently - they paid significantly less for the same trip, booked at a similar time than a friend who booked it separately (same hotel, flight etc)

 

[Napper]

21,000 jobs gone

Feel for them more than those stuck in lovely hot countries not working

 

[Knocky's Nose]

Package holidays are surely dead. Why pay a premium when SkyScanner & Trivago are so easy to use?

To a degree, you're right. There will always be the lazy and/or computer illiterate who need their hands holding, plus the elderly who are simply used to doing it this way but that market has shrunk beyond measure as these people have drifted off (to the great holiday resort in the sky) and/or become computer literate.

Many factors at play here, but the biggest one is that times have changed. People travel in different ways, airlines and hotel chains have loyalty programmes and special offers, and there are online companies who can plan your trips for you. The bricks and mortar locations are always hamstrung by overheads.

As for airlines, a friend of mine was very high up at SAA and is now at Qatar - and he has told me many times that the operating profit percentages are stupidly low. We're talking low single digit - and many airlines actually run at a loss, especially the Middle Eastern ones....

So - faced with an airline that makes very little, shops and staff draining the balance sheet, a bombardment from the competition, and huge debts to service - what was the option?

One poster here said about the TC staff wandering round the airport, not knowing what to do. That really makes me so sad. I know it's happened a million times to a million people but when what is frankly an 'institution' goes down, it's horrible.

Life goes on.

 

[Questions]

As a resident of Peterborough, spare a thought for all those people based here who will wake up unemployed.

Yes... and unemployed IN PETERBOROUGH

 

[Questions]

Every cloud though and all that if all 600 branches do close. More room for Artisan coffee bars, tattoo parlours and charity shops

 

[beorhthelm]

So, so easy to blame BREXIT, but TC lost it when they bought up the MyTravel brand from downmarket Airtours in 2007. They changed tact and went for the cheap end instead of exploring the more distant, growing market of India, South America etc.

How would I know? Well Mrs BS worked for a specialist walking holiday company for years and several of the staff there were ex TC and to a man and woman they couldn't understand how it still traded! The borrowings were eye watering and the slim margins on package deals meant they could never be repaid.

Sorry BREXIT haters - but blame it on very poor management, particularly over the past dozen years.

yep, a >£1bn write down has destroyed their balance sheet, thats where the core problem is.

 

[Postman Pat]

Thomas Cook passengers will be able to claim back against EU Package Travel Directive (2015/2302/EU) which protects European travelers for cancellation, repatriation and refunds, alongside that and EU Regulation 261/2004, for delayed flights, will be interesting to see which of these regulations are retained if we do leave the EU.

 

[LlcoolJ]

To a degree, you're right. There will always be the lazy and/or computer illiterate who need their hands holding, plus the elderly who are simply used to doing it this way but that market has shrunk beyond measure as these people have drifted off (to the great holiday resort in the sky) and/or become computer literate.

It's an interesting one. For years I've always searched every way of doing a holiday to find the best deal. Yes, it's often better to use a "flights+hotel etc" site or do it separately, but there are also occasions where the best deals are still package deals. I spend hours researching stuff and so far have always found a great deal and not had a bad holiday.

But as mentioned above, some of the deals that TC were offering were quite ridiculous. People moaning about the website and saying "just use TUI instead" are ignoring the fact that (e.g.) we had basically the same holiday to Cuba two years running (different area and resort but same standard) and having traveled with TUI two years ago, last year we paid HALF as much with TC. The only noticeable difference being that we flew on a TC cattle wagon instead of a nice Dreamliner. Half the price of TUI, and WAY cheaper than any other way of doing a similar trip.

As I said, we wondered at the time how they could afford to offer such deals (there were plenty similar on their site).......