We operate as Group Golf Travel Experts. We have a very simple way of operating. Most golf travel operators work on a percentage mark up – whatever the cost price of your preferred package is plus a percentage mark up. For example – a holiday for a group of 8 golfers might cost the operator say £5,000 and the operator will usually add a minimum 15% (some more than 20%) as a mark up for themselves giving them a margin of £750. However we think that there are 2 things wrong with this business model – firstly it means the bigger the group, or the longer or more expensive the trip the bigger the margin for the tour operator – even though it may not require them to do any more work – so if this trip was for 16 golfers and cost £10,000 the operators margin increases to £1,500. Secondly if this trip was just for a couple of golfers so costing say £1,250 then the operators margin would be under £200. So there is little doubt that the majority of golf tour operators make significant profits from booking Groups.
Now to be fair some tour operators do offer added value services to group travel organisers such as allowing individual members of the group to make payments directly and these added value services do incur additional costs so do at least justify some of the higher margins that are made out of groups.
How to Get More Discounts for Your Group
We operate very differently to a traditional golf travel operator. Think of us as the equivelant of a ‘low cost airline’ – stripping all of the added value services and costs to offer a nett price to group leaders who are happy to do more of the organising themselves.
We act as a nett rate contract facilitator and booking agent on behalf of golf group organisers. What this means is that we negotiate nett tour operator rates, together with any special offers, with our resort , hotel and golf course partners. We also make all of the booking arrangements with the resort, hotel and golf courses, all on behalf of the organiser. And we than add a fixed value mark up to cover our operating costs – the same amount whatever the size of your group or how expensive the nett cost of your trip is.
To enable us to do this we strip out some of the services (and therefore costs) that other tour operators might offer – such as
All payments to us are made by the group organiser – we do not accept payments from individual members of the group as this would require a more complex system to administer.
We only accept payments by bank transfer – we do not accept credit card payments as credit card companies do add a significant transaction fee to travel arrangements.
We do not book flights – to do so would incur additional costs both in terms of staffing and would require us to hold an ATOL – again at an extra cost. In addition most of our destinations are served by Low Cost airlines (Easyjet, Ryanair etc) who do not pay tour operators any margin – so typically a flight booked through a tour operator will include an additional booking fee to cover the operators costs relative to booking direct with the airlines.
Because we act as a facilitator on behalf of the organiser we do not need to operate within the boundaries of The Packaged Travel Regulations which again incur additional costs such as ABTA bonding or its equivelant.
Because we only book golf groups we do not need a full time office and large team – we may not be available for some parts of the day (usually because we are out playing golf !) but we always respond to e-mails or quote requests within 24 hours and always provide an emergency contact number to the organiser for whilst you are away.
We do not book any UK golf breaks. One of the most popular golf breaks in the UK is the Sunday Driver, because of its very low cost. Our ‘fixed margin’ business model just would not offer the type of savings that we typically offer if the break only costed £100 per person anyway.
We do not offer sponsorships or any other funding to highly paid golf pro’s or media personalities to help promote our business !
How do we work with Golf Group Organisers ?
Whether you are a fellow golfer looking to book a trip for yourself and your mates or a golf pro looking to book a trip for some members at your club we operate the same way.
Simply request a quote from us – we prefer via our online enquiry form if possible, which we will provide within 24 hours. Our quoted price will be based on the nett rate contract that we have negotiated plus a fixed value margin. We don’t think that we will be beaten on price !
If you then want to go ahead and book with us we will request the required availability from your chosen hotel / golf courses and agree the cost of any extra’s that your group may require, single room upgrades, airport transfers, golf transfers, board basis upgrades, pre-booked golf buggies etc.
Only if we secure satisfactory availability will any payment to us be required. This is usually just a £50 per person deposit to lock in the agreed availability for your group – some resorts do require larger deposits, particularly for larger groups but we will make you aware of this prior to booking.
We will provide a confirmation invoice to the group organiser. We fully understand that some organisers may require to make a profit for themselves eg a golf pro booking a trip on behalf of their members or even as a ‘reward’ to cover all of the work that an organiser does. That’s fine with us – we will only provide a group invoice to the organiser for the amount that is required to be paid to ourselves – if you want to add on something for yourself to the per person price that you charge the members of your group that is entirely up to you.
The confirmation invoice will identify when the final balance payment is due to be made. It is important that the organiser collects all due funds from the members of the group in good time. We have to transfer the funds to our hotel and golf course partners in good time otherwise there is a risk of cancellation. Don’t worry we will give you a gentle reminder a couple of weeks before we require payment
Once the final balance is all paid, and usually about 2 weeks prior to travel, we will also vouchers for all of the bookings that have been made on your behalf. It is also around this time that we will require the final rooming list –
What about exchange rates ?
Most of our partners require payment in local currency – usually Euros’. The price that we have quoted is based on the exchange rate at the time of booking. Our clients understand that as we make a much lower margin we cannot stand a significant adverse movement in exchange rates. If at the time of final payment being made there has been an adverse movement of 2.5% or more we will increase the price of the trip accordingly. If this makes the trip unaffordable organisers do have the option to cancel and in most cases a full refund of any monies paid will be made.
It is important to note two things about this. Firstly we are being very transparent about this – most tour operators operate a similar policy but it is hidden away somewhat in their terms & conditions.
Secondly of course exchange rates might move favourably. We are also transparent about, f this des happen, and exchange rates improve by more than 2.5% we will offer a new lower price – we don’t think many if any other tour operators offer this !
Is my groups money safe ?
Of course there will be a short period of time when your groups payments sit with us prior to being transferred to our overseas partners. During this time we are holding your funds on trust.
The reality is that your funds will sit with the hotel and / or golf courses overseas for far longer than they will sit with us.
What about any required changes ?
As group travel experts we fully understand that some peoples plans are forced to change and we do everything possible to make any required changes on your behalf.
If the number of gofers increases we will always request additional availability on your behalf but this will understandbly subject to hotel and / or tee time availability.
If the number in the group decreases between deposit payment and final payment then all that will be lost will be the deposit paid.
If the number in the group decreases after final payment has been made we will attempt to secure a refund but this is always subject to any terms and conditions imposed by our partners and to their goodwill.
If anyone does need to drop out of your group at any stage it is always possible for you to find a replacement – we do not need to know the individual names until the rooming list is required. However do be aware that your airline probably will not be so accommodating !